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happykeeper

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Joined
Dec 11, 2008
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What is your niche?
How are you developing it?
How is it making a difference?
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it.
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
.
That sounds fantastic!!! Made me want to come for a visit...
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
.
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
Every State has history and every area has history. I urge each innkeeper to do a bit of digging in your area for the Heritage to market for YOUR area. I have Mother's Day, the first land battle of the Civil War, Cyrus Vance and Stonewall Jackson were born in Clarksburg, Shinnston was the birthplace of Joe Stydahar and John McKay, Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, and Sam Huff is from Farmington - just over the mountain and we have authors and other famous people from this area. Look for the little historical society because many of them have a museum. There is a Swiger Family Museum on one of my covered bridge tours.
One of my niches is in danger at the moment. It seems that the owner of the stable has finally left the family farm (he is in his 40s) - and no one bothered to tell me - and when I called Mama today to schedule Monday's horses she was very unhappy about it. She is now supposed to ask her husband if they wish to continue the overnight - mucking out the stalls seems to be the issue. IF they decide to discontinue because of the stall cleaning, I have decided (and ONLY IF) to ask them to teach me how to muck out a stall if they would be willing to continue the service if I do the mucking. It has become a nice segment of my business that I really do not want to let go of. I just paid all the directory and web site fees for this year! It really would have been nice....
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
.
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
Every State has history and every area has history. I urge each innkeeper to do a bit of digging in your area for the Heritage to market for YOUR area. I have Mother's Day, the first land battle of the Civil War, Cyrus Vance and Stonewall Jackson were born in Clarksburg, Shinnston was the birthplace of Joe Stydahar and John McKay, Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, and Sam Huff is from Farmington - just over the mountain and we have authors and other famous people from this area. Look for the little historical society because many of them have a museum. There is a Swiger Family Museum on one of my covered bridge tours.
One of my niches is in danger at the moment. It seems that the owner of the stable has finally left the family farm (he is in his 40s) - and no one bothered to tell me - and when I called Mama today to schedule Monday's horses she was very unhappy about it. She is now supposed to ask her husband if they wish to continue the overnight - mucking out the stalls seems to be the issue. IF they decide to discontinue because of the stall cleaning, I have decided (and ONLY IF) to ask them to teach me how to muck out a stall if they would be willing to continue the service if I do the mucking. It has become a nice segment of my business that I really do not want to let go of. I just paid all the directory and web site fees for this year! It really would have been nice....
.
Kathleen, rather than you take on the Herculean task of mucking out stables (see, I know my Greek mythology, lol) can't you find another stable willing to work with you?
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
.
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
Every State has history and every area has history. I urge each innkeeper to do a bit of digging in your area for the Heritage to market for YOUR area. I have Mother's Day, the first land battle of the Civil War, Cyrus Vance and Stonewall Jackson were born in Clarksburg, Shinnston was the birthplace of Joe Stydahar and John McKay, Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, and Sam Huff is from Farmington - just over the mountain and we have authors and other famous people from this area. Look for the little historical society because many of them have a museum. There is a Swiger Family Museum on one of my covered bridge tours.
One of my niches is in danger at the moment. It seems that the owner of the stable has finally left the family farm (he is in his 40s) - and no one bothered to tell me - and when I called Mama today to schedule Monday's horses she was very unhappy about it. She is now supposed to ask her husband if they wish to continue the overnight - mucking out the stalls seems to be the issue. IF they decide to discontinue because of the stall cleaning, I have decided (and ONLY IF) to ask them to teach me how to muck out a stall if they would be willing to continue the service if I do the mucking. It has become a nice segment of my business that I really do not want to let go of. I just paid all the directory and web site fees for this year! It really would have been nice....
.
gillumhouse said:
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
! It really would have been nice....
Nope. Old Dominion is in the lead.
[FONT= 'Times New Roman']Virginia, long nicknamed the "Mother of Presidents," was the birthplace of eight of our 42 presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson. There is a whimsical painting hanging in the School of Education at the University of Virginia that shows all eight Old Dominion presidents having an imaginary encounter on the porch of George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. It's definitely worth seeing if you are on the campus in Charlottesville. (Visit Riki if you go here!)
Ohio comes in second, as the Buckeye State was the birthplace of seven of our 42 presidents, every one of them Republican: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding. Ohio also likes to claim William Henry Harrison as one of her own; although born in Virginia, he later settled in Ohio. This fact justifies why the Buckeye State vies with Old Dominion for the coveted title, "Mother of Presidents."[/FONT]
http://www.gvsu.edu/hauenstein/index.cfm?id=600D4755-EF05-B8EB-C7A2E5F53736D5BB
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
.
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
Every State has history and every area has history. I urge each innkeeper to do a bit of digging in your area for the Heritage to market for YOUR area. I have Mother's Day, the first land battle of the Civil War, Cyrus Vance and Stonewall Jackson were born in Clarksburg, Shinnston was the birthplace of Joe Stydahar and John McKay, Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, and Sam Huff is from Farmington - just over the mountain and we have authors and other famous people from this area. Look for the little historical society because many of them have a museum. There is a Swiger Family Museum on one of my covered bridge tours.
One of my niches is in danger at the moment. It seems that the owner of the stable has finally left the family farm (he is in his 40s) - and no one bothered to tell me - and when I called Mama today to schedule Monday's horses she was very unhappy about it. She is now supposed to ask her husband if they wish to continue the overnight - mucking out the stalls seems to be the issue. IF they decide to discontinue because of the stall cleaning, I have decided (and ONLY IF) to ask them to teach me how to muck out a stall if they would be willing to continue the service if I do the mucking. It has become a nice segment of my business that I really do not want to let go of. I just paid all the directory and web site fees for this year! It really would have been nice....
.
gillumhouse said:
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
! It really would have been nice....
Nope. Old Dominion is in the lead.
[FONT= 'Times New Roman']Virginia, long nicknamed the "Mother of Presidents," was the birthplace of eight of our 42 presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson. There is a whimsical painting hanging in the School of Education at the University of Virginia that shows all eight Old Dominion presidents having an imaginary encounter on the porch of George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. It's definitely worth seeing if you are on the campus in Charlottesville. (Visit Riki if you go here!)
Ohio comes in second, as the Buckeye State was the birthplace of seven of our 42 presidents, every one of them Republican: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding. Ohio also likes to claim William Henry Harrison as one of her own; although born in Virginia, he later settled in Ohio. This fact justifies why the Buckeye State vies with Old Dominion for the coveted title, "Mother of Presidents."[/FONT]
http://www.gvsu.edu/hauenstein/index.cfm?id=600D4755-EF05-B8EB-C7A2E5F53736D5BB
.
The area really is full of tradition and American heritage.
My follow up question was more about what is the niche for your inn specifically. If there are three inns celebrating the area heritage, what is your niche inside of that base?
With GH it is the horses? - No other inn has access to that?
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
.
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
Every State has history and every area has history. I urge each innkeeper to do a bit of digging in your area for the Heritage to market for YOUR area. I have Mother's Day, the first land battle of the Civil War, Cyrus Vance and Stonewall Jackson were born in Clarksburg, Shinnston was the birthplace of Joe Stydahar and John McKay, Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, and Sam Huff is from Farmington - just over the mountain and we have authors and other famous people from this area. Look for the little historical society because many of them have a museum. There is a Swiger Family Museum on one of my covered bridge tours.
One of my niches is in danger at the moment. It seems that the owner of the stable has finally left the family farm (he is in his 40s) - and no one bothered to tell me - and when I called Mama today to schedule Monday's horses she was very unhappy about it. She is now supposed to ask her husband if they wish to continue the overnight - mucking out the stalls seems to be the issue. IF they decide to discontinue because of the stall cleaning, I have decided (and ONLY IF) to ask them to teach me how to muck out a stall if they would be willing to continue the service if I do the mucking. It has become a nice segment of my business that I really do not want to let go of. I just paid all the directory and web site fees for this year! It really would have been nice....
.
gillumhouse said:
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
! It really would have been nice....
Nope. Old Dominion is in the lead.
[FONT= 'Times New Roman']Virginia, long nicknamed the "Mother of Presidents," was the birthplace of eight of our 42 presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson. There is a whimsical painting hanging in the School of Education at the University of Virginia that shows all eight Old Dominion presidents having an imaginary encounter on the porch of George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. It's definitely worth seeing if you are on the campus in Charlottesville. (Visit Riki if you go here!)
Ohio comes in second, as the Buckeye State was the birthplace of seven of our 42 presidents, every one of them Republican: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding. Ohio also likes to claim William Henry Harrison as one of her own; although born in Virginia, he later settled in Ohio. This fact justifies why the Buckeye State vies with Old Dominion for the coveted title, "Mother of Presidents."[/FONT]
http://www.gvsu.edu/hauenstein/index.cfm?id=600D4755-EF05-B8EB-C7A2E5F53736D5BB
.
The area really is full of tradition and American heritage.
My follow up question was more about what is the niche for your inn specifically. If there are three inns celebrating the area heritage, what is your niche inside of that base?
With GH it is the horses? - No other inn has access to that?
.
I do horses, motorcycles, rail-trails, covered bridges, winery.... As for the other inns in the area, I have no clue what they do. I do not see much of their marketing. I do know that the inn in the town of the Civil War battle does know her stuff about marketing and will probably get it in gear this year. Her Dad was ill and she went to care for him until he died which set her back with marketing. I see very little from the others. Then again, there are not that many in this region either.
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
.
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
Every State has history and every area has history. I urge each innkeeper to do a bit of digging in your area for the Heritage to market for YOUR area. I have Mother's Day, the first land battle of the Civil War, Cyrus Vance and Stonewall Jackson were born in Clarksburg, Shinnston was the birthplace of Joe Stydahar and John McKay, Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, and Sam Huff is from Farmington - just over the mountain and we have authors and other famous people from this area. Look for the little historical society because many of them have a museum. There is a Swiger Family Museum on one of my covered bridge tours.
One of my niches is in danger at the moment. It seems that the owner of the stable has finally left the family farm (he is in his 40s) - and no one bothered to tell me - and when I called Mama today to schedule Monday's horses she was very unhappy about it. She is now supposed to ask her husband if they wish to continue the overnight - mucking out the stalls seems to be the issue. IF they decide to discontinue because of the stall cleaning, I have decided (and ONLY IF) to ask them to teach me how to muck out a stall if they would be willing to continue the service if I do the mucking. It has become a nice segment of my business that I really do not want to let go of. I just paid all the directory and web site fees for this year! It really would have been nice....
.
Kathleen, rather than you take on the Herculean task of mucking out stables (see, I know my Greek mythology, lol) can't you find another stable willing to work with you?
.
As of now there is no other. There was one briefly and then they stopped doing boarding and honestly their entrance is not a good one - the problem I have heard regarding the only other B & B/stable in the State that is near Kentucky. What made it for me is that I am about halfway between the East Coast horse farms and Kentucky/NC/SC. It brings in enough business that since I already spent the money on marketing, mucking will be worth it. That is definitely my last ditch move to keep it going....
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
.
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
Every State has history and every area has history. I urge each innkeeper to do a bit of digging in your area for the Heritage to market for YOUR area. I have Mother's Day, the first land battle of the Civil War, Cyrus Vance and Stonewall Jackson were born in Clarksburg, Shinnston was the birthplace of Joe Stydahar and John McKay, Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, and Sam Huff is from Farmington - just over the mountain and we have authors and other famous people from this area. Look for the little historical society because many of them have a museum. There is a Swiger Family Museum on one of my covered bridge tours.
One of my niches is in danger at the moment. It seems that the owner of the stable has finally left the family farm (he is in his 40s) - and no one bothered to tell me - and when I called Mama today to schedule Monday's horses she was very unhappy about it. She is now supposed to ask her husband if they wish to continue the overnight - mucking out the stalls seems to be the issue. IF they decide to discontinue because of the stall cleaning, I have decided (and ONLY IF) to ask them to teach me how to muck out a stall if they would be willing to continue the service if I do the mucking. It has become a nice segment of my business that I really do not want to let go of. I just paid all the directory and web site fees for this year! It really would have been nice....
.
Kathleen, rather than you take on the Herculean task of mucking out stables (see, I know my Greek mythology, lol) can't you find another stable willing to work with you?
.
As of now there is no other. There was one briefly and then they stopped doing boarding and honestly their entrance is not a good one - the problem I have heard regarding the only other B & B/stable in the State that is near Kentucky. What made it for me is that I am about halfway between the East Coast horse farms and Kentucky/NC/SC. It brings in enough business that since I already spent the money on marketing, mucking will be worth it. That is definitely my last ditch move to keep it going....
.
find a teenager to pay...
any Amish in your area?
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
.
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
Every State has history and every area has history. I urge each innkeeper to do a bit of digging in your area for the Heritage to market for YOUR area. I have Mother's Day, the first land battle of the Civil War, Cyrus Vance and Stonewall Jackson were born in Clarksburg, Shinnston was the birthplace of Joe Stydahar and John McKay, Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, and Sam Huff is from Farmington - just over the mountain and we have authors and other famous people from this area. Look for the little historical society because many of them have a museum. There is a Swiger Family Museum on one of my covered bridge tours.
One of my niches is in danger at the moment. It seems that the owner of the stable has finally left the family farm (he is in his 40s) - and no one bothered to tell me - and when I called Mama today to schedule Monday's horses she was very unhappy about it. She is now supposed to ask her husband if they wish to continue the overnight - mucking out the stalls seems to be the issue. IF they decide to discontinue because of the stall cleaning, I have decided (and ONLY IF) to ask them to teach me how to muck out a stall if they would be willing to continue the service if I do the mucking. It has become a nice segment of my business that I really do not want to let go of. I just paid all the directory and web site fees for this year! It really would have been nice....
.
Kathleen, rather than you take on the Herculean task of mucking out stables (see, I know my Greek mythology, lol) can't you find another stable willing to work with you?
.
As of now there is no other. There was one briefly and then they stopped doing boarding and honestly their entrance is not a good one - the problem I have heard regarding the only other B & B/stable in the State that is near Kentucky. What made it for me is that I am about halfway between the East Coast horse farms and Kentucky/NC/SC. It brings in enough business that since I already spent the money on marketing, mucking will be worth it. That is definitely my last ditch move to keep it going....
.
find a teenager to pay...
any Amish in your area?
.
No Amish. Now if I could find a teen who wanted to work.... Problem is that it is hit & miss. No steadiness to it. I am going to wait until I hear what Woddy has to say before I say anything at all! Sometimes the horses is m entire winter business. Would have had another night if it had not been for the ice last week.
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
.
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
Every State has history and every area has history. I urge each innkeeper to do a bit of digging in your area for the Heritage to market for YOUR area. I have Mother's Day, the first land battle of the Civil War, Cyrus Vance and Stonewall Jackson were born in Clarksburg, Shinnston was the birthplace of Joe Stydahar and John McKay, Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, and Sam Huff is from Farmington - just over the mountain and we have authors and other famous people from this area. Look for the little historical society because many of them have a museum. There is a Swiger Family Museum on one of my covered bridge tours.
One of my niches is in danger at the moment. It seems that the owner of the stable has finally left the family farm (he is in his 40s) - and no one bothered to tell me - and when I called Mama today to schedule Monday's horses she was very unhappy about it. She is now supposed to ask her husband if they wish to continue the overnight - mucking out the stalls seems to be the issue. IF they decide to discontinue because of the stall cleaning, I have decided (and ONLY IF) to ask them to teach me how to muck out a stall if they would be willing to continue the service if I do the mucking. It has become a nice segment of my business that I really do not want to let go of. I just paid all the directory and web site fees for this year! It really would have been nice....
.
gillumhouse said:
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
! It really would have been nice....
Nope. Old Dominion is in the lead.
[FONT= 'Times New Roman']Virginia, long nicknamed the "Mother of Presidents," was the birthplace of eight of our 42 presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson. There is a whimsical painting hanging in the School of Education at the University of Virginia that shows all eight Old Dominion presidents having an imaginary encounter on the porch of George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. It's definitely worth seeing if you are on the campus in Charlottesville. (Visit Riki if you go here!)
Ohio comes in second, as the Buckeye State was the birthplace of seven of our 42 presidents, every one of them Republican: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding. Ohio also likes to claim William Henry Harrison as one of her own; although born in Virginia, he later settled in Ohio. This fact justifies why the Buckeye State vies with Old Dominion for the coveted title, "Mother of Presidents."[/FONT]
http://www.gvsu.edu/hauenstein/index.cfm?id=600D4755-EF05-B8EB-C7A2E5F53736D5BB
.
The area really is full of tradition and American heritage.
My follow up question was more about what is the niche for your inn specifically. If there are three inns celebrating the area heritage, what is your niche inside of that base?
With GH it is the horses? - No other inn has access to that?
.
knkbnb said:
My follow up question was more about what is the niche for your inn specifically.
I have the same question as knkbnb,
I'm hearing a lot about the areas you're in but that is not a niche. The question is what is it about your inns that make you special. What is your brand? What type of person are you targeting? Without a clear picture of this, it's impossible to do niche marketing.
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
.
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
Every State has history and every area has history. I urge each innkeeper to do a bit of digging in your area for the Heritage to market for YOUR area. I have Mother's Day, the first land battle of the Civil War, Cyrus Vance and Stonewall Jackson were born in Clarksburg, Shinnston was the birthplace of Joe Stydahar and John McKay, Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, and Sam Huff is from Farmington - just over the mountain and we have authors and other famous people from this area. Look for the little historical society because many of them have a museum. There is a Swiger Family Museum on one of my covered bridge tours.
One of my niches is in danger at the moment. It seems that the owner of the stable has finally left the family farm (he is in his 40s) - and no one bothered to tell me - and when I called Mama today to schedule Monday's horses she was very unhappy about it. She is now supposed to ask her husband if they wish to continue the overnight - mucking out the stalls seems to be the issue. IF they decide to discontinue because of the stall cleaning, I have decided (and ONLY IF) to ask them to teach me how to muck out a stall if they would be willing to continue the service if I do the mucking. It has become a nice segment of my business that I really do not want to let go of. I just paid all the directory and web site fees for this year! It really would have been nice....
.
gillumhouse said:
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
! It really would have been nice....
Nope. Old Dominion is in the lead.
[FONT= 'Times New Roman']Virginia, long nicknamed the "Mother of Presidents," was the birthplace of eight of our 42 presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson. There is a whimsical painting hanging in the School of Education at the University of Virginia that shows all eight Old Dominion presidents having an imaginary encounter on the porch of George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. It's definitely worth seeing if you are on the campus in Charlottesville. (Visit Riki if you go here!)
Ohio comes in second, as the Buckeye State was the birthplace of seven of our 42 presidents, every one of them Republican: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding. Ohio also likes to claim William Henry Harrison as one of her own; although born in Virginia, he later settled in Ohio. This fact justifies why the Buckeye State vies with Old Dominion for the coveted title, "Mother of Presidents."[/FONT]
http://www.gvsu.edu/hauenstein/index.cfm?id=600D4755-EF05-B8EB-C7A2E5F53736D5BB
.
The area really is full of tradition and American heritage.
My follow up question was more about what is the niche for your inn specifically. If there are three inns celebrating the area heritage, what is your niche inside of that base?
With GH it is the horses? - No other inn has access to that?
.
knkbnb said:
My follow up question was more about what is the niche for your inn specifically.
I have the same question as knkbnb,
I'm hearing a lot about the areas you're in but that is not a niche. The question is what is it about your inns that make you special. What is your brand? What type of person are you targeting? Without a clear picture of this, it's impossible to do niche marketing.
.
The question is what is it about your inns that make you special.
You ask what type of person I want to attract - the what I do defines who I target and attract
  • Food is automatically low-fat and homemade breads and make my pasta for dinners (heart attacks and health nuts watching their diets)
  • Service: escort service to stable for horses and breakfast between 4am and10am (horse people who want to ride the rail-trail)
  • Only overnight stabling in this part of the State (people transporting horses)
  • Bike/hike & wine - I have a rail-trail 50 feet from the house so these people and those who like wine
  • Routing packages - these attract people who ride motorcycles, covered bridges, crafts, or antiques or history
I target each of these groups by telling them all they have to do is come here and I have their day planned for them because I can and will personalize the routings to their interests. All they have to do is show up and pay the bill. No other planning needed but if they want to just explore, I can make suggestions and they can take it from there.
We have had romantic get-aways but I do not really go after them other than to say every woman should at least once in her life pick up a bell and ring for the next course - and that is how I serve my dinners. I do not try to be a one niche inn because I thought the trail was going to be my bread & butter and it was - for a while. Like most of WV, I have to diversify to survive so I am a little of this and a little of that and I market to each of the categories that I have something to offer to with ads in places each group will find me and ads geared to them..
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
.
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
Every State has history and every area has history. I urge each innkeeper to do a bit of digging in your area for the Heritage to market for YOUR area. I have Mother's Day, the first land battle of the Civil War, Cyrus Vance and Stonewall Jackson were born in Clarksburg, Shinnston was the birthplace of Joe Stydahar and John McKay, Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, and Sam Huff is from Farmington - just over the mountain and we have authors and other famous people from this area. Look for the little historical society because many of them have a museum. There is a Swiger Family Museum on one of my covered bridge tours.
One of my niches is in danger at the moment. It seems that the owner of the stable has finally left the family farm (he is in his 40s) - and no one bothered to tell me - and when I called Mama today to schedule Monday's horses she was very unhappy about it. She is now supposed to ask her husband if they wish to continue the overnight - mucking out the stalls seems to be the issue. IF they decide to discontinue because of the stall cleaning, I have decided (and ONLY IF) to ask them to teach me how to muck out a stall if they would be willing to continue the service if I do the mucking. It has become a nice segment of my business that I really do not want to let go of. I just paid all the directory and web site fees for this year! It really would have been nice....
.
gillumhouse said:
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
! It really would have been nice....
Nope. Old Dominion is in the lead.
[FONT= 'Times New Roman']Virginia, long nicknamed the "Mother of Presidents," was the birthplace of eight of our 42 presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson. There is a whimsical painting hanging in the School of Education at the University of Virginia that shows all eight Old Dominion presidents having an imaginary encounter on the porch of George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. It's definitely worth seeing if you are on the campus in Charlottesville. (Visit Riki if you go here!)
Ohio comes in second, as the Buckeye State was the birthplace of seven of our 42 presidents, every one of them Republican: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding. Ohio also likes to claim William Henry Harrison as one of her own; although born in Virginia, he later settled in Ohio. This fact justifies why the Buckeye State vies with Old Dominion for the coveted title, "Mother of Presidents."[/FONT]
http://www.gvsu.edu/hauenstein/index.cfm?id=600D4755-EF05-B8EB-C7A2E5F53736D5BB
.
The area really is full of tradition and American heritage.
My follow up question was more about what is the niche for your inn specifically. If there are three inns celebrating the area heritage, what is your niche inside of that base?
With GH it is the horses? - No other inn has access to that?
.
knkbnb said:
My follow up question was more about what is the niche for your inn specifically.
I have the same question as knkbnb,
I'm hearing a lot about the areas you're in but that is not a niche. The question is what is it about your inns that make you special. What is your brand? What type of person are you targeting? Without a clear picture of this, it's impossible to do niche marketing.
.
Exactly NW- I am very interested in what inns are doing to create a niche within the confines of the many wonderful attractions their area has to offer.
If GH has exclusive connections to the horses, that stands out as a possible niche.
We are working on understanding our niche better. We have done a decent job of branding ourselves locally, but we are still refining how to explain our niche to guests from afar. We are curious about how people develop their niche and how it is working.
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
.
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
Every State has history and every area has history. I urge each innkeeper to do a bit of digging in your area for the Heritage to market for YOUR area. I have Mother's Day, the first land battle of the Civil War, Cyrus Vance and Stonewall Jackson were born in Clarksburg, Shinnston was the birthplace of Joe Stydahar and John McKay, Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, and Sam Huff is from Farmington - just over the mountain and we have authors and other famous people from this area. Look for the little historical society because many of them have a museum. There is a Swiger Family Museum on one of my covered bridge tours.
One of my niches is in danger at the moment. It seems that the owner of the stable has finally left the family farm (he is in his 40s) - and no one bothered to tell me - and when I called Mama today to schedule Monday's horses she was very unhappy about it. She is now supposed to ask her husband if they wish to continue the overnight - mucking out the stalls seems to be the issue. IF they decide to discontinue because of the stall cleaning, I have decided (and ONLY IF) to ask them to teach me how to muck out a stall if they would be willing to continue the service if I do the mucking. It has become a nice segment of my business that I really do not want to let go of. I just paid all the directory and web site fees for this year! It really would have been nice....
.
gillumhouse said:
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
! It really would have been nice....
Nope. Old Dominion is in the lead.
[FONT= 'Times New Roman']Virginia, long nicknamed the "Mother of Presidents," was the birthplace of eight of our 42 presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson. There is a whimsical painting hanging in the School of Education at the University of Virginia that shows all eight Old Dominion presidents having an imaginary encounter on the porch of George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. It's definitely worth seeing if you are on the campus in Charlottesville. (Visit Riki if you go here!)
Ohio comes in second, as the Buckeye State was the birthplace of seven of our 42 presidents, every one of them Republican: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding. Ohio also likes to claim William Henry Harrison as one of her own; although born in Virginia, he later settled in Ohio. This fact justifies why the Buckeye State vies with Old Dominion for the coveted title, "Mother of Presidents."[/FONT]
http://www.gvsu.edu/hauenstein/index.cfm?id=600D4755-EF05-B8EB-C7A2E5F53736D5BB
.
The area really is full of tradition and American heritage.
My follow up question was more about what is the niche for your inn specifically. If there are three inns celebrating the area heritage, what is your niche inside of that base?
With GH it is the horses? - No other inn has access to that?
.
knkbnb said:
The area really is full of tradition and American heritage.
My follow up question was more about what is the niche for your inn specifically. If there are three inns celebrating the area heritage, what is your niche inside of that base?
With GH it is the horses? - No other inn has access to that?
No other inns celebrate anything. I am following what you are saying - I always try to not ignore the elephant in the room - which is another major marketing niche here (American's Favorite Drive) 469 miles of scenic road with zero stops (except wayside viewpoints). I do get motorcyclists and try to market to them where they search for lodging and travel info online.
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
.
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
Every State has history and every area has history. I urge each innkeeper to do a bit of digging in your area for the Heritage to market for YOUR area. I have Mother's Day, the first land battle of the Civil War, Cyrus Vance and Stonewall Jackson were born in Clarksburg, Shinnston was the birthplace of Joe Stydahar and John McKay, Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, and Sam Huff is from Farmington - just over the mountain and we have authors and other famous people from this area. Look for the little historical society because many of them have a museum. There is a Swiger Family Museum on one of my covered bridge tours.
One of my niches is in danger at the moment. It seems that the owner of the stable has finally left the family farm (he is in his 40s) - and no one bothered to tell me - and when I called Mama today to schedule Monday's horses she was very unhappy about it. She is now supposed to ask her husband if they wish to continue the overnight - mucking out the stalls seems to be the issue. IF they decide to discontinue because of the stall cleaning, I have decided (and ONLY IF) to ask them to teach me how to muck out a stall if they would be willing to continue the service if I do the mucking. It has become a nice segment of my business that I really do not want to let go of. I just paid all the directory and web site fees for this year! It really would have been nice....
.
Kathleen, rather than you take on the Herculean task of mucking out stables (see, I know my Greek mythology, lol) can't you find another stable willing to work with you?
.
As of now there is no other. There was one briefly and then they stopped doing boarding and honestly their entrance is not a good one - the problem I have heard regarding the only other B & B/stable in the State that is near Kentucky. What made it for me is that I am about halfway between the East Coast horse farms and Kentucky/NC/SC. It brings in enough business that since I already spent the money on marketing, mucking will be worth it. That is definitely my last ditch move to keep it going....
.
find a teenager to pay...
any Amish in your area?
.
No Amish. Now if I could find a teen who wanted to work.... Problem is that it is hit & miss. No steadiness to it. I am going to wait until I hear what Woddy has to say before I say anything at all! Sometimes the horses is m entire winter business. Would have had another night if it had not been for the ice last week.
.
Do you know any of the local high teachers? Mucking might be a good fund raising project for a club/group (FFA, band, atletics) and there would be at least several kids instead of relying on just one.
 
  • Cultural/Heritage is one of them
  • Recreation/Outdoors is another
  • Baby boomers looking at places to retire is another
Development a work in progress: Website pages devoted to it, blog articles on it that come up in google searches and RSS feeds that get carried onto other blogs. Specials/Promotions featuring it everywhere I can stick it..
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
.
knkbnb said:
That sounds great JBJ. May I ask for some more details?
Here Culture most often means Hawaiian Culture. How do you define Culture where you are?
Also, we have been working on our particular niche. something we offer that the inn down the road doesn't or can't or won't. Are your niche items related more to your area? In other words, is your niche mutually exclusive?
This is the birthplace of America. Home to the Presidents.
1 in every 4 American's has a relative that traveled on a road just a couple miles from this B&B (The Great Wagon Road or the WIlderness Road or Carolina Road).
Civil War ended just 1 hr 1/2 from here. Nearby was the last capitol of the Confederacy.
The culture in these mountains permeates not only the USA but overseas into Ireland,Scotland, Wales and even Australia - bluegrass was invented here. Country music was invented not too far from here - just down the road. The music was taken from these hills back to Ireland to form what you hear as the traditional Irish music. The banjo was actually a drum played by African slaves.
These are the hills that transend time - where the culture and dialect of the original colonies is still spoken to some extent, unlike anywhere else in the States. Isolated geographically these hills were a melting pot of all cultures pre-colonial and colonial. The outcasts went west into the mountains into the land that was not useable.
So in a nutshell - we have families we know who are related to Daniel Boone. Down the street is the iron furnace that was used to forge munitions during the Revolutionary war. It was also Andrew Jackson (Yes the one on the $20 currency) wife's house growing up.
Then we have the boom of moonshine and that illicit culture that reigned in this county like none other.
Booker T Washington grew up on a tobacco plantation a couple miles from here - taught himself to read when it was illegal for slaves to read. Then went on to start the first African American College in Alabama (Tuskeegee Institute).
I can go on and on about those cultural/heritage things. We have a music trail that officially begins one block from our B&B - right behind it and traverses the mountains making stops at all the famous or interesting spots for Bluegrass and Mountain Music. THIS is what I am working on BIG TIME at the moment. This is a huge draw and I want guests to STAY HERE on stop #1. Working on a proper venue for the town.
We have bluegrass with biscuits and gravy at Dairy Queen Thursday mornings. We have music every night of the week - toss a rock in any direction and hit a musician.
So there ya have it. Heritage/Culture - I tell people don't miss the people of these mountains. These mountains are excellent for recreation - hiking galore - scenic, but the people are a unique people. Kind, genuine people - nothing like I have seen any place else.
"Meet Virginia - She'll Take your Breath Away"
.
Although 4 of the first 5 Presidents were born in Virginia, Ohio lays claim to the most and I believe that number is 8 in all.
Every State has history and every area has history. I urge each innkeeper to do a bit of digging in your area for the Heritage to market for YOUR area. I have Mother's Day, the first land battle of the Civil War, Cyrus Vance and Stonewall Jackson were born in Clarksburg, Shinnston was the birthplace of Joe Stydahar and John McKay, Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, and Sam Huff is from Farmington - just over the mountain and we have authors and other famous people from this area. Look for the little historical society because many of them have a museum. There is a Swiger Family Museum on one of my covered bridge tours.
One of my niches is in danger at the moment. It seems that the owner of the stable has finally left the family farm (he is in his 40s) - and no one bothered to tell me - and when I called Mama today to schedule Monday's horses she was very unhappy about it. She is now supposed to ask her husband if they wish to continue the overnight - mucking out the stalls seems to be the issue. IF they decide to discontinue because of the stall cleaning, I have decided (and ONLY IF) to ask them to teach me how to muck out a stall if they would be willing to continue the service if I do the mucking. It has become a nice segment of my business that I really do not want to let go of. I just paid all the directory and web site fees for this year! It really would have been nice....
.
Kathleen, rather than you take on the Herculean task of mucking out stables (see, I know my Greek mythology, lol) can't you find another stable willing to work with you?
.
As of now there is no other. There was one briefly and then they stopped doing boarding and honestly their entrance is not a good one - the problem I have heard regarding the only other B & B/stable in the State that is near Kentucky. What made it for me is that I am about halfway between the East Coast horse farms and Kentucky/NC/SC. It brings in enough business that since I already spent the money on marketing, mucking will be worth it. That is definitely my last ditch move to keep it going....
.
find a teenager to pay...
any Amish in your area?
.
No Amish. Now if I could find a teen who wanted to work.... Problem is that it is hit & miss. No steadiness to it. I am going to wait until I hear what Woddy has to say before I say anything at all! Sometimes the horses is m entire winter business. Would have had another night if it had not been for the ice last week.
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Do you know any of the local high teachers? Mucking might be a good fund raising project for a club/group (FFA, band, atletics) and there would be at least several kids instead of relying on just one.
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greyswan said:
Do you know any of the local high teachers? Mucking might be a good fund raising project for a club/group (FFA, band, atletics) and there would be at least several kids instead of relying on just one.
4-H
Many of the kids already do that in this area before school. :)
 
Okay lay it on us - How are you developing your niche? How is your B&B different than the next? How do you promote this?
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