This idea was hatched while sitting on the beach with friends. Beth has been a visitor of Nantucket for years and knows where to find all the great food items on the island. For example, she told us the blue fish pate from the fish market out towards Cisco is to die for. She was right. She sent us to the Daily Breads Bakery before 7am for the morning buns that are sold out by 8am. Delicious. For the most amazing almond macaroons we must go to the Nantucket Bake Shop. So yummy.
VentureMom came up with an idea. Why not publish a small book to sell at the newspaper shop, The Hub, and the souvenir shops on the wharfs and other stores. She could self publish for a small fee per book and offer them for $8 – $19 each depending on content. I can envision a small colorful book that would make a great hostess gift. One page with a description and the opposite page with a photo or drawing. This summer she could pre-sell, or get commitments from the stores that she would target making sure they would carry her book. This would help her know how many to order. I would suggest ordering a prototype to show store buyers. There are many self publishing firms that will let you order small quantities. Do the math and see if the profit margins would work for you.
Gathering information one summer, publishing over the winter, distributing in the spring would put Beth on the right timing track. She could offer her top ten foods of Nantucket. This could be applied to any vacation spot. Not everyone is a regular and many visitors are looking for the inside scoop on where to find the best clam chowder or lattes. I’m sure many of these spots do a “top ten” or “year’s best” in local magazines, but don’t be swayed by that, there is always room for another opinion. And you’d be doing it in a different form. I’d keep it small and simple and redo it each year with new things. You might want to expand beyond food and offer top ten things to do. For example, on Nantucket, biking is huge but there are some undiscovered trails that would take tourists off the ordinary paths. Or maybe there is a beach BBQ place that many don’t know about. You should brand yourself as the book or book series with the inside scoop on all things, similar to the _____ for Dummy’s series.
You could get press from the local paper, have book parties and signings in the summer while you’re there, and perhaps become the go-to gal for the spot. At the parties you could feature some of the items that you recommend. On Nantucket you could offer the pate and clam chowder. Come up with a cute name for your guide. Something like: Linda’s Likes, or Beth’s Best for 2010, or Nan’sNantucket. Or maybe your whole family is involved and you call it The Smith’s Vacation of 2010 and you cover the things that you did as a family that were great. Wherever your favorite vacation spot is, I’m sure you have some inside tips that could be published in a cute little book. I love this idea, a perfect vacation venture.
VentureMom Tip
Use your knowledge of a summer local to create a vacation venture.
This idea was hatched while sitting on the beach with friends. Beth has been a visitor of Nantucket for years and knows where to find all the great food items on the island. For example, she told us the blue fish pate from the fish market out towards Cisco is to die for. She was right. She sent us to the Daily Breads Bakery before 7am for the morning buns that are sold out by 8am. Delicious. For the most amazing almond macaroons we must go to the Nantucket Bake Shop. So yummy. 
