Im looking to build a spectacular paintball "plantation" on nearly 1200
acres, using it primarily for tournaments and memberships. If
membership situations arises the fee will be $365.00 per year, or
$182.00 per half year. One dollar per day, only monthly and bi montly
memberships. The land is now wheat fields, rolling hills, grass sod,
and trees. I intend to plant more groves of trees across the land and
dig several shallow ponds. I want to tell everyone what I will do for
structures, however, for now that must remain a mystery. I'll have to
get to know people better before I can give the big picture away. All
I'll say now, I know my landscaping and artistic architectural design,
and I'm thinking BIG. Currently, I am also co-owner of Oasis
Productions, a newer nursery located on the same grounds outside of a
small town, but about an hour drive or less from 5/6 major cities in
Eastern WA. We currently have all the fast growing trees, xeriscape
perennials, ornamental grasses, and the array building materials to
create a playing field landscaped beyond anyone's wildest dreams, and
we're willing to plant it for ourselves and our business. We have
enough of the tools and machinery neccesary to do this. We just don't
have the support to begin building (need more hands working). We are
now in the planning and prep. stage, doing the neccesary things we must
before planting and building. I am interested in any feedback you want
to leave, no matter how negative, it will positivly affect my business
structure. Let me know your thoughts, if any. If yourself, your
teamates, or someone you know, is interested and you have the skills,
qualities and knowledge neccesary to create something never been done
before, let me know and give me some info on yourself and you teammates
so I have some refrence to build on. Oh, yeah, 23, been ballin' for
about 8 years. Love it. Love nature, but I enjoy the extreme side of it
as long as I'm not tearing up prestine forests and making shortcuts. I
have a business personality for work, but otherwise just want to have
some good fun. Another thing, If you know anyone interested in mountain
boarding, BMX, mountain biking, or kite boarding, let me know. I've
never tried some sports but willing to, from a business and
recreational point of view. I just need waivers typed and printed
first, and all legal and insurance issues dealt with. Any feedback,
questions, comments, or random obscenities are greatly appreciated.
Thanks
I intend to begin building after harvest or in early fall. Hope you
guys are around and able to play or help create.

Thanks for your time



oasisjames@stjohncable.com

"Outbackjames" <oasisjames@stjohncable.com> wrote in message
news:1122395283.804016.191640@z14g2000cwz.googlegr oups.com...
> create a playing field landscaped beyond anyone's wildest dreams, and
> we're willing to plant it for ourselves and our business. We have
> enough of the tools and machinery neccesary to do this. We just don't
> have the support to begin building (need more hands working).
[snip]

Are you a businessman or a player? You need to make up your mind, because
you honestly can't be both and expect to succeed in either one to any
significant degree.

The biggest concern I have is the lack of committment to either one. If you
want to build a field, build a field. Create a business plan, gather
investors, hire crews, create the field, advertise, basically, run your
business. This half-assed "get the enthusiasts to help you" will only go so
far. If you want to make a field, commit to it, by putting your money where
your mouth is. If you don't have the money, convince other people to invest
with you.

If you want to play, make the field big enough for you and your friends, and
then charge JUST enough to cover your expenses, and after that, let everyone
play for free.

Just don't do what you're recommending above. It never works, ever. Not
even hippies are this free with their time to roll out into the middle of
nowhere and help you build a field out of their own good will and then have
you charge people to walk through the door. Hippies are stupid, it's true,
but they aren't THAT stupid.

Plus which, being between several major cities doesn't really help you very
much. If you're out in the middle of nowhere, it's going to cost you an arm
and a leg in terms of advertising to make it even a REMOTE success, hell,
even to have a few people show up would be a MAJOR undertaking.

It sounds to me that you haven't thought this through. I've helped more
than a few people find their way with paintball field business plans, and,
without exception, those plans have been grandiose and full of promise and
hope, but eventually they just fall through. One gentleman assumed he would
be able to tap into the entire population of a large state, just because it
was the only field in the state, without realizing that it would take a
person like 10 hours just to cross that state. Know anyone who drives 10
hours to play paintball on a regular basis? If you do, you know at least
one more person than I do who'd be willing to do that.

If you're serious, REALLY serious about this, create a business plan, and
then get constructive criticism from REAL businesspeople, who've been in the
world. Your local chamber of commerce would be a good place to go for
constructive criticism on a business plan, just attend one of their typical
luncheons/breakfasts that they hold on a somewhat regular basis(I'm sure
they have open meetings for aspiring members, or at least they have advisors
willing to give their opinions).

Listen to what they have to say, they've been there before. They will
likely point out so many holes in your initial business plan that you won't
even know where to begin, but if you can plug all those holes realistically,
you might be able to pull it off. All of this sort of thing (business
planning) generally costs you precisely ZERO dollars, and will save you
COUNTLESS amounts of money in the long run, especially if it becomes obvious
that the business is doomed to failure before you even open the doors.

In the very least, incorporate in some manner, and then parcel out the EXACT
amount of land you want to commit to this, so that you don't lose ALL of
your land if it goes belly up. Incorporation protects your personal assets
from bankruptcy, for the most part. Talk to an accountant or tax lawyer
about that, though.

I don't want to leave you with the impression that you shouldn't try, but I
*DO* want to leave you the impression that you shouldn't try without REALLY
thinking it through, in terms of actual dollars and cents. I'd hate for you
to lose that property when the bill collectors come to put a lien on it.

I would be happy to critique any business plan you come up with. I post on
this newsgroup on a fairly regular basis, in case you lose my email address.

Good luck.

--
Jeff Goslin - MCSD - www.goslin.info
It's not a god complex when you're always right