Spelling!?
Oct 5th, 2008
Walden and Otto went out to the site with me today. Here they are helping saw up a fallen tree.
It reminded me of an exchange that has not yet happened:
Aaron: How was school today, Walden?
Walden: OK.
Aaron: Did they teach you how to make breakfast for 18 people, yet?
Walden: No, Dad. Still no lessons on breakfast prep.
Aaron: Have you told them that you are going to be innkeeper? What are they teaching you in this school?
Walden: I did well in spelling today.
Aaron: SPELLING?! Listen to me now, son: spelling is for kids who don’t know what they are going to be when they grow up.
The investment bankers in my life are aghast that I am building an inn. They see my nice, tidy, debt-free balance sheet and say, “Why would you want to take on debt to build an inn?”
To make a move like this, one must take the long view. When Warren Buffet buys a company, he tells the manager: “Run this company as if you own it and you are not allowed to sell it for 100 years.”
By this criterion, the inn is a no-brainer:
- The student’s experience is improved
- We get complete control over our schedule
- The value of the brand gets a boost from having a “Mecca”
- Assuming we teach many classes each year, we will lower our costs
- The raw book value of the company increases as we pay off our loan
- We get a recurring tax break as the buildings and furnishing depreciate over 39 years
- And, assuming it is successful, we should learn enough to replicate this success a dozen more times
However, I sometimes wonder if it is fair to put the whole family on the 100-year plan. Maybe Walden doesn’t want to be an innkeeper. I love him, and I want him to be able chose his own career.
So, I won’t stand in his way if he would rather be an instructor.
I’ve thought a bit about your situation and what risks you are realistically taking. Your arguments make a lot of sense and have also come to mind as I think about it. It especially strikes me how owning the venue will turn your scheduling and creative teaching ambitions to “quicksilver.”
A dead week in the schedule now means a dead week, because you have to make “economic sense” of your ambitions. But a dead week in your own venue while, oh, taking your kids’ picture to heart, means possibly doing something extremely unique and creative like a childrens computer sleepaway camp. There are so many more risks you’ll be able to take when you own and are “eating the cost” of the venue itself.
And at the end of the day, if Big Nerd Ranch fails (right!), you’ll have an improved property with inn-like characteristics. I’m sure you’ll find more prospective buyers of the land in that condition than there were previously.
Cute kids, by the way.
Daniel
Dibs on the innkeeper position if he doesn’t want it!
Seriously though, is there anything us citizens can do to help out? I have two hands I’m not doing anything particularly useful with right now, and I’m pretty sure I could pull a few weeds or lay a few bricks for a good cause.
I think Walden would make an excellent innkeeper. He loves meeting new people, has extraordinary communication skills, and already shows an aptitude for improving and repairing mechanical things.
I’d pencil in Otto for instructor – or he might decide to use the “back 40″ for something like launching his own satellites powered by some element that he will discover by age 9.
As for spellers – the world still needs ‘em. My kid’s school just hung a huge street-side banner with a prominently misspelled word. And didn’t take it down even after parents called to complain. Ay yay yay. I seriously doubt the school is directly responsible for the misspelling but couldn’t they at least put duct tape over the extra letter – would probably get more people to read the sign, too!
No matter what tomorrow will bring , I hope you business plan will succeed. I’m glad for you that you living your dream.
peace