Diaries of a Lodge Owner 

Here it comes yes you got it; Welcome to week 9!    

Now back in the real world my investor and I wanted to get together talk numbers.  We set a time and Mel and I sat down with him and his wife and looked at the supplied financials.  After we finished it really didn’t look good he was not impressed at all and didn’t feel that the potential was there, fair enough but I did.  I began to turn over stones dig holes basically rack my brain trying to find a way to make this work.  I saw huge potential in this opportunity and was not going to give up on it.  

A couple of weeks went by and as things settled my potential investor and I began to talk again. As well, things on the lodge front were changing the other deal had become unstable leaving a window of opportunity allowing the potential to put in an offer on Chaudiere.  With the new news we had another meeting this time including my parents who became involved and it was stated by them and my potential investor that I needed to do some things moving forward.  First I needed to put together a sound business plan for Chaudiere complete with projected revenue for the next three years.  Second, I needed to get insurance policies for life and critical illness, large enough to cover all investing parties including myself and name everyone as a beneficiary and lastly secure the additional financing.  All of these requests were very wise and necessary, the other key point coming out of this meeting was we all decided that we were going to put a conditional offer on Chaudiere, one of the conditions was financing though  basically a back door.  

The next morning I got on the phone with Brian Dykstra and I believe I put together the best deal that was possible and ended up with an accepted conditional offer, but to make it work my time frame to close was extremely tight and my list of tasks were daunting, a ton of work, hours really and between running EAP and this I didn’t really sleep.  But it was my baby I felt that I was crafting the path for my future and I did it, the financing and business plan that is.   

That left the insurance policies now I am a fairly young guy, I have always had a family doctor and any time I have had problems medically I go to the doctor that is a good thing, I know that but I have high blood pressure (now controlled with meds) and have had a few minor things along the way but do you think I could get life insurance?  It is stupid the hoops that I had to jump through, and the time it takes to get the stuff and how much more it costs if you have had a couple of issues.  The worst part about it is if I had have never went to the doctor before my health in way worse shape but because there is no records, getting insurance would have been a cake walk. For those of you out there who are still young and healthy or haven’t been to the doctor in ten years, LISTEN go get life insurance before you go to the doctor! 

Now I am only a day, one day away from the dead line on this deal.  It has cost me literally hundreds of hours over the better part of six months and I need to firm up in 24 hours or the other offer comes into play.  I still have no insurance which is the last requirement needed to satisfy my potential investor who is now out of the country and has not given me the green light on anything!  You guys ever seen that degree deodorant commercial with the stress meter well mine was on the verge of busting the old hypertension was running hot.  Now with less than 18 hours to go I made contact with him and I found out that after reviewing the numbers again he felt that it was too much of a risk and that he really was not comfortable to invest in this venture and was worried for me.  Well the stress meter broke.  Fair enough, he is at a different stage in life he is older and financially comfortable, to be honest if the tables were turned I would have done the same thing.  Now what………………………………….     

Written by:

Steve Niedzwiecki

Chaudiere Lodge. 

Find a new installment every Monday evening. 

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