Business as Usual

Ok so I've been really spending probably too much time on this business thing. I have made a bunch of spreadsheets, with all sorts of formulas. They are really cool, you can change one field and about another dozen fields updates how the changes effects your profits.

Change and employees pay or hours and BAM! the 20 things update related to the bottom line. Update the price per sq-ft for the land or building costs and BAM! you can see how it effects the bottom line. Ok you get the point it is fun and since I love numbers it is really fun.

BUT here is what I've realized... this thing could have positive cash flow from day one. It should be a gold-mind of potential earnings. It should easily pay for itself and then some. My estimates is that we could pay off the mortgage in as little as 4 years but by 10 years by conservative estimates.

Of course there is always some kind of problem, not everything can be rosy. This is really best with 100k to 200k investment. It will work with just the measly 50k I have but I would like something more guaranteed so 150k is perfect. It is almost fail-proof with that in ital investment.

Cue the doubt! Now what do I do? Risk 50k for something that should still work but be more vulnerable? Find an investor who is going to want 50% ownership or more of the business? Oh, what to do? What to do? What to do?

If you want to invest, I was thinking of selling shares at $50 a piece. I'm estimating the minimum annual dividend would be between 1-3%. The great news is according to miniature golf course owners, the potential could be as high as 69% per year!! Based on their projected gross revenue. The really bad news is, just like any business it can fail.

20 shares ($1000) would get you 1% ownership.

Big Business

So I met with the Agents for the piece of land I want to build a miniature golf course on. I was plenty nervous but after a few minutes the nerves were calm. The whole thing went really good, I had a lot of questions they answered, I got a good feel for what they want and they got to ask me a lot of questions about what I wanted. It was a good meeting; before, this whole idea was abunch of e-mails, and business plan words and excel spreedsheet numbers. I guess it is similar to looking at houses on-line, it only gets you so far, but when you actually go with your realtor to see a house it really helps define what you want and/or what you can afford.

So I think I've firmed up my decision for where I want the course, now I need to find an design/construction company to design everything and get me a number that I can get financing for. It would be really helpful to have 100k right now, I don't think I need it but if I had 100k of liquid cash this whole thing could start happening next week.

Part of doing this thing will require us to sell our house, which is no big deal emotionally for us, but it is a lot of work and some money and then there is the question of where will we live? A lot of change but I am convinced this is a great opportunity especially with the way the market is.

Post-Op

Alright I'm feeling pretty good. Yesterday I only took Advil, and everything seems alright. Today I'm gonna see what no pain meds feels like and so far everything is good.

SO I'm gonna get on the trainer today. I'll try and take it easy, nothing to crazy, but I need to get going on this training deal since I have a 1/2 Ironman coming up in 7 months plus this 100k/50k race.

My 100k running partner got hurt. Whew! I'm sad she got hurt because that is no fun, it just plain sucks BUT the good news out of it is that I don't have to endure one of the toughest tests I could imagine. However, it looks like she wants to do the 50k which is going to be really hard so I guess I'm not quite off the hook yet.

In other news I'm going to meet with the Plum Creek guys on Thursday. I'm nervous, I really want this mini golf idea to work and I'm about 2 steps away from needing to put my name on paper and put some money on the line. It is a great idea, one that will work and one I'm willing to make my job. I think God has provided some of the means, we'll see what happens.

The unknown

Well as tough and heartless as I appear to be sometimes, or as I like to say confident. I have to admit, I'm kind of anxious, hesitant, and maybe just scared about some decisions we have made and are going to make.

1. We sold our truck! This is a good thing on paper, it has 156k miles on it and nothing has gone wrong on it. Which means something is right around the corner. Plus it only gets about 18-20mph and when gas returns to its $3-4 range we'll appreciate having sold it more. We sold it for $5300, that I'm a little disappointed in. Kelly Blue Book was way off in their valuation of the truck, but I couldn't really get any interest in it beyond that price. But here's what I'm kind of anxious about, change! I know the truck, inside out, I've worked on it and we've owned since day one. The next car, will be used and I'll have another learning curve.

2. We need to buy a replacement car! Now I have to get one that makes sense. Something with lower miles than the truck, one that gets 25mph-30mph, one without any major problems. You know how some cars are just known for their problems. Our Impala is known to eat coolant and ours is no exception. We've also got to get a good deal on it, or at least something under 6k which is what we saved up for plus the sell of the truck and taxes, registration.

Those two things alone are enough to make my mind a constant whirl of thoughts and emotions. It is tough to know if you're doing the right thing or not. I've prayed about it and feel good about the process but you just never know what the future holds until you're there.

3. The business! Man, just getting the designs for a business is crazy expensive! I am looking at the very real possibility of needing to spend 8-10k on this business just to see if it can be done! I always joke about wishing I had a trust fund, but seriously I am wishing I had a trust fund now. Talking with a friend Greg, I got an idea of what I'd need for the development of the land and structure about 6k, then talking with a design company for the business another 2-3k. It is that moment where you look up at a mountain and then to either side of it and try and figure out which way makes more sense or if you should turn around altogether. I don't want to lose, I don't want to make the wrong choice. I believe in the idea, but maybe not enough to put my money, fear and pride aside to continue.

Business Idea

My wife had a business idea... it was a good idea, I've talked about the idea. It is a great idea...
Another idea my wife had was a Chick-Fil-A, I tried that one. Chick-Fil-A turned me down I thought because I wasn't an current or former employee but I found out that someone is already opening a Chick-Fil-A in our area. They will do very well.

BUT starting a business, "the right way," with all the documents and research and spreadsheets and organization and forms is just about as much as my ADD brain can withstand. Plus given the amount of money I'm wanting to work with it creates much doubt in my mind. When I don't have doubt, I have at least enough work to do to dissolve my focus.

I know I'm not the first person to say this, but "If I only had a million dollars!"

Right now I'm working on the business plan, most of it is boring work. I'd rather be writting an english paper in some college class. I'm getting concerned that I will not be able to get a loan for the business and all this work will have been a lot of lost lunch time training sessions. But it is a great idea, and I'm tired of just talking about great ideas.