Was the implication that only an idiot would try to run a hotel in the Scottish islands? Or was the suggestion that running a hotel in the islands is so easy an idiot can do it?
Running a business is difficult enough. Running one in the islands comes with a whole additional set of problems. Starting with the positives, running an island-based packaged goods business gives you a multitude of unique selling points. When you are actually in the islands, it increases again. Most parcels need to change courier, incurring a second charge. and – it stands to reason – risking breakages. That surcharge affects every aspect of an island business which deals in physical things. To all intents and purposes, it is an island tax.Whether you are ordering packaging, labels, or indeed salad ingredients, the island tax has to be added on. By necessity, that cost trickles down into your pricing.
We talk a lot about the challenges women face in the islands – particularly relating to childcare. One solution to the work and childcare dilemma can be for women to set up and run their own businesses – often starting at the kitchen table. I’ve been truly inspired by the women on the course. Up against what are sometimes remarkable odds, they are planning and executing their visions for their own business. But how do they grow – maybe not into multinationals, but into sustainable enterprises which support them financially – when they are faced with what feel like insurmountable challenges?