: I have had an idea of having a Bed & Breakfast Kayak shop here where I
: live in the 1000 Islands in NY. I have a pretty good sized wood working
: shop, large enough for 2 or 3 kayaks to be built at once. I have taught a
: couple of boat building classes before. I'm just thinking about it at this
: point, but any feedback would be appreciated. Pamela Watson

It is easy to make a small fortune in your own business. Just start with a large fortune.

I spent a week last summer thinking of doing the same thing, but the numbers never worked out right. I'd end up spending too many hours cooking and running the inn, and that would not leave me enough time to build and teach.

Here are some of the things I was thinking about. Some of the topics don't have solutions or conclusions -- they were just ideas that came to me at the time.

Since your classes would be all day you would want to serve three meals and perhaps some snacks. That is a lot more cooking than just making breakfasts.

You would want to be able to house about a dozen people, as you would typically have 60 percent of your clientele interested in building, and 40% (spouses,kids or companions) interested in something else. So you also have to provide the something else.

You'll want to build up a fleet of about six to a dozen kayaks and/or canoes for rent to the general public, or for the use of your guests. After a day of building they would certainly like a quiet evening on the water in a boat similar to the one they are making. If you build a boat for your business at the front of the class, after 6 classes you are there.

After you've made a dozen, sell off the oldest ones at a cheaper price, (they are used) and every other new one you make. The one you don't sell goes into the rental fleet. This way you keep your rental fleet looking nice, and put a few of your boats into the local market at reasonable prices, starting a demand for the new ones, and establishing a base price. For example, if you sell a used one for $800 and a new one is $1000, then the buyer of the new one has the expectation that he can eventually sell it to someone for $800.

Make some small sailboats (stitch and glue?) for rental. You might later want to have a class on building other boats than kayaks, and small, car-top sailboats are a possiblity. So are rowboats and dories. If the water near you is calm, pedalboats can be considered. People who won't go in a canoe or kayak might go in a rowboat, but more likely will go in a pedal boat.

You may find a couple who want to make one boat, and later they want a second boat, but they don't want to take the time to build it. (They've been there and done that) This is an ideal customer for one of your boats.

Shop around at police auctions and flea markets for serviceable bicycles and buy up 10 to 20. Clean them up and rent them out. Get adult and kid sized ones.

Unless you can book a class for most weeks you'll need additional income. If you have some land, put in a miniature golf course.

Buy your own vending machines and stock them with soda you buy by the case at the local grocery store.

Carry a line of basic fishing tackle and arrange to sell fishing licenses. You cna rent out rods and reels, and sell bait. Renting cane poles with lines, hooks, sinkers and bobbers for a dollar or two a day is almost pure profit, and the kids can go nuts yanking out panfish. For a set price you can clean and cook the fish for the kid's dinner! Arrange with local kids to supply you with worms, nightcrawlers or minnows for bait. Or raise your own worms next to a compost heap. The hardware store near me has a vending machine that sells containers of worms. I've seen similar ones elsewhere. The profit margin is great, but the revenue is small.

If you ever get used to the idea of working 14-16 hour days you'll probably be able to make a go of such a concern, but it is going to be a lot of work. A B&B without a kayak class is a job all by itself. Adding the classes can be a tremendous drain on your health. You'll probably need to hire part-time help for many of the chores, even though this cuts deeply into your profits. If you have a spouse and several teenage kids to carry most of the work load (at no wages) you stand a better chance of success.

Insurance costs can kill ya slowly. Not having insurance can kill ya quickly.

Do NOT have a swimming area. If you have one you'll have to have a lifeguard. If there is no designated swimming area, and you discourage swimming on your waterfront then you'll have fewer problems. If people want to swim in the middle of the lake by jumping out of a boat you've rented them, well, at least you warned them. Doesn't mean they won't sue you, but at least you'll have some defense.

Hope these rambling thoughts are of some interest. Check with the Small Business Administration for any brochures and booklets you can get. (They have a lot) you can glean a lot of information on creating a business plan and estimating costs and financing needs. 50% of small businesses fail in the first year and 90% of small businesses fail in 5 years. The biggest cause of failure is under financing. When money gets tight, as much as you may love building, teaching, and running a B&B, once you make a business out of it -- a business that you need in order to provide you with an income -- then the fun hobby can become just a job.

Remember "profit" is not a dirty word. and making a large profit (and saving it) should be an objective during good times, because bad times will eventually arrive and you'll need to live off your savings.

Hope this helps.

PGJ