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Post by MinnieMom on Jan 24, 2023 11:58:30 GMT -5
I'm bummed I didn't act faster to save the thread on the campground start from MO. Oh well. Now this is a fresh start! Below is our intro video. Quick update: we are rescoping to mitigate construction cost, waiting on permits and working the last details with architect on building design. My current best guess is construction starts in April, we begin accepting reservations this summer, we soft open November and officially open Feb 2024 with a Valentine's event special. For those following the story, the past 6-8 weeks have been a quiet panic as construction bids came in much higher than expected. We considered everything from selling the business to putting it on hold for a few years to selling the land and many other options. Now I think we have a path forward, but the margins are going to be more dependent on getting to a higher occupancy faster than I would have preferred. I keep thinking about the challenges with building DisneyLand and how Walt/Roy kept finding ways to deal with the massive budget blowout to keep the project on track. Obviously our little dream is a on a much smaller scale. But I do take some encouragement from the thought that most dreamers who try to bring their vision into reality face challenges. Here is the final concept art. I'm using it in a presentation with an economic development group in SC next week to see if we can get any support from different government agencies for this project. The discussion will focus on the impact of additional jobs and visitors to a rural district in SC, but my hope is the art creates an emotional connection for the discussion. ![]() |
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Post by sawickipedia on Jan 25, 2023 13:56:10 GMT -5
Thanks for the update - it has been fun to watch you go thru this process! I've been a part of a number of tech startups - fun seeing a camping startup!
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Post by helenabear on Jan 25, 2023 13:58:00 GMT -5
Yay so glad to see you are here with updates!
Love the video too
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Post by sherrih on Jan 25, 2023 20:11:34 GMT -5
I love the updates on the campground journey too!
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Post by MinnieMom on Jan 30, 2023 16:06:07 GMT -5
Posted by sawickipediaJan 25, 2023 at 1:56pm "Thanks for the update - it has been fun to watch you go thru this process! I've been a part of a number of tech startups - fun seeing a camping startup!"
Thanks for following again! You were right with some comments before. This is a bigger project than I really understood at the front end!
Posted by helenabearJan 25, 2023 at 1:58pm "Yay so glad to see you are here with updates! Love the video too"
Thanks! I appreciated the feedback and comments from the other thread. They helped with art + campground. I'm hoping that feedback continues here.
Posted by sherrihJan 25, 2023 at 8:11pm "I love the updates on the campground journey too!"
Thanks for commenting! It is so encouraging to think that others see value in this project and dream!
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How cool to continue the journey here! Fresh off the presses - we approved the conceptual design for the pool after several weeks of considering some alternative designs. The welcome center has also gone through some changes. Craig (DH) and I approved final design for welcome center and a different building, the bathhouse pavilion, late last week. This morning, I introduced the team working on the pool design to the architect and team working on the building designs. This is to align these two different project teams to make sure things like the walkway from the pool aligns with the outdoor showers that are part of the welcome center.
Budget and cost management continues to be high priority. Earlier this month, we accepted that we cannot afford the custom (dream) home we had designed. So we are going with a mobile home option for our family to live at the campground as onsite management. I found a 2,000 sq ft, 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom model that will work for us. We put a deposit on it. The plan is to have that delivered and set up in April. That gives us plenty of time to do the upgrades we want before DD finishes the school year and we move to the new house. The down side is mobile home. I grew up poor in a very old mobile home that had been burned and redone by my Dad. My association with mobile homes is poor climate control, bugs and floors that flex way too much when walking. The one we choose is the basic, no frills model. It will be brand new; we will be the first owners. The home cost includes delivery, set up, utility connection and a basic one year warranty on the home.
So, short term we get a full home ready to live in before we could even start building a custom home. Plus this is a HUGE cost savings. We need to find just over 1 million in cost savings. This one decision gets us half way there. Long term, once we are doing well enough with the campground to build the home we want, this can be moved to a campsite as a large 5 bedroom cabin rental. If we pick up the wedding/event groups I plan to attract, I think this will be a great rental for the long term. There are some other short term benefits, but that really sums up the key decision points.
We should get final permits for land use from Department of Environment + local county next month. Hopefully early next month. That's huge.
Later this week, I'm meeting with the local economic development official. Our local small business consultant set up the meet for me to try to help us find some way to bridge the cost gap. There may be some possibility of future tax rebates or offsets for us building. This week is an initial introduction meeting to educate on what is available from their side and what we plan to do on our side.
If there is interest, there are lots of other details ranging from the fun to the funny (because I'm not going to cry) that I can share. Just let me know if you'd like a bit more of a view into the nitty gritty back story of a campground start up!
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Post by tessa on Jan 30, 2023 20:00:30 GMT -5
Ugh- I feel for you in your panic and the higher costs. We have had similar issues but on a smaller scale. I have been following your story and I somehow missed the quad camping option until this video. I love the idea.
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Post by richviii on Jan 30, 2023 23:02:57 GMT -5
We old MOs have loved following along!
Inflation, supply chain, employment and all that must impact your numbers - something none of us would or could have perdicted. Glad you have a path forward!
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Post by MinnieMom on Feb 2, 2023 14:58:40 GMT -5
We had a meeting with the local economic development officer yesterday. This is something our small business consultant set up. The goal was to get the guy interested enough in Standing Pines to want us to build it. I am pretty sure we achieved that goal. We had an hour meeting scheduled. At 45 minutes, I asked if he had a hard stop so I could start wrapping up. He wanted to keep going for almost another hour. He kept coming up with suggestions like "have you talked to the president of the local college yet? They would love to partner." "Have your heard of this organization? They are 10 minutes from you and offer horseback rides to the public for $30." "Do you know about the 1,000 tree peach orchard 5-10 minutes from you? They offer tours and you-pick-it options." He also had the process for how we would ask for state money to help with some of the infrastructure cost. He was realistic that we might or might not be able to get any of these funds, but laid out the beginnings of a plan to go after some small pots here and there to try to get us over the finish line. It was a much needed shot of energy.
This morning, DH and I went over the detailed layout we want in the camp store for the drink counter. I did some work on this last week while in FL with the friend who manages a DGX in Lakeland. While we were discussed water lines and draining placements, he suddenly realized we could use the space currented designed to be my office as a window-based food service. Think of something like the pizza window at Boardwalk for this, but only steps away from the pool. It would move my office to what we had as a storage room. It might eliminate the space planned for employee training, interviews and other business meetings. But it would potentially allow for us to have the pool bar and grill we wanted but could not fit into the budget for the smaller building we designed.
I drew it up and sent it to our architect for review. I'm waiting to hear her scream from ~200 miles away. She is close to the point where design changes like this really could delay her work. But if this gives back what I think could be a significant revenue stream that guests would see as an amenity, we have to get it on the board as an option.
On the other hand, I am not happy with the electrical design plan. We used a contact of the original campground design vendors. He is ultimately more of a electrical salesperson than electrical engineer. So I'm talking to a SC engineering company about reviewing his design plan, ensuring it meets SC code and putting the plan into CAD. Frankly, I am worried the plan will not pass code or get permitted in the current form. I kept thinking the first guy would get it together, but does not look likely at this point. So this will add some cost, but it may be a must-do in order to ensure the electrical planning is at the same professional level as the rest of the design/engineering work.
richviii - thanks! Glad to hear that! Yes. Even knowing inflation/supply chain/labor, the bids came back at a staggeringly higher number than expected.
Back to the economic development guy for a moment. I put in an estimated number for the potential impact of our business on increasing revenue for other local business. The development guy gave me a different formula to use to estimate that impact. Friends, if I did the math right, our little campground could have a $50 million impact over the first five years of operation on the local economy. That kind of impact may be what drove his interest in talking longer and sharing information about other cool things for guests to do in the area.
After getting past the emotional hit of the high bids, DH is now fully engaged again. Finding a way to get a house for us relatively quickly was the turning point. Going through lists of what to stock for the store and how to set up the drink counter really got him back into thinking through how we are going to do this in concrete detail.
Fingers cross and please keep sending positive thoughts our way!!!!
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Post by MinnieMom on Feb 3, 2023 15:24:51 GMT -5
Good news - architect thinks the change that creates the pool bar is actually fairly simple. Assuming we pull off funding for construction, this should be a decent revenue stream.
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Post by helenabear on Feb 3, 2023 19:35:49 GMT -5
I love the design of the pool. Looks like a nice mix of wilderness but not. and a bar is a must for some  |
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Post by Eeyorelover22 on Feb 4, 2023 5:51:20 GMT -5
Fun to see this! My kids camp. So, I am following along. We went to Silver Springs for a glass bottom boat ride last weekend and the exhibit area is under construction so all that was available were outhouses before our 2 hour boat ride. We had been there before so I knew there were bathrooms so wasn’t concerned when we left the house. I wasn’t thrilled! That was enough camping for me!!  |
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Post by PirateLinda on Feb 4, 2023 10:42:58 GMT -5
I really like the pool design and the pool bar is a great addition. enjoying following your journey!
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Post by kzrooster on Feb 4, 2023 11:54:59 GMT -5
Thanks for continuing with your story..... I'm still following closely along....
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Post by Brian5581 on Feb 4, 2023 22:28:02 GMT -5
Fun to see this! My kids camp. So, I am following along. We went to Silver Springs for a glass bottom boat ride last weekend and the exhibit area is under construction so all that was available were outhouses before our 2 hour boat ride. We had been there before so I knew there were bathrooms so wasn’t concerned when we left the house. I wasn’t thrilled! That was enough camping for me!! Ugh, that would have pissed me off for sure. |
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Post by Adelard of Bath on Feb 5, 2023 11:34:18 GMT -5
Outhouses don't bother me...I've done with way less when camping. Way, way less...
I remember my friend was like, "I hope there's not a Russian spy satellite going over! 'Hey Yuri, check this guy out' "
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