Start & Run a Bed & Breakfast - Richard Taylor Start & Run Business Series

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the information to target employee training so that their business can continue to grow. As future B&B operators, you will need to document all the skills you will bring to your new business. If other people are going to support you in the running of your B&B, their skills should also be assessed. By doing a skills assessment during the planning stages, you will be able to identify any areas that require improvement.

      Nobody is skilled in all aspects of running a B&B. As we said before, nobody is perfect, but if everyone involved in the running of your B&B pools their skills, the overall results can be very good.

      In certain highly specialized areas, such as accounting or legal matters, you may decide to seek outside assistance from professionals. You may need them for some start-up advice, or you might want to retain them steadily for continuing help.

      Carol and Bob have decided to run their B&B as a team, and since both of them will be sharing the duties, each completed an assessment worksheet separately so that neither influenced the other.

      4.2 Do your own skill assessment

      Take the time now to complete your own skill assessment. Be absolutely honest about your skills. Don’t try to hide your feelings. All of us have strengths and weaknesses, and we wouldn’t be human without them. By recognizing your likes and dislikes, and by determining how strongly you feel about each of them, you will be in a better position to identify the skills that you already possess, and the ones that require improvement.

      5. Action Plan to Improve Your Skills

      5.1 Analyzing the skills assessment

      Perhaps you'll need some improvement in cleanliness, preparation, and information. If your skill group that needs the most improvement is organization, which involves preparing operating procedures and setting up client and business records, you may decide to assign bookkeeping to another member of the team. This would release the other to concentrate on other aspects of the business.

      5.2 Make your own action plan

      Now create your own action plan. Write down the skill statements that you need to improve based on your own skill assessment. Then write down your action plan for improving each of those skills.

      Refer to your action plan regularly to monitor your progress, and when you feel that you have conquered a skill, strike it off your list.

      Henry Higgins Harvest Muffins

       Blend the following dry ingredients together:

      • 1½ cups sifted flour

      • ½ teaspoon salt

      • ½ teaspoon nutmeg

      • 3 teaspoons baking powder

      • ½ teaspoon cinnamon

      • 1/3 cup brown sugar

       In a separate container, blend:

      • 1 egg

      • ¾ cup milk

      • ½ cup cooked pumpkin

      • ¼ cup melted shortening

      Preheat oven to 400°F.

      Add liquids to the dry ingredients and stir only until they are moistened, but still lumpy.

      Fill 12 well-greased medium muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

      Serve warm with butter and homemade marmalade.

      3

      Market Research

      You have now completed your skill assessment and you are ready to tackle the planning process for the B&B itself. Your first step is to research your market carefully. Don’t rush through this very important chapter because the information you gather here will influence many other decisions later.

      1. Why Do Market Research?

      You may have specific ideas about who will come to your B&B and what facilities will attract them, but your ideas need to be backed up by solid market research. Your customers may be attracted to your locale because of tourist attractions, such as historical sites or theater festivals, or they may be seeking a relaxing weekend “getaway.” The reputation of the B&B itself is also important (although it usually takes some time to build up the kind of reputation that attracts customers to your B&B by name alone).

      It is in your best interest to do market research before you open for business, otherwise you may be trying to attract customers who do not exist, or you may be offering facilities and services that are not in demand.

      You need to collect enough information to answer the following four basic questions:

      (a) What attracts visitors to your area?

      (b) How many of these visitors are potential B&B customers?

      (c) What facilities and services do they want?

      (d) What local competition do you face?

      When you have answered these questions, you will have completed your market research. Keep a record of all costs encountered during your research and keep all your receipts; you will be documenting these costs at the end of this chapter.

      2. Sources of Information

      Since you are contemplating a tourist-oriented business, you will be happy to know that there is a huge amount of information available. Most of this material is produced by various levels of government that are always trying to capture a larger piece of the lucrative tourist trade. To obtain market research information on your particular area, the following sources are suggested:

      (a) Provincial or state government travel offices:

      • Travel brochures

      • Accommodation listings (see list in Appendix 1)

      • Provincial or state tourism studies

      (b) Municipal government offices:

      • Local tourism studies

      • Seasonal visitor patterns

      • Traffic studies

      (c) Chamber of commerce:

      • Local business statistics

      • Tourist services available

      • Accommodations available

      (d) Nearby tourist attractions:

      • Attendance records

      • Types of visitors

      • Operating season

      (e) Local B&B associations:

      • Local competition

      • Styles of accommodation

      • Tariff structures

      (f) B&B guide books:

      • Styles of accommodations

      • Tariff structures

      • Services offered

      (g) B&B reservation services:

      • Listing and booking fees charged

      • Tariff structures

      • Average bookings placed in your area

      (h) Brochures from local B&Bs:

      •

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