Welcome to HotelStartupGuy.com!
Aloha! My name is Mark, and I’m a hotel guy. For as long as I can remember, the dream of owning & operating my own hotels has swirled inside me. But what started from modest roots bussing tables in high school (…dropping LOTS of dishes), through obtaining a Bachelor’s in Hotel Management, to overseeing multiple departments in world-class resorts (…the cause of my premature gray hair), the focus needed to achieve my goal was continually pushed aside by life’s ‘realities’.
Now, with a huge (nervous) smile on my face, I stand committed to grasping my longest-standing dream, one that has been on the back burner far too long. I WILL open/own/operate my own chain of B&C’s (Bed & Cafes) founded in the spirit of Aloha-style hospitality, and I genuinely hope you enjoy sharing this adventure with me!
A GUIDEBOOK IN THE MAKING
As with most startups, my dream comes with a price tag. Quite literally a price tag… in the form of initial funding. Aside from the hours daydreaming, writing, excuse-making, studying and obsessively pouring over the ever-evolving business plan on this site, the tall task of obtaining capital (and speedily paying it back) is my stark reality.
One night, while watching an episode of Shark Tank, it clicked. After viewing countless episodes wondering which Shark would invest, for what reason, and to what commitment (all from the selfish frame of mind that I need these Sharks to assist my dream) the question popped in my head: Why haven’t we seen the background of these entrepreneurs that are presenting to the Sharks? Where is the TV show, the instruction book, the how-to website, or the documentary that shows these hungry go-getters get from where I sit now (on day #1) to pitching their product to billionaires? Where did they start? When did they find time to bring their side hustle to the forefront? Who helped them and what was promised in return for that help? HOW DID THEY DO IT??!! I NEED TO KNOW!!
And so, “Hotel Startup Guy” was born. It’s late in April 2018 and the tangible steps are finally underway, with nothing more than scrap pages and sticky notes. Part blog, part video documentary, part business plan and definitely part memoir, this adventure is now a living/breathing treasure map in the making.
To a large extent, admittedly, this site is my own personal Kickstarter. But more importantly, as the sticky notes grew life and ideas began jumping off the pages more vividly, a dual purpose was discovered:
I want to help others do this too!
To be clear… I have no clue what I’m doing! Leaning heavily on assumption, intuition and past work/school/life experience, I can only produce what my effort level allows. But no matter how this turns out and which direction this journey goes, I have finally found peace with my purpose herein, which was exactly the spark needed to actually get this party started.
So now… I cordially invite you to join this ridiculous adventure, learn from my mistakes, advise if you are inclined, criticize if you think it will be constructive, or just chuckle at the silliness that will likely surface along the way.
With warm aloha,
Mark aka HotelStartupGuy