So..... met with an accountant today... yup. Thankfully, a friend, a local guy.... who was very encouraging about the details of the first nutz&boltz of becoming a bed and breakfast small business. It was a very encouraging meeting - casual, clarifying, positive.
A lot to think about, gather up, organize.... paperwork on purchases we've made with the B&B in mind, future purchase guidelines, record keeping methods....
Another lane added to my learning curve superhighway.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Did I mention....
.... that we are moving towards opening a bed and breakfast?
As we toured the cottage the first time, I turned to Kee and breathed, wide-eyed, this could be our bed and breakfast. The two large bedrooms at the end of one wing of the L shaped cottage could be easily - well, theoretically - be made into suites by: (a) closing off the hall door to the big bathroom and opening it to the bedroom through a doorway made in the closet and (b) making the small junk room on the opposite side of the hallway into a bathroom that opened up to the other large bedroom through it's closet.
We could have the far corner of the house, with it's bedroom and three piece bath. Plus, if pressed, the small bedroom would be perfect for a single guest who could share the small bathroom with just us. The totally windowed sunroom would be great for morning breakfasts, the enormous yard - just wonderful for people who liked to sun a bit, read a bit, relax on a small beach.
We'd market to: The Birders, The Butterflyer's, The Black History Buffs (Buxton Settlement isn't far away), The Boozers (oeniphiles), The Bikers (pedal & motor), The Boomers (weekend trippers), The Boaters. The spring, summer and fall on the north shores of Lake Erie are beautiful and activities are endless.
Doing this, opening this wouldn't be immediate, but it would be on a shared front burner with remodelling. As we move towards retirement, a supplemental, interest income seems like a great idea. We know several important levelling things: we won't get rich doing this; it's not a substitute for a planned retirement income; it wouldn't be steady.
So, as we move through all the renovations the cottage needs anyways, we keep in mind the things a B&B would need - capacity for hot water, bathroom requirements, bedroom set-ups, outside environments, safety features, local governmental requirements...... too, too many minutae to list, but we do have a list that gets added to, crossed off and altered.
I love to cook and feed people, in a social mixing grade, out of 10, we're whatever your average and normal level is - I think we could both welcome guests and maintain a friendly distance. And when we're done with this cottage - in the future - it would be several things to several buyers: a home, a great cottage, a bed and breakfast.... what it'll be to us.
So as Kee builds and rebuilds, I outfit, antique and e-buy.... that's the goal: a calming, friendly, relaxing stay at a beachfront Arts & Crafts, Tudor-Revival, 1930s cottage, on almost an acre of property along Lake Erie, near provincial parks, conservations area, migratory bird and monarch butterfly routes, boutique estate wineries, historic sites and Lake Erie.
Great, another lane added to the learning curve................ website.
As we toured the cottage the first time, I turned to Kee and breathed, wide-eyed, this could be our bed and breakfast. The two large bedrooms at the end of one wing of the L shaped cottage could be easily - well, theoretically - be made into suites by: (a) closing off the hall door to the big bathroom and opening it to the bedroom through a doorway made in the closet and (b) making the small junk room on the opposite side of the hallway into a bathroom that opened up to the other large bedroom through it's closet.
We could have the far corner of the house, with it's bedroom and three piece bath. Plus, if pressed, the small bedroom would be perfect for a single guest who could share the small bathroom with just us. The totally windowed sunroom would be great for morning breakfasts, the enormous yard - just wonderful for people who liked to sun a bit, read a bit, relax on a small beach.
We'd market to: The Birders, The Butterflyer's, The Black History Buffs (Buxton Settlement isn't far away), The Boozers (oeniphiles), The Bikers (pedal & motor), The Boomers (weekend trippers), The Boaters. The spring, summer and fall on the north shores of Lake Erie are beautiful and activities are endless.
And we'd call it................... Omstead's On Erie.
Doing this, opening this wouldn't be immediate, but it would be on a shared front burner with remodelling. As we move towards retirement, a supplemental, interest income seems like a great idea. We know several important levelling things: we won't get rich doing this; it's not a substitute for a planned retirement income; it wouldn't be steady.
So, as we move through all the renovations the cottage needs anyways, we keep in mind the things a B&B would need - capacity for hot water, bathroom requirements, bedroom set-ups, outside environments, safety features, local governmental requirements...... too, too many minutae to list, but we do have a list that gets added to, crossed off and altered.
I love to cook and feed people, in a social mixing grade, out of 10, we're whatever your average and normal level is - I think we could both welcome guests and maintain a friendly distance. And when we're done with this cottage - in the future - it would be several things to several buyers: a home, a great cottage, a bed and breakfast.... what it'll be to us.
So as Kee builds and rebuilds, I outfit, antique and e-buy.... that's the goal: a calming, friendly, relaxing stay at a beachfront Arts & Crafts, Tudor-Revival, 1930s cottage, on almost an acre of property along Lake Erie, near provincial parks, conservations area, migratory bird and monarch butterfly routes, boutique estate wineries, historic sites and Lake Erie.
Great, another lane added to the learning curve................ website.
Mortise - a square hole made to receive a tenon and so to form a joint....
I've received the beautiful mortise door locks from The House of Antique Hardware. These are Arts & Crafts reproductions, genuine repros in every way, from their design, their weight, to their size - the only modern thing about them is the way I purchased them - on the internet - and their price - about $170 CDN each, when all's said and done. And worth every penny, they are gorgeous!These first two (I may get two more) will go on the green and blue bedroom doors.... if and when we open as a B&B, I think it's a given that people would want to lock their doors - and so they shall. Two skeleton keys came with each door, hopefully we can have more made, as I'm sure one'll go missing at any given time.
I'll eventually get the same locks for our bedroom and the small bedroom, maybe even the long hall closet. If we decide to explore the options of whole or partial rental of the cottage, we should be able to lock whatever, wherever we want.
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