Photo by Kim Elsasser
Lisa Olson 0916
With the real estate boom at its height and rentals at a premium, I’m wondering how many of you have thought of selling your home this year or renting out a downstairs suite or cabin on your property to vacationers? We’ve heard how much money can be made with nightly visitors and some of you have already taken the leap and built accommodations on your property and are now enjoying meeting new people from all over the world who also help add some extra income to your revenue streams.
I have given it some thought this year. I once had a B&B that came about when the local Chamber of Commerce was looking for extra rooms for an event, so I agreed to open up the lower level of my home. After that event was over, my name was still on the list and I ended up hosting two girls from Belgium for a month while they studied to become geologists. It was pretty fun and I enjoyed sharing my home and making sure they knew their way around town.
So as the saying goes, how do our ideas become a reality? What comes first, the idea, inspiration or happenstance? In the case of my B&B it was happenstance and I took action that said yes. There are many doors that open throughout our life; including who we meet, whom we marry, will we farm, open a winery and what businesses we work for or start up. Think about all the doors that have opened for you along the way or the ideas you might be thinking about right now. Are you going to take a leap of faith and jump right in or leave it up to happenstance?
In this issue, as with most of our articles, there is a common theme of inspiration and education we like to write about like people diversifying, new ideas and solutions to problems that you may encounter.
It’s harvest time, and hopefully you’ll have time for a little breathing room to explore some of your own new ideas and which doors you might want to open.
Enjoy the magazine and thank you for all you do for this industry!