The point on hotels, bars, work, etc.
(August 99)
Hi buddies,
Some info on the situation for the hotel and stuff after working at it since two months now, and having a more realistic vision of the situation : it appears that we got not enough money to buy a business as the banks won't lend us the money because we are not professionals: too risky.
La Halte :
Though I got a chance to work in a hotel which is for sale and which I visited recently, la Halte. It is in good condition , new, and the boss knows the situation, as I have been introduced to him by the agent. He needs somebody immediately, and I propose to go in case it might help, without any obligation for anybody.
Now he proposes other formulas than buying it (rent it for running it), but if wee trust the papers of the hotel, you can hardly live on it with 2 people with 10 hours 30 of work a day. Which is not a satisfying formula to my taste. Now the people need somebody to work there right now, so I proposed them to make it as a test if I'm able to make the work, and see if the business is worth it or not. If I'm ok for the work and learn it ,and the business gets higher, then the banks won't make problem. And I know I can make it somewhere else if I want to as well. The other girl, the cook, has been running the place alone since a week and managed really well. We should not have problems to work together. Answer on monday. :)
The Paris:
The hotel "Le Paris" (the nearest hotel in the same street, both near the station) : if we want to run the whole place, it requires a huge pile of works for security, and a huge amount of money, plus the money to make the rooms new, and a huge sum to give to the people who work in it, which is 8 years of monthly wages !!!!!!! As a result, nobody wants to buy it and it's gonna be closed soon. Then it will be worth much less, without the business, etc.
The associative bar:
Though there are other formulas , which a friend of the group Cimagil recommends after applying it himself some years ago : make an association, rent a place to put up a bar where to receive groups, and work in it with a free license 2 allowing wine and beers : no lend, no big stuff to pay during years, no heavy legislation, you start and if it does not work, just stop to pay the rent, and leave :)
The farm in the country side :
Third possibility which might seduce a number of you , and is complementary with the associative bar :
After living with the minimum pension here since the end of may, ($350 a month) it comes out that it's very possible to make it as soon as you can cook with cheap stuff, and limit the expenses to the basic needs : in my case computer bills and material included. Out of this, just the charges of the flat , but it's not much, and I got the flat for free.
In the whole, I have saved since may 1700 Fr on May , June and July, and am gonna get the pension of august in two days, which makes 3900 Fr (610 $) in advance, which is great actually.
Now , knowing that you need much less to live at 10 people than alone, one can think that if you got 3500 $ a month for 10 people, you got enough to rent a nice place in the country side, where the rents are cheaper than in town, with some earth to grow the food and eat for much cheaper than industrial food, and buying it to the farmers around (milk, chease, chicken, eggs, rabbits, meat, etc.)
So we can imagine to rent a place like this in the country side, as a big farm with some land, and an associative bar in town, where to get 2200 Fr each : 22 000 Fr for ten (350 $), with the benefit of the drinks, and the money of the exhibitions and sales of our arts . So working at ten in the bar would be not much time a week, much less than if 2 people would run it :)))))
A bar like this may open from 2 pm to 2 am : 12 hours a day, 6 days a week , with 2 people sharing the work : 10 h 30 each : 21 h a day., 126 hours a week. So running the bar requires 126 hours of work a week, whatever the work is done by 2, 5, or 10 people :) , as long as they earn from it the 3500 $ needed. So for 10 people, each one would work 12, 6 hours a week :))))))))))
Now, this means that if we want to make more money, we can, but with just this, we should get enough to live on. So why spend a whole life of work if one can spend much less and live quiet and happy ?
So to sum up , there are two parts in question here : one bar in town, opened to the activity, the life around, which allows to get the money from, and another one in the countryside, a holiday place, where we can rest, make our respective arts, and also grow free stuff for the bar as well if we make a quick restaurant. (eggs, fruits, etc.)
So what do you think ?
We are about a bit less than 500 now, and last year, a number of you required for a place for the group. Some of you want to come here to study, and can find a cheap way to make it. In the area I am living in, we can find the cheapest earth of the country. We got enough money right now to make something like this, but it requires more than 2 people : at least 10. Now if it comes out a larger number are interested, we can rent several places in a deserted village, and make 2 bars in two different places around, developing different domains :)
Whatever you decide, if I get to work in the hotel, the owner of the hotel is of course interested in receiving Zoners, lol ! : I'll ask him a pension rate, lower than hotel one, in case several would be interested : anyway, for you to have an idea, the highest price of a room is 195 Fr for two people, big room with TV and shower , and double glass window against the noise , with a nice garden. If you stay a month and eat, then you can get a cheaper price.
Thanks for considering those eventualities, and letting me know your feelings and aspirations.
Love
Izzy
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Hi Zoners,
I'm sending this mail first to the ones of you who are interested in the hotel project or involved of it : 75 people.
At the moment, one is available, in front of the station. Price : 390 000 Fr, 10 rooms on 3 floors plus 2 private rooms,
a bar with 7 tables , a room of restaurant behind with 10 tables. A cellar and a tiny garden.
Some people, on the affair as well , are asking the banks for money for it. But I visited it before, and have the priority.
Here is the info on the place I gathered since 2 weeks :
The conditions of security and hygiene are conform, I checked it at the security services of the local council. Though the place is old, and all the wall papers and the soil have to be changed. This can be done progressively with the benefits from the place, as it is presently running well just as it is.
The price of the yearly business (820 000 Fr) is higher than the two other hotels I have seen before, and after checking it, it appears that the counts are reliable, made by an auditor. The file is very complete. and clear . I got a copy of it.
The owner wants to get retired, his associate just died recently, so he wants to sell the place, at the price it costs, not more, which he could not do before as his associate wanted too much for it.
He is an honnest man. Took the place in 1974. They had made a society, and propose we buy the shares, so we do not have to one, which costs here 50 000 Fr here.
About the situation in the street, it's just in front of the station, much better than the two I have seen before.
It has got a night derogation, so they can be openned until 5 am. After taking info, it appears that derogations
require investigations from the local council and police first, and problematic places are automaticly out.
So the place is serious.
The restaurant is very simple : steaks and French fries, salads, meals which require 5 minutes to make,
for a cheap price : 45 Fr. No problem for me to keep on with it .
As a consequence, there is work there for 3 persons at least at the moment (it has been working 10 years ago
with 7 people). So we can keep the waiter , who already knows the place and work, and is used to the night work :
after taking infos on him, it appears that he is an honnest guy as well, who got good relations with his boss, worts with him since years, and they are good friends.
Somebody we can work with. At the minimum, I can open it with him untill the third one comes.
About the two other hotels for sale :
Le Paris requires a fortune to become workable, and the staff costs a fortune as well to dismiss. and the owner wants tooooooo much. It's gonna be closed by the security service very soon, so then it won't be worth anything, so we might get it for nothing and open it as a bar.
The other one is sold since a week, but it was too expensive, and the bar too small to make expos.
We got untill now 100 000 Fr :
I can bring 20 000 Fr now from personal money, and can get 30 000 Fr more from the family. Iggy proposes to bring 50 000 Fr and work in it when he got rid of his own business.
So if we buy a business, unless it's in liquidation, we got to ask the banks for money.
According to the agent, who deals with them, it's makable.
Now we can also put up a organization inside the Zone : see what you think :
If any of you is interested in this, let me know what you propose.
We can do as for the previous one last year, see who wants to invest, and how much, and see what we got then.
The man of the cyber cafe here said he bought a business in Syria when he was a stud with some buddies :
each of them gave a little sum every month, and after sometimes, it ended to make enough to buy something.
I can make it personnally with 10 $ or 20 $ a month.
If a 100 of Zoners (about 1/5) gives 10 $ a month, we got every month 1000 $. After 10 month, we got 10 000 $, so it's possible to put up common projects with this.
The only thing is that just people who want to get involved are part of it financially, so no obligation for anybody else.
What do you think of such an idea ?
If you agree with it, or have to propose anything which might get to the same result, let me know.
Then we can open a count in a bank somewhere and send the money there.
Though I cannot take a count in my name here, nor be the president of an eventual association, because
it would be considered as revenues, and my temporary pension would be deleted.
Any volunteer for this welcome.
I 'm also gonna get organized now here for the spreading of the URL of inter-zone.org in France.
So we can get some money from the sale of the productions.
Going at the end of October to the expo organized by Jens Gehbart at the Museum of modern art in Paris : see the page News :