The Story of Kingfisher Cottage Part Three

One of our many Kingfishers who visit

 

We had found our dream land and had a plan for Kingfisher Cottage. Apart from saving costs (part two of the series) we also wanted to make an income from the land.

We love growing and seeing the land blossom. When we bought the land at Matakana in 2009 it was part of our ten year plan to become self-sufficient and stay active. The land had to be more than a park, it needed to pay for itself. In 2004 we sold a three acre property in Kumeu . For over eleven years we struggled to grow and keep the land there without earning anything from it. We were working as workaholics in a consulting business where I was away for weeks and often driving late at night to get from one job to another. We also ran a management retreat in a second building we constructed after three years there – it was good to roll out of bed and into a facilitation job!

The homestead at Kumeu. Our first property on land.

 

In our spare time, we worked on developing the home and land. Maintenance was a full time job – we didn’t know how to design an easy maintenance garden! At one time we had two gardeners working twenty hours a week and two cleaners for the house. We were earning big money but most of it was going out on employing people and expensive holidays to recover from the work load! We were exhausted.



The Management Retreat at Kumeu



After selling that beautiful home that we created from scratch (it is now operating as Motu Lodge), we had years of set-backs as ill health taught me a big lesson; balance. When I started to recover from my brain tumour, we decided to have land again but change the way we lived this time. We wanted to enjoy the land and that meant that we needed to work on it. Less time in my consulting business would mean more income needed to be earned doing what we loved, and this time, planning for lower maintenance. It took us another eight years to recover enough financially to build a home on that land. We had been renting for twelve years by the time we moved in.





We decided we will never have ‘all our eggs in one basket’ again. A single income, no matter how large it is, can be ripped away over night by a health problem. Some executives in large corporations have the luxury of knowing that they will be supported and get large handouts and a pension if they crash, but we had decided to leave the world of corporate employment for freedom. We also put a high priority on working in areas that we love – where there is a purpose we want to achieve.

 The Charles Handy idea of a portfolio income is perfect for us. Several income streams that can stand alone if any of them crash. At least one needed to keep us active and fit and at least one more should be able to be a passive income in case one of use had health issues. It is hard to find one income of $150,000 but relatively easy to find five that average $30,000 each. If one of these is scalable, i.e. able to bring in infinitely more without being tied to our personal time, even better. We want a base line that we can multiply when the opportunity presents itself; there is nothing more exciting to us than knowing we have potential to grow. A set, safe income would never give that to us.

Mist over the pond a view that the barn will have

 

Our ten year plan is in progress at the end of year one. Here it is:

1.      Building more wisdom in the world   

     I will continue my consulting, speaking, mentoring and facilitating but is focusing specifically on wisdom, the area I care most about and where I have most experience. I have rebooted my business to specialise in three main areas of building wisdom for corporates and individuals. This will bring in less income than the Kumeu days but allow me more time to spend on other things while doing what I strongly believe in. This is a feel-good income.

 

2.      Stay Sane Build Your Brain  

     I will also continue my work in the community here to help others build stronger brains. Again, this fulfils my need to contribute by preventing dementia, helping people recover from brain damage and stay sharp as they age – hopefully developing wisdom in the process. This will not earn much income unless I can create some on-line approaches that allow me to reach a larger group at a very low price (scale it up). This is a feel-good activity with some potential for income. However, if any of the other incomes provide us with enough support – I would do this for nothing.

3.       Investing            

     John’s investment company will continue to earn income – this is has the most potential for sudden increase. It is not scalable and is fickle because there is no controlling the markets – but by understanding the way they work it’s possible to make the occasional coup. At best it can be incredible and at worst it can make nothing. Making losses is the only unacceptable result, which is why John trades regularly. John has huge wisdom here and although it isn’t a feel-good activity, he is able to support others by creating the income.

4.       Growing             

     This is where our love of growing helps! We intend selling high value products including Limes, Figs, Lotus flowers / seed heads and root, foliage for florists. In addition we are starting a small nursery to grow plants and trees from seeds and cuttings. Virtually all of our trees have been grown by us and we will have far more that we need. Our crops will always be small numbers of high value products and varied enough that if one of the fails in a season, it won’t be a disaster! This keeps us very fit without going to the gym!

 

This years Sweet corn

5.       Accommodation                             

     The huge benefit of living within walking distance of Matakana village is the potential for a successful accommodation business. There is a shortage of good places to stay here and tourism is growing, especially week -enders from Auckland. We plan to build a barn (the platform is already there) and use it as a long week-end self-contained accommodation. Bookings only for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, two night minimum.

 

      During the rest of the week we will use it as a small exclusive executive retreat. The retreat at Kumeu was very successful, so we know how to make it perfect for customers. However, this time we will bring in staff to prepare the food and clean the barn! This will be a substantial business income to add to the less reliable ones but will take us a few years (3-5) before we can raise the income to build it properly and have the land landscaped to be a perfect environment. This will be an ongoing income that will allow us to pay for trips overseas and other expenses as we get older and will add to the equity in our property. It can also be operated by either of us if the other has health problems.

Ten years is a long time and a short time. We are progressing well on 1, 2, 3 and 4 after a year. Time and our efforts  and persistence will tell by next year. The dream continues...