What an amazing journey the last 7 months have been. From uprooting our family and moving to this amazing seaside community to tearing down and rebuilding this little motel - there's not been one day we've regretted our decision.
We are so proud of the way the motel is coming together. The rooms are bright and airy, but so comfortable. Today (April 9) is our official opening and we can't wait to welcome and meet our first guests.
Last weekend we celebrated with a small grand opening PJ party. We had the pleasure of hosting some of Sheet Harbour, Port Dufferin and Harrington Cove's finest members to help us with a test run of the motel. And I'm happy to report, outside of a missing light bulb and some issues with our bath faucets not working properly, we passed with flying colours! (YAY us). We also got some really great suggestions to improve guest experience.
For all those of you reading this that may be contemplating opening or starting a small business, I don't want to lead you on that everything is perfect and easy. While we've made amazing progress (with LOTS of help!) we've also been met with some challenges. First off, everything takes twice as long and is twice as expensive than you plan for. Second, you have so many ideas and thoughts at any given time, that you easily become distracted and then nothing really gets done. Third, there's always more on the to do list than you have hours to check them off. And did I mention that everything is more expensive than you thought?
When we moved here we had planned for 6 months of renovations. We're on month 7. We've opened on time and we're getting lots of attention. But to be transparent with anyone out there contemplating anything remotely similar, it gets scary watching your life savings dwindle and not making an income. Having said that, I've never felt more at peace or joyful than I do today. And you can't put a price tag on that! My advice is: Do it. Life is short. But be prepared for challenges, whatever they may be.
We still have so many plans for this place. From building our events plan (movie nights, weddings, campfire evenings...) to opening up a food and beverage option for our guests and the local community, the list of ideas is endless. And we are so excited to see the next stages of our plan come to life. I hope you continue to follow along as we navigate the next part of this wild journey. I'm sure we're in for a ton of fun.
Cheryl
P.S. If you haven't booked your stay...what the heck are you waiting for?