EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Ten years ago I quit my Union job and moved from CA to Texas to start all over again with the goal of living out in the country and not having to be a slave to the time clock or forced to do stupid stuff because I had a boss telling me what to do. Doing home repairs and remodeling has given me a life better then I had ever hoped for and it's something that I hope to be able to do for quite a bit longer. The down side is that if I'm not working, I don't make any money. Getting sick or going on vacation costs me what I could have made if I had worked. The longer I'm off, the more I have to use my savings.
My long term plan for the land has been to develop it into an RV Park with cabin rentals. I chose this piece of property for that very reason. Ten years later, it's still an ongoing project clearing trees and moving dirt. I'm in no rush to get it done, and I enjoy the process of changing the land towards this goal.
Over the past couple of months I've been building a gazebo to get married in. I've been posting pics of it here http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/52101-creating-lake-116.html , and on Facebook. I've had a few people ask if they could get married there when I'm done, and it's got me to thinking about changing directions.
While I think there is good money to be made in owning an RV Park, it is a huge investment that once it's built and open, will be a 7 day a week job fixing, maintaining, cleaning and dealing with issues. I've met dozens of owners of RV Parks and talked to them about what it's like to run their parks and it varies from a lot of work to hating it and dealing with a never ending list or problems. My thinking has always been that I'll hire people to deal with that, and build it better then they did to avoid a lot of the issues they told me about. But I also know that I don't like dealing with problems all the time and hate hiring employees. I also don't think I will like living in the middle of an RV Park and having people here every day, all over the place.
Thinking about the Wedding business for my future means building just one large building to hold the reception in, and if it's raining, the wedding. It means that people will only be here on the day of the wedding, and then they are gone. The upfront money is significantly less along with the operating costs.
Money wise, from what I've been able to research in my area, a wedding/reception package for a Saturday runs in the $3,000 to $8,000 range. Friday and Sunday weddings are ten to 20 percent less. Looking at the online calendars for available dates shows that they are booked up from Spring to Fall.
If I do this, I'm thinking that I could start with building the reception building and making it really nice. Nicer then what I'm seeing in the area by a long shot. Charge the same, but offer more to get started. If this works, I have enough land for two more areas to triple in size. I would also have open areas for animals and hiking trails, which is what I enjoy.
I own the land debt free, and with my income, I think it would be pretty easy to get a loan to build the reception hall. It would mean some pretty big changes to my layout of the land, which would take at least a year or more before I was even ready, but that's years ahead of what I need to do if I continue with the RV Park plans.
My parents 74 and 78 and they would help with what they could do. My dad has become proficient at removing trees and hauling dirt. He does that while I'm working and then I do all the finish work when I get home. Karen has her Masters in business and is very experienced hiring and firing people. She also has her Masters in nursing and has over a hundred nurses that work for her at the hospital, which makes me think this should be able to help with running either business. She doesn't care for the RV Park idea and likes the Wedding Venue idea.
What are your thoughts? Any experience or insight? Please be as negative as you can, since that's really what I'm trying to see if this is a smart thing to do or just a distraction.
Thanks,
Eddie
My long term plan for the land has been to develop it into an RV Park with cabin rentals. I chose this piece of property for that very reason. Ten years later, it's still an ongoing project clearing trees and moving dirt. I'm in no rush to get it done, and I enjoy the process of changing the land towards this goal.
Over the past couple of months I've been building a gazebo to get married in. I've been posting pics of it here http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/52101-creating-lake-116.html , and on Facebook. I've had a few people ask if they could get married there when I'm done, and it's got me to thinking about changing directions.
While I think there is good money to be made in owning an RV Park, it is a huge investment that once it's built and open, will be a 7 day a week job fixing, maintaining, cleaning and dealing with issues. I've met dozens of owners of RV Parks and talked to them about what it's like to run their parks and it varies from a lot of work to hating it and dealing with a never ending list or problems. My thinking has always been that I'll hire people to deal with that, and build it better then they did to avoid a lot of the issues they told me about. But I also know that I don't like dealing with problems all the time and hate hiring employees. I also don't think I will like living in the middle of an RV Park and having people here every day, all over the place.
Thinking about the Wedding business for my future means building just one large building to hold the reception in, and if it's raining, the wedding. It means that people will only be here on the day of the wedding, and then they are gone. The upfront money is significantly less along with the operating costs.
Money wise, from what I've been able to research in my area, a wedding/reception package for a Saturday runs in the $3,000 to $8,000 range. Friday and Sunday weddings are ten to 20 percent less. Looking at the online calendars for available dates shows that they are booked up from Spring to Fall.
If I do this, I'm thinking that I could start with building the reception building and making it really nice. Nicer then what I'm seeing in the area by a long shot. Charge the same, but offer more to get started. If this works, I have enough land for two more areas to triple in size. I would also have open areas for animals and hiking trails, which is what I enjoy.
I own the land debt free, and with my income, I think it would be pretty easy to get a loan to build the reception hall. It would mean some pretty big changes to my layout of the land, which would take at least a year or more before I was even ready, but that's years ahead of what I need to do if I continue with the RV Park plans.
My parents 74 and 78 and they would help with what they could do. My dad has become proficient at removing trees and hauling dirt. He does that while I'm working and then I do all the finish work when I get home. Karen has her Masters in business and is very experienced hiring and firing people. She also has her Masters in nursing and has over a hundred nurses that work for her at the hospital, which makes me think this should be able to help with running either business. She doesn't care for the RV Park idea and likes the Wedding Venue idea.
What are your thoughts? Any experience or insight? Please be as negative as you can, since that's really what I'm trying to see if this is a smart thing to do or just a distraction.
Thanks,
Eddie
