Thinking of opening a business in a few years

[Selino631]

I was just talking to a few of my friends who are on my paintball team an in the military (2 marines, and i'll be in the Army in a few months, and another one of our friends) in maybe the next 5 years we would like to open our own paintball field. We plan on first buying some property and just starting off with maybe 1 Speedball course and maybe 1-2 woodsball fields. then after a few more years expand and make some more fields. We are still brainstorming but for those of you who hold/held management positions or currently own a business can you give us some advice that could help us? (At the time we plan to actually go forward with this 2 of my friends have already held management postions at a store and 1 might major in buisness at college)

For the money I am going to put my $7,000 enlistment bonus in a Certificate of Deposit and i should get a ton of intrest because of that, and the rest of my friends are going to start saving money.

What are some major things we need to do before we can really start this?

[TequilaChaser]

1st - a Business Model / Plan  along with expenses and a breakdown of everything including cost, overhead, output, return etc..... for the 1st 3 years to maybe 5 years

2nd - if you are serious about this, you  ( and any partners ) may want to see if you can find the ideal location....... the local 50 to 75 mile radius area of where you are going to be at  will be very crucial...... this very important part could make or break the whole business, does the area have the support, the desire of having an attraction like this?

seriously, I just throwed out 2 easy well known things to consider, but the list is a very lengthy one of what all needs to be thought of... before ever thinking of investing the 1st penny....... do your homework.... it'll payoff in the longrun regardless if you follow through or not with this adventure...

[JunkyII]

First thing you need to do is get a Privates paycheck and think about how much you can spend. Next go get yourself a star card from the PX and start building credit. Then, think about these friends of yours, if you put in the most money you should reap most of the rewards........

"I dont do business with friends or Family" - Some wise mother sucker said this


Just know your friends, all Im sayin

[minke]

I can't give you any business and financial specifics, but I would advise you included airsoft days as well as paintball. It often brings in more revenue (depending if you want to acquire some rifles) than paintball. Profitable extras such as catering are a must, give a local mobile catering company a call, you just need to rent a patch out to them. If you want to expand into it, set up a store with extra kit and safety equipment. If you dont have the knowhow, get a tech guy (preferably a regular customer) to service your gear in exchange for free entry. Lots of money making opportunities for these ventures if the demand is in your area.

[Selino631]

1st - a Business Model / Plan  along with expenses and a breakdown of everything including cost, overhead, output, return etc..... for the 1st 3 years to maybe 5 years

2nd - if you are serious about this, you  ( and any partners ) may want to see if you can find the ideal location....... the local 50 to 75 mile radius area of where you are going to be at  will be very crucial...... this very important part could make or break the whole business, does the area have the support, the desire of having an attraction like this?

seriously, I just throwed out 2 easy well known things to consider, but the list is a very lengthy one of what all needs to be thought of... before ever thinking of investing the 1st penny....... do your homework.... it'll payoff in the longrun regardless if you follow through or not with this adventure...

yea were pretty much solid when it comes to the area, there is a paintball park about 15min south of us, They get alot of buisness (because they are really the only one around) but they do a terrible job (we think) We've been playing paintball for years and after going to several fields we pretty know what it takes to make a good field good an a bad field bad. lol

Junky, appreciate  the advice lol, we've been friends for years, so i'm not worried about that lol

but I would advise you included airsoft days as well as paintball.

Like it minke, good idea. I dont think we have a legit airsoft field around here

[SPKmes]

Three way partnership....lawyer.... or at the least a set of terms for three to abide by, signed in front of a JP..... Patnerships can all be nice and help spread costs but when his mates are playing for free more than mine but mine are here more his and that girlfriend of yours ...blah de blah.....

Yes a little dull and serious but something to look at. $7000 + is not something you want to just throw away.

[PFactorDave]

Be warned, the liability insurance will cost a pretty penny.

[Sonicblu]

< Owns service business for 16 years. Put a business plan together to run a paintball range in our area. We live a population base of 100,000

The math just doesn't work cant sell enough paint or air to service the debt on the land let alone make any money.

TC is right go to bookstore buy several books on wrighting business plan. Do not do it in your head. Do your home work. How many players are needed each weekend with just range fees air and paint to sevice the debt. Food conncessions are a good source of revenue, and a lot more brain damage.

Your best bet is to run senerios all the time.

Here is a partial list.
land cost land payments even if you own it outright you still need to make money on the $$$$ you have into it.
insurance,
wages< an all that goes with it workmans comp matching SS and the like.)
Cost of guns and gear + replacement + wear and tear +
How much you want or need to make is a huge cost+ plus what your partners want to make.
Legal fees to set up.

Just to make $48,000 per year wages for one person you have to have generate 3 to 4 times that in revenue. So you really have to bring in $150,000 to $200,000 in gross revenue. Lets say you can do it for 2 times. That is still just shy of $100,000 in revenue. How many range fees per week would that be. Can you get 400 hundred people thru the doors every week forever?
After you write up your business plan. I would only do it if your business generates half that income and you can still pay the bills.

Wish you the best...... Remember 98% of small business fail within the first two years. 98% of those fail in the next two years.
Be as realistic as you can when dreaming.
< has gotten feedback on  several start up companies one with a exclusive U.S. Method patent that never generated enough revenue to keep the lights on.

What are the range fees in your area?
What is the net profit on a case of paintballs?
What is the net profit on renting guns and air? per person
What is an acre of land worth? How many acres do you need?
Will you allow people to bring their own guns air paint and food? If you do that means you will only collect range fees for those peeps. How do the
%ages breakdown. When you go to the range do you rent guns air and buy food or do you pick up paint at wally world and bring your own guns and air.

[oakranger]

Look into air soft guns.  I think you may have more ppl into that then paintball.

[FiLtH]

 Save your money for a few years. After that the whole paintball thing may not sound as exciting as it once did.

[jdbecks]

I dont know how it works in America with setting up Ltd companies and what percetenage of the debt you would be liable for, however, I would not use your own money to invest into your business if you can help it. Always use someone elses, may be it the bank or from investment as it is always better to gamble with someone elses money. But like I say, it is probley a different system, for example, if you are the only director and have a business loan of £100,000 and the company goes bankrupt, you would only have to pay 1% of the companies debt..so £1000.

In the UK, on average, most new business's close down within the first 3 years of trading.

If I was you, I would contact the department that deals with Ltd companys, find out all the information with regards company debt and who is liable for what etc etc

[Dragon]

I was just talking to a few of my friends who are on my paintball team an in the military (2 marines, and i'll be in the Army in a few months, and another one of our friends) in maybe the next 5 years we would like to open our own paintball field.

What are some major things we need to do before we can really start this?

Lots of good advice already given.  As stated, look into the difference between being Inc, S-Corp, LLC, and the like. Their are pros and cons to each including costs and liabilities as well as whether or not you need to appoint officers (president, treasurer, secretary...).

$7000 plus interest should cover the start-up paperwork and lawyer fees, where is the money for the land, permits, water, gas, electric, sewer, and construction of at least one building coming from?


One thing that worries me is you said that the one that is 15 miles away doesn't run their park very well.  They could be strapped for cash and unable to make the necessary changes.  If that is the case, then what will you be able to do different then them?  If in your business plan you set fees at a certain level (which should be almost the same as that other place), what will you do if they drop their price?

You mentioned 5 years, that's a good start.  Do a lot of homework!

When partnering with friends, keep work at work.  DO NOT bring it up when just hangin out. 

I was president of a heating & cooling company with my friend as partner.  We did well for a few years but had to fold it after several unforeseen problems were thrown at us.  Fortunately, when it was all done, we were only in the hole a few thousand dollars because I was able to see that we were never going to be able to recover from the losses that we took and I was able to liquidate the rest of what the company owned. 

Be prepared to do the same thing if needed.  The light at the end of the tunnel could be the train of misery about to run your tulips over.


Good luck with whatever you do.


 

[ROX]

Be warned, the liability insurance will cost a pretty penny.

Liability insurance is required for any business in most states.  It's built in to most all homeowners insurance.  It is a requirement in auto insurance in most all states.

What he would need is an additional policy called "umbrella insurance".  It is what kicks in in the event of a large lawsuit filed in case (usually) because of personal injury that occured on the business's property, whether the fault lies with the business owner's negligence or the visitor's negligence, and a judge can even rule if there is shared negligence.

Umbrella insurance can be had for very large amounts of one to ten million or more and is surprisingly affordable considering the possible policy amount.

[Spikes]

That'd be sweet, Selino. My father owns ~80 aces and much is wooded. I like to get 4-5 guys up each year and run our 3v3's and 4v4s through our woods. It kind of feels like the real deal. I show em the layout of my property and you get to do whatever you want, go wherever, flank yadda yadda, it is much fun.

I wish you luck on this, paintballing is fun, I just hope the interest is there.

[ROX]

PS--It would also be a "must" to have any and all participants sign a waiver stating, in effect, that they are wholly responsible for their actions on the business property and hold the business owner blameless and sign that that will not/cannot file a lawsuit because of damages, injuries they received while on the business property.  Basically, if they are on the business property they are responsible for their own actions, damages, and injuries.

It won't keep them from suing anyway, but it will show in a court of law that they were aware--in advance--of any possible damages/injuries and agreed to participate at their own risk.

If the do sue, once your attourney shows them the signed document and reads it in front of them and asks them is that their signature...most will back out and drop the suit.

ROX