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Post by Citygirl on Sept 1, 2021 22:37:22 GMT
A local women who has been operating a weekend retreat business in my area since 1995 is retiring and wants to sell her business. I’m intrigued.
Has anyone ever done this. Is it worthwhile?
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Post by ScrapbookMyLife on Sept 2, 2021 8:30:23 GMT
I personally, don't think it's a good investment.
Prices on everything are rising, meaning the costs of the hotel rooms, airbnb, bed & breakfast, etc... food costs (if meals are included) will likely be higher.
Perhaps this is why the current owner is retiring???
Has the current increase in prices overall and overhead costs to host the retreat, affected the revenue for the current hostess?
There is no guarentee that past "groups of cutomers" will continue to patronize the retreat once ownership changes hands.
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MDscrapaholic
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,631
Location: Down by the bay....
Jun 25, 2014 20:49:07 GMT
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Post by MDscrapaholic on Sept 2, 2021 11:24:25 GMT
Have you asked to review her books for the last couple years? That would give you an idea of what income/expenses are.
To me, this would be a fun job! But as a scrapbooker, I think it would take the fun out of scrapping because I would have to "work" instead of just scrapping!
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Post by Citygirl on Sept 2, 2021 13:35:29 GMT
So she is retiring and moving out of state.
Her events are not just for scrapbookers but any crafters.
She charges a fee $80/pp for the event coordination, set up, bringing in vendors, etc. The attendees are responsible for booking their own rooms at the hotel and there is a food sharing table which she coordinates. This is quite different than the retreat I regularly attend where we pay the hosts all costs upfront then they pay the hotel and all meals are catered by the facility.
I inquired and she basically told me what she is selling: her business name & website, 1500 person email list, her organization tools and tips, her seniority status at the hotel resort for events, and an hour of her time to go over everything for $2000.
I responded that I would need to know a lot more about the financials, earning potential, average event size, if she needs help during events etc.. before making any investment.
Yes nothing is guaranteed. That is true of anything. I don’t think I would run it the same way as she does. Her events have a lot of activities going on. It is unlikely I would pursue it but I do think there is a market for such events. She has been doing them for 26 years and the one I regularly attend is celebrating their 20th anniversary and they almost always sell out. No, I don’t think anyone got rich off of hosting scrapbook retreats. I also think it would be fun initially but that would eventually fade.
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Post by scrapperal on Sept 2, 2021 16:37:05 GMT
I have no idea what the business is worth, but I don't think an hour is enough time. Maybe it would be if you had time to review everything first (after buying the business) and then bombard her with questions in that one hour.
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Post by Citygirl on Sept 2, 2021 16:51:03 GMT
I have no idea what the business is worth, but I don't think an hour is enough time. Maybe it would be if you had time to review everything first (after buying the business) and then bombard her with questions in that one hour. I agree. |
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Post by myboysnme on Sept 2, 2021 22:09:58 GMT
I go to retreats and know 3 people who do run them. The one I really love arranges for the hotel rooms and the crop space and we pay about $175 for a shared room for 3 nights. It includes breakfast by the hotel nd 2 other meals, a lunch and a breakfast.
Another one the rate includes all meals provided by the venue.
Her set up puts a little more on me than I want to deal with, so if you buy it perhaps consider changing things up to make things more convenient.
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Post by Citygirl on Sept 2, 2021 23:37:52 GMT
myboysnme Totally. I’ve attended a lot of different retreats over the years and ones where I had to do the least as an attendee were my favorite, especially in regards to food. I also wonder the longevity of the business if the hobby isn’t attracting younger demographics.
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Post by robinm on Sept 3, 2021 4:58:22 GMT
I have helped run a few three day retreats.
We had to spend a certain amount on catered food to get the event space at a good price. Hotels are pricey - even with the Covid slowdown. They charge 22% tax plus sales tax and one other one I don’t remember.
The last one we did their catering wasn’t open for what we wanted. They were going to charge us $13 per person for a box lunch. They didn’t tell us that until less than a week before the event. We ended up paying more for the space and found catering on our own.
If you do buy her business I would check into her contracts at the event space.
Good luck. Let us know how it goes.
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amom23
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,442 
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Post by amom23 on Sept 4, 2021 16:54:40 GMT
I've never even been to a retreat at a hotel, but it does sound like fun! I'm sure it would really depend on where you live if you could continue to make it a viable business if you took over for the current person.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,449
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Post by scrapnnana on Sept 6, 2021 2:39:50 GMT
Just based on what I have seen at the last several Scrapbook Expos that I attended, paper crafting is diminishing, not increasing. I realize that it is not just paper crafting, but I really wonder how you would make it appeal to a wide range of crafters.
Also, with the Delta variant making even many vaccinated people sick, I wonder whether you could get a decent turnout anytime soon. Last year, events were cancelled because of COVID, and many people didn’t get their money back, based on what I heard.
Decades ago, my economics professor once told our class, “Investments are a gamble. Only invest money you can afford to lose.” My experiences have convinced me that he knew what he was talking about.
The email list and her business name could be worth it, if you think doing retreats will be profitable enough to make it worthwhile, but if you have never owned your own business, be aware that they are a ton of work and worry, and sometimes you are lucky just to break even. BTDT.
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Post by scrapperal on Sept 6, 2021 4:55:55 GMT
Just based on what I have seen at the last several Scrapbook Expos that I attended, paper crafting is diminishing, not increasing. I realize that it is not just paper crafting, but I really wonder how you would make it appeal to a wide range of crafters. Also, with the Delta variant making even many vaccinated people sick, I wonder whether you could get a decent turnout anytime soon. Last year, events were cancelled because of COVID, and many people didn’t get their money back, based on what I heard. Decades ago, my economics professor once told our class, “Investments are a gamble. Only invest money you can afford to lose.” My experiences have convinced me that he knew what he was talking about. The email list and her business name could be worth it, if you think doing retreats will be profitable enough to make it worthwhile, but if you have never owned your own business, be aware that they are a ton of work and worry, and sometimes you are lucky just to break even. BTDT. I attend a no-frills crop once in a while. Usually there are a few people with sewing machines. Last year, one lady was making masks and selling them as she was finishing them. At a previous crop, someone was painting those wood pieces that you put together. Her paint did not give off strong fumes, otherwise I would have said something. Even though the organizer calls it a crop (since it was originally for scrapbookers), she tries to be all craft inclusive. |
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Post by myboysnme on Sept 8, 2021 15:03:14 GMT
I went to a crop where people were sewing and the incessant machine noise was awful. Sewing machines are like noisy die cut machines when they just add to the cacophony.
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pancakes
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,002
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Post by pancakes on Sept 8, 2021 15:48:25 GMT
So she is retiring and moving out of state. Her events are not just for scrapbookers but any crafters. She charges a fee $80/pp for the event coordination, set up, bringing in vendors, etc. The attendees are responsible for booking their own rooms at the hotel and there is a food sharing table which she coordinates. This is quite different than the retreat I regularly attend where we pay the hosts all costs upfront then they pay the hotel and all meals are catered by the facility. I inquired and she basically told me what she is selling: her business name & website, 1500 person email list, her organization tools and tips, her seniority status at the hotel resort for events, and an hour of her time to go over everything for $2000. I responded that I would need to know a lot more about the financials, earning potential, average event size, if she needs help during events etc.. before making any investment. Yes nothing is guaranteed. That is true of anything. I don’t think I would run it the same way as she does. Her events have a lot of activities going on. It is unlikely I would pursue it but I do think there is a market for such events. She has been doing them for 26 years and the one I regularly attend is celebrating their 20th anniversary and they almost always sell out. No, I don’t think anyone got rich off of hosting scrapbook retreats. I also think it would be fun initially but that would eventually fade. Only looking at this from a business lens: - This is just an event planning business. - Business name and website could be worth something if they are recognizable and well done. - 1,500 person email list is not large. I actually think that's pretty tiny. If it's 1,500 ENGAGED customers, that's another story...but I doubt it. - Her tools/tips could be worthwhile, as is her time. - Seniority status...I don't know how important that is. As someone who has done events as volunteer work AND for work, it can be helpful from a pricing standpoint, but a lot of times, you can negotiate with venues pretty hard (as long as it's not a wedding, haha). This could be super valuable, but I would need to know more. And I would require written guarantees from the hotels as their staff turns over quickly and I wouldn't want a hotel's events manager to leave and your "status" there is worth nothing. I, too, would ask for her books. $2,000 isn't a bad price if everything checks out. |
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Post by sleepingbooty on Sept 8, 2021 16:53:11 GMT
Business name and website could be worth something if they are recognizable and well done. Exactly. What's her brand awareness and visibility right now? Is she, the owner, essentially the brand (if so, it complicates loyalty after buyout much more complicated) or does it stand on its legs? 1,500 person email list is not large. I actually think that's pretty tiny. If it's 1,500 ENGAGED customers, that's another story...but I doubt it. I'm not well versed in SB events but 1500 isn't much, listen to pancakes , but again, what's the engagement and how can you verify said engagement? Is there social media to track and verify? Is this more of an old style word-of-mouth business? What I'm reading here is that you're going to need time to figure out how to check everything since this a one-person niche business operating in a less easily verifiable environment, away from social media being the main promotion vehicle. I just don't know if 1h with the current owner is going to be enough to go through the final checklist you'll be left with since she's the one and only pillar the business appears to rely on. This worries me. I understand $2000 isn't a big investment but 1h seems so very little me. I feel like you'll be walked through rudimentary use of Mailchimp and the password list.  |
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Post by workingclassdog on Sept 9, 2021 16:33:13 GMT
I used to but it wasn't a business.. I just arranged it all... no money made by me. I gathered the money and paid the fees and all that, arranged meals and got the room... but the cost was the cost of the event. (and mine were all pretty small)...
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