Customer Reviews

I'm Living Your Dream Life: The Story of a Northwoods Resort Owner

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book packs everything you always wanted to know about owning a resort (but were afraid to ask) into a compact easy-to-read package, sort of like a Cliffs Notes for Resort Management.

Dealing with everything from Attorneys to Zip codes, the author, Michele (with one "l"), tells her own story, laying bare both the pleasant and painful experiences of choosing, buying and managing a resort in northern Wisconsin, while raising a family with her extremely supportive (and judging from the photo, very handsome) husband Mike.

Moving from California and giving up their regular day jobs to combine their dream life with the sport of disc golf, Michele and Mike learned the business from the bottom up, refurbishing and improving the Sandy Point Resort & Disc Golf Ranch into a viable and profitable concern, even though the author cautions that this is not a get rich quick venture.

Never having heard of disc golf before, I was amazed to learn how far this little publicized sport has developed, and how expensive the equipment for the course is for those brave enough to develop and encourage the sport.

The book mixes stories about real people with tales of caterpillars, bats, mosquitoes, chores, boating, contractors, lawsuits, zoning restrictions, staffing woes, guests from Hell and lots more, but does it in a conversational and humorous style as if the author were sitting in your living room telling you the tale over coffee and doughnuts.

Running a resort may look like a dream job, but really is a Herculean task and not for the faint of heart or pocketbook. However, for the dedicated few it can be richly rewarding, and we the vacationing public should be very grateful to them.

An enjoyable read, even if you don't own or want to own a resort, and would be a very useful resort-etiquette guide for anyone considering being a guest in the future.

Amanda Richards, July 10, 2005

This book was recommended by a friend because of my interest in how people
come up with ideas for businesses. Happily, I found that I enjoyed every
aspect of the story and couldn't put it down. This is first and foremost a
memoir, a personal account of the author and her husband's attempt to find a
business in which they could work together and create a new life for
themselves. The first chapter is appropriately titled, "How Did We Do It?"
and it explains how they went from having occupations as a journalist and a
stockbroker in San Francisco, sold off their assets and purchased property
in Northern Wisconsin.

The book is not a how-to outline on creating a family resort or bed and
breakfast (there are plenty of books available like that) but rather a
simple and unique attempt to tell a story about the life of an innkeeper in
a humorous and straightforward manner. Some things they did expect, others
were a complete surprise. Dealing with the public is always, always a chore
and every business owner has a rich cache of stories to tell on this front.
This book is no exception. It made me laugh at myself since I know I've
asked some of the same questions at places where I've stayed on vacation.

Finally, as any innkeeper will tell you, being in the resort business is not
about striking it rich. It's important for all those who perceive their life
as a DREAM LIFE to understand that it takes years of hard work before the
investment pays off and that appropriate financial backing and understanding
the constant threat of litigation is crucial. I therefore think this book is
essential reading for anyone interested in owning and operating a
mom-and-pop business of any kind. Well done.

I'd like to start out by indicating, I have absolutely NO desire to become an innkeeper and I have never been to the Northwoods of Wisconsin. But it was a fun little trip to what the author paints as a beautiful part of the country and I can see how she and her husband fell in love with the area the first time they saw it.

As for the business, I don't think this book is meant to give advice necessarily, although she certainly does. I think it is simply a memoir and she tells her story in a funny, readable way.

This is the second book I have read by Michele Cozzens. I enjoyed the first one I read so much, I decided to give this a look, too. I wasn't disappointed. Contrary to what a reviewer wrote here that she is "grumpy" and hates people, I found the opposite to be true. She is clearly very intelligent and very funny. Sometimes people find this threatening. Don't make that mistake. She's a teriffic writer.

Yes, we are the new owners of Mockingbird Bay Resort, on Norfork Lake in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas! Had it not been for you, and the fact that I stumbled on your book by accident, I'm not sure we would be living our dream life as resort owners today. It was your book that turned the tables in my mind, and made me begin to consider the resort business as a lifestyle and family-run venture. I enjoyed your book so much! It was one of those books where I dreaded to see the end coming. I periodically check to see if you've written a sequel! (My husband survived the WTC attackes of Sept.11th, but not the massive layoffs that followed, so rather than watch our savings continue to melt away, we researched this business and ultimately bought a lakeside resort. FROM WALL STREET TO THE OZARKS! We pinch ourselves everyday -- happy beyond what we could have expected.) Your book was just another piece of the master plan that helped guide our family toward a new way of life! Thank you.

I'm Living Your Dream Life: The Story Of A Northwoods Resort Owner is the memoir of Michele VanOrt Cozzens, who with her husband and two daughters, opted to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life for the more peaceful woodlands of Northern Wisconsin. Earning a living as resort owners, they soon discovered that their new trade required business savvy and hard economics; at the same time, they reaped intangible and life-affirming rewards from simply existing in the tranquil and wondrous domain of nature. I'm Living Your Dream Life is a combination personal memoir and practical "how-to" guide for anyone seriously considering exodus from the urban jungle. If you've ever dreams of just taking off for the Northwoods country and a "simpler" life -- then read Michele VanOrt Cozzens' I'm Living Your Dream Life.

If you have ever wondered what it would be like to own and operate a resort in the northwoods, then this is the book for you. The warmth and humor that Michele Cozzens puts into this book made it fun to read and difficult to put down. Michele shows us that you can live your dream life, but it will take a lot of work and determination to get there. I enjoyed this book very much and I think you will too.

I read this book because I want to buy a small resort in the woods. In other words, I was looking for advice. I got it...from pages 30 through 70. The book is well worth the investment. The rest of the book, though less instructional, was amusing and heartwarming. I couldn't put the book down and finished it in about three hours.

This is a superb collection of stories, facts and historical pieces. Everybody has their dreams, but most of us don't live them therefore we think that they are easy and extremely prosperous. Whether you have been to Sandy Point Resort and Disc Golf Ranch or you just dream of owning a resort, this would be a great book to purchase. This book sheds the light on what truly goes on behind the scenes at a resort. It shows that people can live a dream life if they want, but that it won't be easy. There are a lot of things that come with this life and if you want to know what those things might be then I recommend this book to you. If you have never thought of that then I still think you should read this book. It has opened my eyes to what I once thought was a "perfect" life. I would still love to live this life, but now I know that it isn't "perfect". Michele, GREAT book.

I read this book on the dreaded journey home after a week of restful, fun vacation at the Cozzens resort. It was wonderful, both the book and the vacation! The five hour trip flew by as I felt like I was sitting in the same room with the author having a great conversation and getting the REAL scoop on resort ownership. As owners, they make the job look easy but the book enlightens you to the behind the scenes happenings,challenging but obviously rewarding. Michele does a superb job of interjecting humor and warmth on every page while giving you a real picture of life as an "up north"resort owner.
I highly recommend this book to all, even if you've never been to a northern Wisconsin resort. Congratulations on living your dream, Michele! And thank you for sharing it with us!

While I was pregnant with our fourth child in Tucson, Arizona I read a newspaper article about a local author, Michele VanOrt Cozzens who had written a book entitled "I'm Living Your Dream Life". Two things struck me about the article; the author was donating all the proceeds to a charity and the book was about her family's seasonal time owning and running a disc golf beach resort in Wisconsin. I'll admit, maybe three things struck me about the book...what was disc golf?"

I purchased the book and was delighted that I was not only putting my feet up, but I was actually reading a book with young kids running around. In fact, I didn't want to put it down. It was one of the best excuses I'd had in a long time to indulge in a humorous, well written, chapter turning book. I decided it would make a great gift for my parents who had also thought they were living a dream life owning a waterfront home on the East Coast and a home in Tucson.

The author takes you on a journey through the decisions that lead up to she and her husband purchasing this resort and moving from California. It's a global journey and for those interested in owning or running a resort or B and B, this is a must read. For those of us who think we've discovered our dream life, it's a must read for the humor and the author's conclusions. I now know what disc golf is and appreciate the author's candidness about family, life, and what it takes not only to achieve your goals, but to stay with them. I wish her family's resort many more years of adventures for their guests. I'm looking forward to reading her new book...I might as well put my feet up since I'm expecting our fifth child. I can't think of a better excuse!

Tucson Reader