The Search For Land Begins

This summer in Bali, we learned quite a lot as we visited with Robyn's father, Charles, and his wife, Laurence. They have run a successful clothing manufacturing business for almost 20 years and a villa for almost five years, and Charles was a successful businessman in Northern California before that.

When they started making suggestions on steps we should take to get our business dream--the Arkansas Diamond Mine Adventure--off the ground, we paid close attention. One suggestion that Laurence made surprised us.

Our business plan calls for the purchase of eight to nine acres of land on which to build our ropes course, obstacle course and children's play area. We had thought all along that it would be getting the cart before the horse, so to speak, to search for property before we had any investors lined up.

Laurence made the point, quite emphatically, that investors would want to see that we have everything lined up and planned down to the minutest detail. That includes the land, she said. So when we returned to the U.S. three weeks ago, we began to keep our eyes open for vacant property as we drove around town.

You see quite a few "for sale" signs in west Little Rock for acreage, but most of those sites are zoned commercial and carry price tags in the millions of dollars. Our business plan calls for purchasing land in the thousands of dollars per acre. That's much more difficult to find.

David has made a few inquiries into land on the west side of Little Rock. Yesterday we got an e-mail from one enterprising commercial realtor about one tract for sale. Just looking at the map he sent us, we didn't think it would be a good location for our Arkansas Diamond Mine Adventure, but the price falls within our proposed budget.

After school today, David and Diamond in the Rough drove by the property and were surprisingly impressed. It's not the perfect location, and it's not the dimensions we had envisioned, but it appears to be workable. Which brings us to today's tip for entrepreneurs and small-business owners: when choosing a site, remember the three most important things in real estate--location, location, location.

We are very encouraged that this property--the first property a real estate agent has presented to us--is in our price range and could meet our needs. We will continue to look for other options, and if you know of nine tree-covered acres near west Little Rock that are available at a price of under $1 per square foot, please let us know.