Wow, what a decision!! I can see how conflicted you are.
I guess having a finance background, I always go there first and see what complications there might be - being such a rural area, and a business, you'll most likely need quite a large deposit. Rural properties are generally lent 70%, but if you need a business loan you can probably borrow more at a higher rate.
What was the reasoning behind the place closing? And why does the local lady reckon it'll work if it's re-opened? Do they really get that many people through there (driving etc) or would it just be locals? I do wonder how many customers you'd have.
My in-laws used to run a general store in a tiny country town - same kind of set up, store/cafe attached to their house. It was next to the school, and in all honesty their biggest income was selling newspapers & milk to the farmers, and doing school lunches. FIL did a lot of mechanic/building maintenance work to supplement their income. This town though, was only 20 minutes from another larger town, and so anyone driving through didn't bother to stop. That's the main thing I'd be worried about - are any tourists coming through just on their way somewhere else, would they actually stop?
So yeah, just from what I saw with the in-laws store, I'd be a bit sceptical about how profitable it would be, but yours may be a very different situation to that!
I wouldnt make a decision like that without doing a business plan, including market research, budget etc.
Who will run it? Do you have experience? What happens if one of you get sick or injured?
So many businesses fail because people dont create a realistic plan going in, which includes planning for contingencies. And often opening a small business is just buying a job. I'm not knocking the idea per se. But I've seen clients get into real trouble when they jump on an idea without planning first. Sometimes a basic SWOT would have shown them how unrealistic it is.
There's a reason there are so many ghost towns - there isnt the required economy to keep them afloat. It would be different if it was a known tourist area. Maybe spend a few weekends watching passibg traffic in and out if the town. Survey the residents. Find out what they want. Talk to the local council - most have business liaisons. And the local traders association. Do lots of research before you jump in with 2 feet and that's just on the business opportunity. The persobal pros and cons are another thing to work out only if tge business plan stacks up.
I have no idea about why the servo or store is closed. I think the town seems ghosty because of the past drought. The servo is really old, and more old machinery than much else. The cafe and B&B closed because "the owners went all weird", and they moved elsewhere. "They started doing weird stuff with the cafe", the most odd being not having set prices for food and drinks. You order, then put your money in a box on the counter to whatever the value you thought fair. If that not odd enough, the owner would then take out the money (even if there were other customers there) and count it. Apparently she would comment on how much was paid to the other customers. And she became the town gossip-monger, which soon lost them any friends or regular customers they had.
I doubt very much that we would reopen the B&B part. For that, I really don't see a market in the area. So that's not even in the picture of considerations and pros and cons.
The local lady reckons it will reopen well because she said she thinks the town needs a cafe. I don't even really know where its on the way to, but certainly yesterday there weren't many cars driving through town.
The Man and I would run it. We have similar experience, and if we got sick or injured, well I would hope we would have insurance to cover it! Or at least a bit of money there to fall back on. Like me still working somewhere else.
Thanks for the reminder of the business SWOT analysis, Tashy. I haven't done one of those for ages! Will do though
Off to do more thinking and analysing. Thanks everyone.
Personally I don't think like it sounds like it has enough going for it to be viable, its a very small country town which in itself has its limitations and often hard to break into small town mentality. (Grew up in small country town)
As Tasybabe suggested do a business plan and some market research to see how viable it would be.
Grew up in a farming area so here are some thoughts from that time.
How far from the main highway are you?
Would you serve breakfast & lunch or lunch & tea?
How far do you need to go for petrol, will you be allowed to have petrol bowsers for yourself?
How will you refill the gas, do it yourself or delivery?
Supplies for the shop, how far to go, any deliveries?
How far are Dr's, dentists, chemists, police etc?
What is the secondary school like and how would you get there?
Depending on the seasons you will be busier at certain times, eg. quiet at harvest time.
Is it dairy, beef or crops as this will make a difference of times you open.
Not trying to put a dampener on your idea by any means. Maybe go visit an area that is like the one you are thinking of and see/ask what is viable.
My DH and I looked at a place that sounds very similar (so similar that I wonder if it is the same place, is it in VIC?) a few months or so ago now. We would have loved to do it but as others have said above it just didn't seem financially viable to make alot of money, the place was cheap so no doubt you could survive but profit would be minimal.
OMG that sounds so like the little town that I live about 10kms away from. Does it start with M, I know the town I"m thinking of had a Cafe and BB the recently closed down, owners certainly did go weird and were half the reason why the business wasn't a success. It started off OK but turned bad after that.
Sorry won't offer you any advice because I can see positives and negatives to living in a small town. I'm married to a farmer so in a slightly different situation but must say so prefer country living to the city.
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