Since the last post we have had a real push to accelerate the growth of Capsaicinoia. If we move to Scotland in the Autumn (fingers crossed) we need it to be ticking over nicely as we will be giving 99% of our attention to the Guest House business and it might be a little more difficult to promote and manage logistically due to the remote location.
We have decided that the best way to do this is to boost sales and promote the business at the same time by doing some Markets and Chilli Festivals throughout the summer.
We took a trip along to the Wellesbourne Airfield Market on the Easter Bank Holiday Monday.
http://www.wellesbournemarket.co.uk/
It was a dreary day, wet and windy and we probably did not see the market at its best. We had almost decided it was not for us when we stopped to chat to a couple of traders who ran a little gift shop in the Cotswolds and had decided to give the market a go. They felt it was well worth the money and gave us some helpful advice about how to go about it.
So, we got home and it was all steam ahead to get set-up for this and the Chilli Festivals that are happening all over the UK from May to September. Mike has put together a list of events that we want to attend and is gradually registering us for them all. The first will be the Eastnor Castle Chilli Festival on the 6th and 7th of May.
http://www.eastnorcastle.com/special_event.aspx?id=246
It's fair to say we are excited about this. Me especially much to Mike's irritation.
So what have we done to get ready for this? Well firstly we have seriously increased our stock levels in anticipation. A risky strategy as so far we have only sold a few bits and pieces to friends and family on the web-site. Fingers crossed it will pay-off.
We have also purchased a Heavy Duty Gazebo and two Tables, some new Business Cards, a Banner and some 10% off Promotional Flyers (from our local Printers who are brilliant!),
http://www.paperandprint.co.uk/
a Cash Box, some biodegradable bags, price labels, a receipt book, a cash book and a big calculator. Oh, and we have joined the Market Traders Federation to take advantage of their public liability insurance. Ready to go!!!!
http://www.nmtf.co.uk/
We have also been gradually expanding the product range as funds permit but they are running low until we make some serious sales. I managed to source and purchase some snazzy Chilli USB Sticks from a guy in China - that was good fun! Let's hope they are as good as they look when they arrive.
We have realised that to increase our turnover quickly we also need to increase the average price of our products as well as maximising profits. The main way we are going to tackle this is through the development of chilli lover Gift Boxes which will essentially be collections of our products in Large, Medium and Small boxes with varieties for Him and Her and in Mild Medium and Hot. That is our next project after we are ready for the festivals.
We have also, changed from postage being included in our prices to getting the customer to select a postal option of their choice and pay for it on top. This was largely due to the fact that including the postage in our prices made them appear high and the increase in the Royal Mail prices further exacerbated this issue - that was a bit of a slog sorting that one out but all done now. Phew...
So here's hoping we have a successful summer...................................We need Capsaicinoia to start making money, the house to sell and my shoulder surgery to happen soon and to go smoothly.
Friday 20 April 2012
Friday 6 April 2012
Back home at last.
March has been a truly crazy month! We got home on the 1st of April and yes, we have found the Guest House we want to buy. Hoorah!
Funnily enough the place we went to Scotland to see in the first place, Polcraig in Lochinvar, turned out to be the best one by a long way. It ticked all our boxes;
Funnily enough the place we went to Scotland to see in the first place, Polcraig in Lochinvar, turned out to be the best one by a long way. It ticked all our boxes;
- beautiful location, remote and rugged but with enough tourists and other visitors in terms of fishing, hiking and shooting to give a good occupancy rate over the year
- immaculate condition with 6 en suite letting rooms
- good price
- thriving business
- good owner accommodation
Essentially, we could walk in tomorrow and run it as it is with no problem and no need to change anything unless we really needed to or wanted to put our own stamp on the place in terms of decor etc.
We just need to sell the house now! We'll probably need a little commercial mortgage just to top it up but fingers crossed that will work out OK?!?
We just need to sell the house now! We'll probably need a little commercial mortgage just to top it up but fingers crossed that will work out OK?!?
Our last post was after the first week of the trip when we were really feeling very despondent, the weather was truly awful as were the businesses we visited. The towns we stayed in Fort William and Oban were also a little disappointing as we could not see ourselves living there. We'd almost decided Scotland and the whole B&B thing was not for us after all.
Things really began to change the day we left Oban to spend the weekend with my friend Jane in Inveraray. She is the Castle Manager and works for the Duke and Duchess of Argyll.
http://www.inveraray-castle.com/
We decided to forget the search for the B&B and just have a nice weekend. Mike had asked his Mum (she died many years ago but he believes she is always looking after him) to make the sun shine for us as a sign that we were doing the right thing and that Saturday was the start of a week long heatwave that saw the hottest temperatures in Scotland since 1957, coincidentally the year that Mike was born. We had a fantastic weekend in Inveraray great location, great pubs and restaurants and lovely people. We even saw a couple of businesses with real potential simply by chance! However, again they all had a few points that were just not quite right. Nevertheless, things were looking up and we began to to get our enthusiasm and positivity back.
After our rejuvenating weekend we headed back over to Edinburgh and, after a night in the Gordon Arms, picked up Mum and Dad to head north to Lochinver.
We broke the 5 hour journey in a place called Tomatin just north of Aviemore and Kingussie where we viewed another Guest House which was the most promising so far. It would have been perfect but for the location and the layout of some of the rooms and bathrooms. Things were still looking up.
At Tomatin we stayed at the Glenan Lodge Bed Breakfast http://www.glenanlodge.co.uk/ and visited the Distillary - much to the delight of Dad and Mike who both came a way with a bottle of 18 year old malt! http://www.tomatin.com/
We then headed up to Lochinver and had a wonderful couple of days there. After all the disappointment to was a delight to walk into Polcraig which is everything we are looking for and it felt good from the moment we arrived until the moment we left. Cathel is a darling and we really enjoyed his company. Mum and Dad had a great time too. Mums family came from this remote part of Scotland and we took them for a drive to see the house her mother grew up in. She'd love it if we bought Polcraig and Cathel has pretty much said the same. Fingers crossed!!!!! One of the highlights of this part of the trip was a visit to the Falls of Shin - Harrods comes to the Highlands and jumping salmon - thoroughly recommended! http://www.fallsofshin.co.uk/
We had made up our mind that we could find nothing better than Polcraig and cancelled all out other viewings. What followed was a whirlwind tour of Scotland with Mum and Dad.
First stop was Bonar Bridge and while we were there we spend a day having lunch with some old friends of Mike's who live near Beauly. We also spent a day driving up to John O'Groats just because we could. We spent a night in Forres while Mum and Dad visited some friends. Their friend Gordon has had Motor Neurone Disease since 2006 and meeting him was one of the most memorable moments of the trip - a truly inspiring man. If he can be positive and live life to the full every single day then there is absolutely no excuse for the rest of us!
From Forres we headed to Aberdeen for a few days where we stayed at the home of some other friends of Mum and Dad who kindly let us use their house while they were in Australia. This was a couple of days of memories and nostalgia for me visiting my old school and teenage haunts. By now the weather was unbelievable and we spent a morning on the beautiful beach at Balmedie in short sleeves. We would have been in sandals of we had brought them with us!!!
We then headed back to Edinburgh and spent a couple of days with another old friend of Mike's in Newington. While we were there we visited the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens and had a great night out at a Karine Polwart http://www.karinepolwart.com/ concert in the Greyfriars Kirk. We walked the length of the Royal Mile, a favourite pastime of ours before heading down to Leith where we had dinner and spent the night with my cousin Bill and his partner Ken before picking Mum and Dad up again and heading for home via Harrogate.
The trip ended with a fantastic weekend in Harrogate at my sisters where we celebrated Mum and Dad's 55th Wedding Anniversary and I was reunited with Fiona who has returned from Oz for a 3 week holiday before going back for her second and possibly final year there. The whole family were there, both my sisters and their children and both my two Fiona and Matthew. Mike's children were also all expected but all except Michael had to cancel at the last minute which was a little disappointing.
What a mad month! It is great to get home although it has been hard to settle after such a long time away and also to not have had the house to ourselves after a tiring trip. At the same time it has been wonderful to spend time with Fi after a year apart and we have done all the Mother Daughter things together like bra shopping and catching up with East Enders. I think Mike has found it a little irritating....
Two other things to mention before finishing this very long post!!!
We have bought a car! We have gone for a Nissan X-Trail as we have been advised that we will need a 4 wheel drive for Lochinver and we are planning to do some markets and festivals this summer with Capsaicinoia and will need a large boot for transporting stock and equipment.
Finally, Capsaicinoia is officially open and stocked with a full range of products - just waiting for our first proper sale now..........
Things really began to change the day we left Oban to spend the weekend with my friend Jane in Inveraray. She is the Castle Manager and works for the Duke and Duchess of Argyll.
http://www.inveraray-castle.com/
We decided to forget the search for the B&B and just have a nice weekend. Mike had asked his Mum (she died many years ago but he believes she is always looking after him) to make the sun shine for us as a sign that we were doing the right thing and that Saturday was the start of a week long heatwave that saw the hottest temperatures in Scotland since 1957, coincidentally the year that Mike was born. We had a fantastic weekend in Inveraray great location, great pubs and restaurants and lovely people. We even saw a couple of businesses with real potential simply by chance! However, again they all had a few points that were just not quite right. Nevertheless, things were looking up and we began to to get our enthusiasm and positivity back.
After our rejuvenating weekend we headed back over to Edinburgh and, after a night in the Gordon Arms, picked up Mum and Dad to head north to Lochinver.
We broke the 5 hour journey in a place called Tomatin just north of Aviemore and Kingussie where we viewed another Guest House which was the most promising so far. It would have been perfect but for the location and the layout of some of the rooms and bathrooms. Things were still looking up.
At Tomatin we stayed at the Glenan Lodge Bed Breakfast http://www.glenanlodge.co.uk/ and visited the Distillary - much to the delight of Dad and Mike who both came a way with a bottle of 18 year old malt! http://www.tomatin.com/
We then headed up to Lochinver and had a wonderful couple of days there. After all the disappointment to was a delight to walk into Polcraig which is everything we are looking for and it felt good from the moment we arrived until the moment we left. Cathel is a darling and we really enjoyed his company. Mum and Dad had a great time too. Mums family came from this remote part of Scotland and we took them for a drive to see the house her mother grew up in. She'd love it if we bought Polcraig and Cathel has pretty much said the same. Fingers crossed!!!!! One of the highlights of this part of the trip was a visit to the Falls of Shin - Harrods comes to the Highlands and jumping salmon - thoroughly recommended! http://www.fallsofshin.co.uk/
We had made up our mind that we could find nothing better than Polcraig and cancelled all out other viewings. What followed was a whirlwind tour of Scotland with Mum and Dad.
First stop was Bonar Bridge and while we were there we spend a day having lunch with some old friends of Mike's who live near Beauly. We also spent a day driving up to John O'Groats just because we could. We spent a night in Forres while Mum and Dad visited some friends. Their friend Gordon has had Motor Neurone Disease since 2006 and meeting him was one of the most memorable moments of the trip - a truly inspiring man. If he can be positive and live life to the full every single day then there is absolutely no excuse for the rest of us!
From Forres we headed to Aberdeen for a few days where we stayed at the home of some other friends of Mum and Dad who kindly let us use their house while they were in Australia. This was a couple of days of memories and nostalgia for me visiting my old school and teenage haunts. By now the weather was unbelievable and we spent a morning on the beautiful beach at Balmedie in short sleeves. We would have been in sandals of we had brought them with us!!!
We then headed back to Edinburgh and spent a couple of days with another old friend of Mike's in Newington. While we were there we visited the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens and had a great night out at a Karine Polwart http://www.karinepolwart.com/ concert in the Greyfriars Kirk. We walked the length of the Royal Mile, a favourite pastime of ours before heading down to Leith where we had dinner and spent the night with my cousin Bill and his partner Ken before picking Mum and Dad up again and heading for home via Harrogate.
The trip ended with a fantastic weekend in Harrogate at my sisters where we celebrated Mum and Dad's 55th Wedding Anniversary and I was reunited with Fiona who has returned from Oz for a 3 week holiday before going back for her second and possibly final year there. The whole family were there, both my sisters and their children and both my two Fiona and Matthew. Mike's children were also all expected but all except Michael had to cancel at the last minute which was a little disappointing.
What a mad month! It is great to get home although it has been hard to settle after such a long time away and also to not have had the house to ourselves after a tiring trip. At the same time it has been wonderful to spend time with Fi after a year apart and we have done all the Mother Daughter things together like bra shopping and catching up with East Enders. I think Mike has found it a little irritating....
Two other things to mention before finishing this very long post!!!
We have bought a car! We have gone for a Nissan X-Trail as we have been advised that we will need a 4 wheel drive for Lochinver and we are planning to do some markets and festivals this summer with Capsaicinoia and will need a large boot for transporting stock and equipment.
Finally, Capsaicinoia is officially open and stocked with a full range of products - just waiting for our first proper sale now..........
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