Little did Joye Outerbridge know when she retired from 30 years at the Market Place this year that she was paving her way to success.

Despite having her home, a husband, two grown sons and 11 step-grandchildren to keep her busy, Mrs. Outerbridge was left kicking her heels.

So when a friend suggested a shoe store, she put her best foot forward.

Six months later, she opened her discount shoe shop, Footprints in Water Street, St. George's.

And the idea has proved a success, with customers coming from as far and wide as Hamilton and Somerset to buy her shoes.

The most expensive shoes she has are $30, with one pair of men's steel toe-capped shoes reaching the dizzy heights of $40.

She said: "The idea was to sell cheap shoes. Almost all are under $30, even the sneakers. That is the kind of store I wanted to open, and we have people coming here from all over the Island to buy them.'' The shop is on the site of a former florist which has been empty for some time. Mrs. Outerbridge's husband, Leroy, did the fixtures and fittings and the shop sells his wrought iron candle holders, and the shop opened in October this year.

Mrs. Outerbridge joined the MarketPlace 30 years ago as a cashier and worked her way up to assistant manager, a position she kept for 20 years. She retired in May and decided to put her pension in the bank and used it to secure a loan to get started.

First she went with a friend to a New York trade fair to see how feasible it was. Then she found some suppliers on the Internet and even asked a street vendor in New York where he got his wares in order to secure the cheapest suppliers.

And the shipments have been coming in regularly to fill the newly built shelves.

"The shop is not very big, it is one room, 15 by 15 with a fireplace, but it is very special and I wanted it to have a homey feeling,'' she said.

"I am learning, still learning. Before I opened up I had never sold a pair of shoes in my life. But it is wonderful. God has blessed me with this. It is a gift from God.'' Mrs. Outerbridge is using the money she is currently getting for sales in the shop to keep importing more stock, with deliveries arriving about every three weeks.

"I have not taken out any advertising, so at the moment people just know me by word of mouth, and it seems to be working,'' she said.

"I am pleased I worked at the MarketPlace all those years, it was good. But this is a place of my own. I love it. I don't earn as much money as I did then, but it is mine, and I love it.''