Bed and Breakfast Entrepreneurs

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You have to have washing powder, surface cleaners, bleach etc. anyway.  I first came across ‘anyway money’ in a book by Price (2005), entitled ‘Household Gold’. He talks about the fact that all households have household equity in the shape of  washing powder, cleaning supplies, vitamins, supplements, make up and beauty products which you have to keep buying anyway.

He likens household equity to equity in your home which can be leveraged for investment properties, development of your B&B business etc.  Just as a lot of people are unaware of the potential finance which they have locked up in their own home, so people are generally unaware of the money locked up in their household equity.  They give their ‘anyway money’ to the large supermarket chains who become wealthier at their expense.

This is not only true for private households but even more so for a Bed and Breakfast business where you probably double the amount of washing powder, surface cleaners, bleach etc. of any private household in no time at all.  Even if you buy wholesale from a supplier of cleaning products you are giving them your ‘anyway money’. 

So what does this mean?  It means the possibility of forming your own co-operative with other B&B owners and making savings for everyone across the board or utilising a ready made co-operative.  I have joined Network 21 as a co-operative and found the purchase of concentrated washing powder Amway SA8 and surface cleaners an excellent savings.

Let’s look at the details.  3 kg of concentrated SA8 gives you approximately 250 washes if you use it correctly with the scoop provided.  You can compare this with a popular brand from the supermarket such as Omo. 3 kg. of SA8 is equivalent to 15 packets of Omo (1kg.) because of its concentrated form. Today’s price of 1 kg of Omo is $5.98 (as of 10/12/07 at Woolworth, Springwood, Qld.) whereas today’s price of 3 kg. of concentrated SA8 is $68.95.  If 3 kg. of SA8 costing $68.95 is equivalent to 15 packets of Omo costing $5.98 x 15 = $89.70, a saving of  $20.75 is made using SA8.

I joined the network and have been purchasing concentrated products through Amway ever since.  It provides you with a double win; not only is it cheaper because you get more washes due to its concentrated nature but you are able to claim the cost against tax.  What other benefits does it give?

SA8 powder is biodegradable which means it is safe to water your garden and plants with.  Some people in Queensland are finding that their grey water can actually finish off their prize blooms.  It cannot be the water component so I suspect it must be the washing powder;

It makes your clothes, washing machine and the guest sheets smell fresh;

On a front loading washing machine you save two thirds of a scoop in comparison to washing with a standard top loading machine, more on a bigger load;

It is delivered to the door of your business.

We have started a small co-operative of likeminded B & B owners in the Brisbane and Mt Tamborine areas.  We hope to add to these numbers in Queensland, the rest of Australia and eventually in other parts of the world.  Please write in if you wish to join and I will forward the vision, mission and values statement for the co-operative.

References

Price, S.W. (2005).  Household Gold:  How to convert Household Expenses into Household Income and Own Your Own Life in the Process.  INTI:  Tampa, Florida. 

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 19th, 2007 at 9:22 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.