When you enter the world of bed and breakfast you are entering what is now popularly call a ‘lifestyle’ business.  It is not everyone’s cup of tea! There are certain recognized character traits you will need to be successful running a B&B.  Below are seven of those traits which is has been proved you will need to achieve any degree of business success. The more times you can answer yes, with your hand of your heart, to any of the questions below the more successful you will be in this unique industry.

I am a self-starter.

You need to know that the buck stops with you!  If you work for yourself and you don’t do it, most likely, nobody else will! The ‘up’ side of this approach to running your own business is the enormous amount of satisfaction gained from doing it for yourself, the ‘down’ side is on a cold and grey day if you have scheduled a task to complete it is down to you to do it, no matter what!  Are you a self-starter?

I’m cheerful!

You are entering quite literally the world of ‘show’ business, and guess what no matter what happens the ‘show must go on’. The question is can you remain cheerful no matter what happens during the performance?  If you can smile and laugh in the face of adversity great if not, well…..nobody really likes a sad host do they? Are you cheerful?

I enjoy serving others.

Do you really?  I actually do get a buzz out of looking after people.  I also know from my own experience that I am not like a lot of other service providers in my attitude. You need to be happy and comfortable being in a service role. So will you be happy ‘serving?’

I’m tolerant and patient.

On a bad day when the drains block, the electricity goes off and the dog gets sick you’ll need both of these attributes in abundance!  Equally in your normal working day when you talk to clients on the telephone, suppliers making deliveries, and the Environmental Health Officer making his annual unannounced spot check you will need to show some tolerance and a little patience. Can you?

I like variety!

Everyone I suspect likes a little variety in their lives, but if you are the sort of person who likes to sit down at a desk and get on with something without interruption then you will not welcome the constant sometimes incessant interruptions to your work you get when running a B&B.  Can you gleefully pick up the ‘phone and answer the caller with a positive and welcoming response when you have just lost the total to a set of figures you have been working on for the last two hours?

I am practical.

Repairs and renewals, painting and decorating, weeding and gardening, all ‘practical’ projects you will have to manage and indeed work on.  So do you know what colour the live wire is in the kettle lead, how to prepare a surface for painting or what will control weeds in path? If you do, great, the times when the local handyman calls will be few and far between if not you had better re-adjust your business plan to allow for frequent maintenance visits. Are you practical?

I am persistent
I don’t think anyone would want you to exhibit the same kind of persistence as Thomas Edison when he conducted 10,000 experiments before creating the light bulb we use today BUT you will need, on certain business matters, to become persistent and develop this characteristic as a new skill.  Can you be really persistent?

You need of course to marry all the above to loads of other skills but if you can honestly answer yes to all (nearly) the above continue your search for your ideal B&B because when it comes to running it you have exactly the right talent base!

Good luck