They say "do not ever go into business with your friends," but what about your own mother?
It was last May when we decided to embark upon this amazing new journey, and even though this B&B has been on our radar for over a year now.... neither of us were quite prepared for all of the things we were about to experience.
So here we are, after a few minor set backs, we are now able to share some of the craziness we have gone through while trying to work as a team. A 23 year old daughter who has been a competitive athlete most of her life and a nurturing and caring mother who has always been able to create a warm and welcoming place wherever she goes. The two of us tend to describe ourselves as a mother-daughter dream team, and that we are.... Most of the time lol
The Good:
When we choose to work as a team, we build off each other in almost every situation. Sometimes it is the little things that we have to remember to do, like reminding each other that it is important to eat throughout the day and not just focus on cleaning the house. Other times we back off and stick to our own rooms of the house when we realize that space is a necessary thing when running a business with high demands of time and energy. Either way, it is such a good feeling to be involved in business with someone who truly knows when to pour a glass of water versus a glass of wine. We know how to take care of each other in this business and to me that is one of the best things you could ever ask for in a friend, mother or in this case, as a business partner.
Not to mention we are quite compatible as business partners, what one person lacks the other thrives in. When I think the house is perfectly clean and ready to go, Cathy comes around and finds a crumb. Yet when Cathy feels we need the hedges trimmed, it takes less then a minute for me to be outside fighting off the odd mosquito and making our yard look at tidy as can be. From landscaping, to making beds, to creating our own brand of wine, to experimenting with many different breakfast dishes, the two of us together have created such a positive work space and that makes this an amazing business opportunity.
The Bad:
Now not that there are truly any bad things about working with Cathy, but to have the truth be told, there have been a few challenges. When you move half way across the country at 18 years old to spread your wings and fly, then after four years of independence, you move back in with your mother and you also open a business together.... it means a lot of seconds, minutes, hours and days spent together. Now 99.9% of these hours have been spent together with smiles, laughs and hugs... Lots of hugs...
But for those who are curious about that 0.1%, well the truth is we are two different people. Cathy is extremely organized, detail oriented and in my eyes, she is the interior designer. She creates the pretty within the rooms with personal touches such as flowers and chocolates. I however am the one who loves to build and repair things. She will order lovely pieces and I'll put them together. We work out well there, except my eye does not notice the extra details that tend to make things pretty. So when Cathy will say we need more flowers, I will typically say "but we already have so many." This has probably been the only challenge we face, when Cathy wants to add more personal details, I tend to believe the rooms already look beautiful. When this continuously happens again and again and again, it can become quite challenging to make any decisions. Now that being said, I have loved everything that we have added, and I have learned that sometimes rooms do need a dash of colour to make it feel more alive. At first it may have been hard to swallow my pride, but I have since learned that when it comes to decorating, Cathy has an eye for it.
The Craziness:
If you know the two of us, you will know that we love having smiles on our faces. When you haven't lived with someone for quite some time and then are surrounded with them basically all the time, true colours tend to shine. Our colours shine so brightly when we turn the volume up with Tina Turner blasting in the kitchen, this is where we begin to release our charismatic soul and we run around with wooden spoons as microphones. To the normal person, we truly do look crazy, but to us we are just living in the moment. The other moment where we have had to take a step back down to reality is when our first guests had checked out. Cathy and I were like two kids on christmas morning, running up the stairs as fast as we could to see how the bedrooms were left and if there was a message left in the guest book (there was, incase you are wondering). Overall, the two of us may be viewed as crazy if we had a camera on us, but we are just a mother-daughter dream team creating a business day by day.
Although we do have our moments, at the end of the day, running a business with my mom, has been one of the most amazing and unique experiences. From having our inside cleaning jokes to singing in the kitchen, to having wine with our guests, these last few months have been just wonderful. We thank you for taking the time to read this, please stay tuned and keep checking in with us.
Have a beautiful day,
Kelly & Cathy
www.TobasBnB.com