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Do I have to do the laundry myself?
Laundry -
you will need to decide how you will cope with the laundering of your sheets, pillow cases,
duvet covers, towels, bath mats and tablecloths. Broadly speaking there are three alternatives.
a) Do it yourself -
this means you will be purchasing all the stock and replacing it as and when necessary.
It may also be advantageous to have a steam press to help with the ironing of the sheets etc.
Where do I get Credit Card facilities from?
Credit Card Facilities:
Whilst on the subject of Finance you will need to seriously consider applying for credit card
facilities and certainly if you have more than a couple of letting rooms it must be an essential
requirement.
The reason is your guests could have bills from $30 - $200 or so and from your point of view you
do not want to be taking cheques over the cheque guarantee limit without sufficient time to clear
them before your guest leaves!! So you are left with the guest finding cash or
... the credit card.
How do I produce a Business Plan and what is a Cash flow forecast?
Cash flow forecasts:
This is the other important set of paperwork you will need to go with your business plan -
it should be a REALISTIC view in monetary terms of how you see the business progressing month
by month.
This is very important because if it is done in depth it will highlight for you where any cash
problems are likely to occur and enable you to plan around them or make provision for them.
In addition, it provides your lender with an indication of how he's going to get repaid!
Your cash flow forecast should at least cover your first year's trading and naturally if you're
taking over an existing business you will have a firm basis for your forecast using the sets of
accounts you'll receive from the current owner.
How many rooms do you have to let?
A large house is great for B&B, but even if you only have a two-bedroom house - one for you and
one for your guests - you can do B&B successfully. Simply choose as many rooms as you feel you can
manage to maintain and a number of guests you can easily look after.
Will you offer only B&B?
You might like to maximise the wonderful scenery and walking in your area by arranging special
guided walks, or trips to historic places. Or you may simply want to give a room and breakfast
and leave it at that. I would always advise people new to B&B to leave dinner out and give your
guests a list of good pubs and restaurants in the area. Cooking an evening meal is very restricting
even for the most enthusiastic cook - remember there is a lot of time needed for preparation,
serving and washing up.
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