Sorely disappointed that the property we visited in CT was completely unsuitable for our plans and then coming to Narragansett, RI to see something that was a hundred times more unsuitable put a damper on our vacation mood. Being optimists (or stark raving lunatics depending on who you talk to) we shrugged it off and moved on to a well deserved break.
Returning to humid Houston reminded us of how much it was time to continue planning for a different future. Since we didn't have any other properties to visit I decided to do a fake business plan for the Narragansett dump. As a Social Worker I had been involved in writing grant proposals to fund various projects. Essentially a a grant proposal and a business plan are the same thing. Both involve extensive research, numbers crunching, projections, budgets, and a lot of time. The main difference is that you don't have to justify the moral and social impacts of your loan application to sway a bank officer. Cookies and muffins will suffice.
So after a few weeks of calling Narragansett town hall, the state Health Department, other B&B owners in the area, and lots of time on a very primitive computer (circa 1986) I had a plan.
Surprisingly, the business plan said to buy it, fix it and eventually live comfortably.
After months of negotiations with the owners and bankers we finally owned the property. Burning all our bridges behind us we loaded up the first truck of furniture and headed North. I'd say we never looked back but that would be a stretch since Dave was to stay in Houston for the first few months while I started on the renovations.
And so the Gulag era began...
Returning to humid Houston reminded us of how much it was time to continue planning for a different future. Since we didn't have any other properties to visit I decided to do a fake business plan for the Narragansett dump. As a Social Worker I had been involved in writing grant proposals to fund various projects. Essentially a a grant proposal and a business plan are the same thing. Both involve extensive research, numbers crunching, projections, budgets, and a lot of time. The main difference is that you don't have to justify the moral and social impacts of your loan application to sway a bank officer. Cookies and muffins will suffice.
So after a few weeks of calling Narragansett town hall, the state Health Department, other B&B owners in the area, and lots of time on a very primitive computer (circa 1986) I had a plan.
Surprisingly, the business plan said to buy it, fix it and eventually live comfortably.
After months of negotiations with the owners and bankers we finally owned the property. Burning all our bridges behind us we loaded up the first truck of furniture and headed North. I'd say we never looked back but that would be a stretch since Dave was to stay in Houston for the first few months while I started on the renovations.
And so the Gulag era began...
