Forward or backward

[Joey Camb]

I figured this to be the year we stop putting all the money back into the business and start keeping some of it for ourselves. I was looking at that as treading water.
I wasn't looking at it as a bad thing..

it isn't always about money - could be setting some time aside to write blog articles, read that book on marketing tips you havn't got round to - can be a million things
For me its thinking about how to tackle particular events to get more business out of them
.

it isn't always about money - could be setting some time aside to write blog articles, read that book on marketing tips you havn't got round to - can be a million things
For me its thinking about how to tackle particular events to get more business out of them

Yeah, see, I think it is time to retire. I'm just not interested in marketing any longer. That's my whole August ennui thing. I'm exhausted. Mentally fatigued by the whole idea of trying to figure out the next big thing, being on 4-5 different social media platforms, etc.
Totally dry here. Can't have the life sucked out of me anymore.
.

IF you truly feel this way, why not just put your place on the market and see what happens? What do you have to lose? You can do for sale by owner and just maybe ...who knows.
Maybe it is time to retire and fill your life with what YOU want to do.
Maybe you can head to Italy and really practice your Italian. Stranger things have happened
.

Money. Plain and simple. I'm too young to retire and damned if I'll go work for someone else. ;-)
.

Is there any way you can restructure what you do to remove the most painful parts, allowing you to focus on the parts you love and are good at? I know that when I was able to hand over much of the guest interaction to DH it greatly relieved me. I am a no nonsense, factual kind of person who does not like to casually schmooze so there were no warm fuzzes from me when I greeted. I'd slit my throat if I had to talk to new guests at check in.
Even if you had to hire someone to pick up the slack so you could free up your time to do something you love to do, it might be preferable to just chucking the whole thing or suffering through another summer.
Is there any way you can reduce your season and still make ends meet? That is the point we are at now...finally closing for the winter and not thinking of all the ways we could increase our business but rather focusing on how we can better serve the loyal, good guests we already have.
Ahhh, Maddie, I feel your pain

.

We had help this summer and that was great. This is always a bad time of year for me, when the help goes back to school. We talked about hiring someone but by the time we get someone, get then trained and set them loose the season is over. I just need some space.
We have been opting to only do 5 rooms, which seems to be my max.
Problem is I'm not feeling the love.
This morning I got up early and went out to set the tables and get the drinks set up. A guest was up and glommed onto me. It was all I could do to rush thru and get away. I am seriously not a morning person and I cannot take inane conversation at 7am.
Dh said she hadn't shut up since she first came down for coffee. But he doesn't pay attention. He just nods his head and make little noises while he goes about his chores. He has no problem just walking off in the middle of a conversation.
I was almost in tears in the office.
I'm leaving dh on his own for a few days while I get out of town. Maybe that will help.
.

you need some way to keep them out of your kitchen and breakfast room - we are lucky one door to lock off the entire floor of kitchen and breakfast room - doesn't stop them like today yanking on the door which is one of my pet peves!

 

[TheBeachHouse]

I figured this to be the year we stop putting all the money back into the business and start keeping some of it for ourselves. I was looking at that as treading water.
I wasn't looking at it as a bad thing..

it isn't always about money - could be setting some time aside to write blog articles, read that book on marketing tips you havn't got round to - can be a million things
For me its thinking about how to tackle particular events to get more business out of them
.

it isn't always about money - could be setting some time aside to write blog articles, read that book on marketing tips you havn't got round to - can be a million things
For me its thinking about how to tackle particular events to get more business out of them

Yeah, see, I think it is time to retire. I'm just not interested in marketing any longer. That's my whole August ennui thing. I'm exhausted. Mentally fatigued by the whole idea of trying to figure out the next big thing, being on 4-5 different social media platforms, etc.
Totally dry here. Can't have the life sucked out of me anymore.
.

IF you truly feel this way, why not just put your place on the market and see what happens? What do you have to lose? You can do for sale by owner and just maybe ...who knows.
Maybe it is time to retire and fill your life with what YOU want to do.
Maybe you can head to Italy and really practice your Italian. Stranger things have happened
.

Money. Plain and simple. I'm too young to retire and damned if I'll go work for someone else. ;-)
.

Is there any way you can restructure what you do to remove the most painful parts, allowing you to focus on the parts you love and are good at? I know that when I was able to hand over much of the guest interaction to DH it greatly relieved me. I am a no nonsense, factual kind of person who does not like to casually schmooze so there were no warm fuzzes from me when I greeted. I'd slit my throat if I had to talk to new guests at check in.
Even if you had to hire someone to pick up the slack so you could free up your time to do something you love to do, it might be preferable to just chucking the whole thing or suffering through another summer.
Is there any way you can reduce your season and still make ends meet? That is the point we are at now...finally closing for the winter and not thinking of all the ways we could increase our business but rather focusing on how we can better serve the loyal, good guests we already have.
Ahhh, Maddie, I feel your pain

.

We had help this summer and that was great. This is always a bad time of year for me, when the help goes back to school. We talked about hiring someone but by the time we get someone, get then trained and set them loose the season is over. I just need some space.
We have been opting to only do 5 rooms, which seems to be my max.
Problem is I'm not feeling the love.
This morning I got up early and went out to set the tables and get the drinks set up. A guest was up and glommed onto me. It was all I could do to rush thru and get away. I am seriously not a morning person and I cannot take inane conversation at 7am.
Dh said she hadn't shut up since she first came down for coffee. But he doesn't pay attention. He just nods his head and make little noises while he goes about his chores. He has no problem just walking off in the middle of a conversation.
I was almost in tears in the office.
I'm leaving dh on his own for a few days while I get out of town. Maybe that will help.
.

you need some way to keep them out of your kitchen and breakfast room - we are lucky one door to lock off the entire floor of kitchen and breakfast room - doesn't stop them like today yanking on the door which is one of my pet peves!
.

you need some way to keep them out of your kitchen and breakfast room - we are lucky one door to lock off the entire floor of kitchen and breakfast room - doesn't stop them like today yanking on the door which is one of my pet peves!

This!! There has to be a way to keep the kitchen off limits.
As I close the door to our apartment in people's faces, I say, "I need to close the door so the cats don't get out."
Can you set up a barrier to keep them away from you? xxxxxoooooo

 

[happykeeper]

I figured this to be the year we stop putting all the money back into the business and start keeping some of it for ourselves. I was looking at that as treading water.
I wasn't looking at it as a bad thing..

it isn't always about money - could be setting some time aside to write blog articles, read that book on marketing tips you havn't got round to - can be a million things
For me its thinking about how to tackle particular events to get more business out of them
.

it isn't always about money - could be setting some time aside to write blog articles, read that book on marketing tips you havn't got round to - can be a million things
For me its thinking about how to tackle particular events to get more business out of them

Yeah, see, I think it is time to retire. I'm just not interested in marketing any longer. That's my whole August ennui thing. I'm exhausted. Mentally fatigued by the whole idea of trying to figure out the next big thing, being on 4-5 different social media platforms, etc.
Totally dry here. Can't have the life sucked out of me anymore.
.

IF you truly feel this way, why not just put your place on the market and see what happens? What do you have to lose? You can do for sale by owner and just maybe ...who knows.
Maybe it is time to retire and fill your life with what YOU want to do.
Maybe you can head to Italy and really practice your Italian. Stranger things have happened
.

Money. Plain and simple. I'm too young to retire and damned if I'll go work for someone else. ;-)
.

Is there any way you can restructure what you do to remove the most painful parts, allowing you to focus on the parts you love and are good at? I know that when I was able to hand over much of the guest interaction to DH it greatly relieved me. I am a no nonsense, factual kind of person who does not like to casually schmooze so there were no warm fuzzes from me when I greeted. I'd slit my throat if I had to talk to new guests at check in.
Even if you had to hire someone to pick up the slack so you could free up your time to do something you love to do, it might be preferable to just chucking the whole thing or suffering through another summer.
Is there any way you can reduce your season and still make ends meet? That is the point we are at now...finally closing for the winter and not thinking of all the ways we could increase our business but rather focusing on how we can better serve the loyal, good guests we already have.
Ahhh, Maddie, I feel your pain

.

We had help this summer and that was great. This is always a bad time of year for me, when the help goes back to school. We talked about hiring someone but by the time we get someone, get then trained and set them loose the season is over. I just need some space.
We have been opting to only do 5 rooms, which seems to be my max.
Problem is I'm not feeling the love.
This morning I got up early and went out to set the tables and get the drinks set up. A guest was up and glommed onto me. It was all I could do to rush thru and get away. I am seriously not a morning person and I cannot take inane conversation at 7am.
Dh said she hadn't shut up since she first came down for coffee. But he doesn't pay attention. He just nods his head and make little noises while he goes about his chores. He has no problem just walking off in the middle of a conversation.
I was almost in tears in the office.
I'm leaving dh on his own for a few days while I get out of town. Maybe that will help.
.

you need some way to keep them out of your kitchen and breakfast room - we are lucky one door to lock off the entire floor of kitchen and breakfast room - doesn't stop them like today yanking on the door which is one of my pet peves!
.

you need some way to keep them out of your kitchen and breakfast room - we are lucky one door to lock off the entire floor of kitchen and breakfast room - doesn't stop them like today yanking on the door which is one of my pet peves!

This!! There has to be a way to keep the kitchen off limits.
As I close the door to our apartment in people's faces, I say, "I need to close the door so the cats don't get out."
Can you set up a barrier to keep them away from you? xxxxxoooooo
.

It's the craziest thing. We have a curtain between the main common areas and our kitchen. Somehow, it keeps them at bay.

 

[user 26]

poor maddy. you do need to get out of town!
more because of the weather, the coldness of the rooms and the cost of heating each one, i closed off the top floor and the least popular rooms at the beginning of our season and at the end. four rooms was much more manageable than eight. fewer breakfasts, fewer preps, fewer interactions, fewer groceries, fewer hours cleaning, less baking, less laundry ... and more time for myself.
if that is what it takes to help you breathe, then do it.
if you can survive on the income from a smaller number of rooms, then do it. you know your expenses will be less if you have less rooms open - so you have to do some careful figuring.
you can always open other rooms periodically if you really want to/have to.