Friday, June 05, 2009

Bold One-Woman Business Idea

A photographer I know, Artie Dixon, is offering her beautiful second home in the North Carolina mountains for week-long vacations for girlfriends--with tour guide to the sites of the area. So no maps, planning, or GPS is required.

The art-filled 1939 house in Little Switzerland is called Sky Blue, and its stone patio opens onto wide mountain vistas.

Three upcoming weeks have themes: Mountain Crafts, Greek Cooking (Artie's maiden name was Markatos), and Learning Photography. The area also has much to see and do: Penland School of Crafts, riding, hiking, waterfalls, the very groovy town of Asheville, Blue Ridge Parkway, the nearby mountain village.

The house is available for conventional rentals. But planned themed weeks with guide is a new twist. I like the idea and the enterprise involved.

It reminds me of my businessman father who turned his own outgrown tuxedos into a formal wear rental business that eventually wholesaled throughout the Southeast.

The questions to ask oneself in order to do something similar are:

*what do I have?
*what do I know?
*what can I offer?
*what do I have to offer that others need?







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