We were lucky to catch up with Shannon Westblade recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shannon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

When I first took over the bed and breakfast I tried to change very little from how my dad did things. I even carried over some of the same employees, and some of those worked out fine. I was 28 my first season at the Inn – my dad had died the year before, and I had only worked middle-management before so I did not have experience managing or hiring employees. When I started I hired all via word-of-mouth or recommendations from the people around me. I didn’t have a process, I didn’t really interview, I didn’t have an application. In a business this small and casual it isn’t unusual to basically have no hiring process, so I just went with what had been done around me and before me in at the Inn. This worked out for some employees, but did not work at all for others.

For example I took a recommendation from someone else on a couple of innkeepers for a season. They were very sweet, but with them I learned a couple things about how my own personality vibes well, or not well, with other personalities. The importance of simply have communication styles that match well with my own cannot be overstated.
I learned pretty quick to have a more formal process – posting job opportunities to sites with a broader reach to have a larger and more experienced pool of applicants. Now I know that this more formal process is more fruitful in the long term.

Shannon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

So first, a little history: I grew up in my business, literally. My Grandparents bought an old, abandoned home on Mackinac Island in 1977. They fixed up the property and turned it into Haan’s 1830 Inn. In 1988 my parents started running the business while my mother was pregnant with me. Every summer following until I was married I lived in the bed and breakfast with my family while my parents ran it. Then in 2017 my father passed away unexpectedly. I was living in Montana with my husband and one year old son, working in the hospitality industry at a ski town but I knew the family business was in my future, it just happened much sooner than I expected. Despite the grief and the turmoil of the unexpected turnover, this business is very important to me and has been so wonderful.

I am really proud of where we have taken the business. I know that the Inn my dad ran was wonderful in its own way too, but I think its safe to say I have more energy to take on new projects for the Inn. My dad also had a lot holding him back – he was nervous about disappointing his parents (my grandparents), and they had tight control of his decisions. My father and grandparents have all, sadly, passed away, but this does allow me more flexibility. I have a lot of people I am responsible for in the business, but at the end of the day the decisions are mine to make. I know this may sound over-confident, but I have learned that even when I make mistakes – trusting my own judgement has turned over the best results for my business.

Here is what makes Haan’s 1830 Inn unique: First the setting – Mackinac Island is a coveted gem destination in the United States. There is something about the island itself that requires a deeper connection to your soul. If you ask anyone why they return to the island year after year, many will claim this supernatural connection – its really amazing and beautiful.
Second – I feel strongly attached to this supernatural feeling about the island, and want to convey that in my hospitality. My rooms are decorated in a way to help you feel like you’ve stepped into the past without sacrificing modern amenities and comfort. We emphasize a sense of peace in our decor, in our pace, in the way we do business. My greatest hope is that everyone who stays with us feels like they are both at home and have escaped the grind of the “real world.” A lot of Mackinac hotels and bed and breakfasts have really embraced the kind of Martha’s Vinyard-esque branding (or are stuck in the 80s) but I am not into it. I think the island, and my bed and breakfast, has its own unique brand that is better – something antique but still comfortable. Something natural and wild, but still sophisticated. Something magical and special while still being in touch. I know that all might sound very vague and inquantifyable, but I think my guests get it.

Another thing that makes us great is our staff – we are all passionate about what we do and actually enjoy doing it, and I think that our guests see that. I love helping a guest find the perfect trail to hike or discover a new piece of island history.
Hospitality is in my DNA and its almost impossible to turn off. Jocie loves to bake new and exciting things for breakfast that make everyone excited to be at our table every morning. Pam and Amy are hospitable at heart in a way that is so natural and comforting. I love our little Inn family and I think that love we all have for eachother and the business does come through in our work.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When my dad passed away and I had to step in to take over the business I was not prepared. I had no management training, and while my hospitality skills were there, what I really needed was the ability to manage the business and the staff. Staff that overlapped between my dad and I were not immediately receptive, one staffer (an older gentleman) even called me a little girl. I was 28 years old, had a one year old son, my father just passed away, and all of the sudden I had to run a business. It was not easy and quite a few mental and emotional breakdowns followed.

There were (and are!) a lot of growing pains. I have never been afraid of making mistakes though – mistakes were made and I learned from them and moved on. But I also made a lot of good decisions. I learned quickly that the more I took someone elses advice over my own intuition the more I was unhappy with the results. I’ve become confident in my decisions as a business owner, but I also know I will probably continue to make mistakes forever and I need to be ok to shake it off and move on.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I can’t say this as a social media expert or anything because I absolutely am not. But I noticed something about my social media that has made a big difference in my engagement. As soon I stopped trying to sell my product and started just to tell my story my engagement skyrocketed. Which of course does not surprise anyone in the social media marketing world, but I have no training in this field so it has all been trail and error.

It speaks so much to what people are seeking – the audience wants to know the people behind the business. We crave the connection and authenticity that we aren’t getting from social media, so as soon as someone starts to be authentic the connections are made and the audience is engaged.

Its something I strive for in my business as a whole – an authentic experience that helps you connect – connect with your travel partner(s), connect with the island, connect to your own spirituality or sense of peace. To have that feeling reflected in my social media has been really important to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.1830inn.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haans1830innkeeper/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Haans1830Inn/
• Other: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g42423-d144534-Reviews-Haan_s_1830_Inn-Mackinac_Island_Mackinac_County_Upper_Peninsula_Michigan.html

Image Credits

Taylor Ingles Photography