Harford Firearms Academy is almost there!!!
I am the owner of the website you have been discussing. I would like to take the opportunity to explain my idea and ask for your input. This is going to take a lot of work, most of which I have completed.
About two years ago I went to Gunpowder to shoot with my 8 year old son. The place was closed. They lost their lease. I thought since there is no other indoor range in the county there is an opportunity to provide service to the county in a grand way that has never been seen in the area.
Over the past two years, with the help of several outstanding people, I was able to develop a business plan, financial forecasts and plans for the range. Costs and expenses have been established and market research has been completed. I have been in contact with the county department of economic development and have them in my corner. . I have begun the search for a location and have 2 possibilities.
Now the fun begins. The obstacle at this point is funding. Several banks have reviewed the plan and financials. All have praised the ideas and work that been completed. One has tentatively agreed to finance 75% of the cost. The remaining 25% must come from me or investors or a newly created corporation, etc. The 25% must be used first then the 75% would kick in.
I have two investors reviewing the paperwork. One is close to a decision and the word-of-mouth says it may go in my favor. However, this is a slow process for this group as the members are spread throughout the country and only meet occassionally. This group also looks to be the most organized and funded as well. So I wait.
The second group has yet to see any paperwork. I am newly aware of them and I am seeking a meeting with in the next week or two.
So you can see the dilemma.
One possible solution was to solicit the donations as you see on the website. If everyone within a 30 mile radius of Abingdon contributed $5, there would have been no need for investors. I understand the apprehension of blind donations so I too did not put much stock in that. I chose not to pre-sell memberships since, at this point, I have no idea if or when the range will open. I don’t want the responsibility of holding your money and I am sure you have better things to do with it then let it sit in my bank account.
I used paypal, because even though they are anti-gun they are still willing to take the money and give me a convenient accounting method. Their anti-gun stance is bogus. Ladyshooter uses them to collect for her NRA courses as do many other including myself. Paypal has no idea what is going on in the accounts.
Yes, I did take certain parts of Scottsdale when creating my range. They seem to have excellent ideas and appear to be successful. Unfortunatly, they did not respond to inquiries so I had to wing it with just their website.
Gentleman, I am open to any ideas or suggestions. There was even a suggestion that all the potential “Customers” form an investment group and assume a portion of ownership. Since this is probably the scenario that will be promoted by the first two groups, I have no problem with that either. We are talking about 7 figures worth of investment money, so it won’t be easy. If someone wants to contact me about becoming part of an investor group I would be willing to divulge more details as time passes.
Thanks for you time and I look forward to hearing from you through the forum.
I am the owner of the website you have been discussing. I would like to take the opportunity to explain my idea and ask for your input. This is going to take a lot of work, most of which I have completed.
About two years ago I went to Gunpowder to shoot with my 8 year old son. The place was closed. They lost their lease. I thought since there is no other indoor range in the county there is an opportunity to provide service to the county in a grand way that has never been seen in the area.
Over the past two years, with the help of several outstanding people, I was able to develop a business plan, financial forecasts and plans for the range. Costs and expenses have been established and market research has been completed. I have been in contact with the county department of economic development and have them in my corner. . I have begun the search for a location and have 2 possibilities.
Now the fun begins. The obstacle at this point is funding. Several banks have reviewed the plan and financials. All have praised the ideas and work that been completed. One has tentatively agreed to finance 75% of the cost. The remaining 25% must come from me or investors or a newly created corporation, etc. The 25% must be used first then the 75% would kick in.
I have two investors reviewing the paperwork. One is close to a decision and the word-of-mouth says it may go in my favor. However, this is a slow process for this group as the members are spread throughout the country and only meet occassionally. This group also looks to be the most organized and funded as well. So I wait.
The second group has yet to see any paperwork. I am newly aware of them and I am seeking a meeting with in the next week or two.
So you can see the dilemma.
One possible solution was to solicit the donations as you see on the website. If everyone within a 30 mile radius of Abingdon contributed $5, there would have been no need for investors. I understand the apprehension of blind donations so I too did not put much stock in that. I chose not to pre-sell memberships since, at this point, I have no idea if or when the range will open. I don’t want the responsibility of holding your money and I am sure you have better things to do with it then let it sit in my bank account.
I used paypal, because even though they are anti-gun they are still willing to take the money and give me a convenient accounting method. Their anti-gun stance is bogus. Ladyshooter uses them to collect for her NRA courses as do many other including myself. Paypal has no idea what is going on in the accounts.
Yes, I did take certain parts of Scottsdale when creating my range. They seem to have excellent ideas and appear to be successful. Unfortunatly, they did not respond to inquiries so I had to wing it with just their website.
Gentleman, I am open to any ideas or suggestions. There was even a suggestion that all the potential “Customers” form an investment group and assume a portion of ownership. Since this is probably the scenario that will be promoted by the first two groups, I have no problem with that either. We are talking about 7 figures worth of investment money, so it won’t be easy. If someone wants to contact me about becoming part of an investor group I would be willing to divulge more details as time passes.
Thanks for you time and I look forward to hearing from you through the forum.
