Could Cape Coral use a Used Furniture Store? (Fort Myers, Lake Placid: buying, high schools)

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Skipatrol

Now how about a small engine repair shop, mowers, jet skis, atv's that sort of thing is my profession.

This is what you were going to do last time when you ignored our advice. Did you do something else instead?

[equalrightsforeveryone]

Originally Posted by DennisDaMenace

Yea, next time I will make sure that I use SELL check.

Only the educated are free....lol did you lern that inn collidge?

You are letting this get to you, way to personal for me.
But one thing I would say that somebody with the screen name "DennisDaMenace" shouldn't rattle the cage.

[CCRESI]

What business do you think this area needs?

*Personally I think we have enough furniture and thrift/consignment shops. I go every weekend and still have not gone to every one of them. However, maybe a real cheap furniture place for those who like to refurbish.??*

I would like to see a coffee shop with a playground. Often times I go into grab a coffee and see these poor parents(I'm one of them. lol) with their bored kids. Sometimes parents need an afternoon pick me up and the kids need something to do other than pester their parents during their caffinated break.

Or a Vegetarian place to eat. Vegetarians in the area do not have much to choose from. My restaurant visits usually result in a salad or bland pasta dish with a few broccoli florets. Yummm- not.

Just my 2 cents.

[rikoshaprl]

With all the pizza places how about one that serves whole wheat pizza and veggie pizzas.

[Skipatrol]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

This is what you were going to do last time when you ignored our advice. Did you do something else instead?

Yeah we did something else.
We moved to Lake Placid, bought a small store my wife ran and I got a job at a marina.
The store was a joke. We got swindled (to put it nicely).
We didn't sell out house here, we rented it out on a month to month deal so we had the house still if things went bad.
Which they did.
So we came back up here, wife got a job and I went back to doing what I do.
And now we're thinking of doing something again.
Not set on what or where. And honestly I don't much care what it is.
My wife works in a factory and she hates it. So the big concern is to get her out of that situation. The big benefit of Florida is the Bright Futures Scholorship. I have a son going to be a freshman this coming year with another boy following a few years behind him.
The opportunity for free or even partially free state college is a HUGE benefit.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Skipatrol

Yeah we did something else.
We moved to Lake Placid, bought a small store my wife ran and I got a job at a marina.
The store was a joke. We got swindled (to put it nicely).
We didn't sell out house here, we rented it out on a month to month deal so we had the house still if things went bad.
Which they did.
So we came back up here, wife got a job and I went back to doing what I do.
And now we're thinking of doing something again.
Not set on what or where. And honestly I don't much care what it is.
My wife works in a factory and she hates it. So the big concern is to get her out of that situation. The big benefit of Florida is the Bright Futures Scholorship. I have a son going to be a freshman this coming year with another boy following a few years behind him.
The opportunity for free or even partially free state college is a HUGE benefit.

Tennessee has the same deal when it comes to college. It's called the Hope Scholarship. Check out Knoxville. The unemployment rate is half of what it is in Southwest Florida. Much better schools with no School Choice. And the weather is far better than up north. Just a thought, anyway.

If you are set on Southwest Florida think "retiree." Anything geared toward them has promise.

As you - and I - know, running a business is not for the faint of heart. And running one with your spouse is even more frightening. You really need to check out the Small Business Administration and get some advice from them. They will give you the cold, hard facts. A business shouldn't even be attempted without a solid business plan.

Good luck.

[Billythepokerkid]

Originally Posted by CCRESI

What business do you think this area needs?

*Personally I think we have enough furniture and thrift/consignment shops. I go every weekend and still have not gone to every one of them. However, maybe a real cheap furniture place for those who like to refurbish.??*

I would like to see a coffee shop with a playground. Often times I go into grab a coffee and see these poor parents(I'm one of them. lol) with their bored kids. Sometimes parents need an afternoon pick me up and the kids need something to do other than pester their parents during their caffinated break.

Or a Vegetarian place to eat. Vegetarians in the area do not have much to choose from. My restaurant visits usually result in a salad or bland pasta dish with a few broccoli florets. Yummm- not.

Just my 2 cents.

Although your ideas are good, they are to restricted. The coffee shop is good, but with such a high population of older people who don't have kids, they will almost certainly AVOID your coffee shop, so you only be appealing the something like 30% of the population who have kids. Also you can't make enough off of coffee and pastries to make having an air conditioned playground for kids an economical addition. A vegetarian restaurant would never make it. I read somewhere recently that less than 4% of the US population is vegetarian. If that holds true in Cape Coral/Ft. Myers your possible customer pool would just be far to small. Now a healthy restaurant that features a variety of vegetarian and vegan options might be somewhat viable.
What is needed around here are some themed restaurants. The tiki hut, surf shack, crab shack thing is completely played out.

[Billythepokerkid]

Originally Posted by Skipatrol

Yeah we did something else.
We moved to Lake Placid, bought a small store my wife ran and I got a job at a marina.
The store was a joke. We got swindled (to put it nicely).
We didn't sell out house here, we rented it out on a month to month deal so we had the house still if things went bad.
Which they did.
So we came back up here, wife got a job and I went back to doing what I do.
And now we're thinking of doing something again.
Not set on what or where. And honestly I don't much care what it is.
My wife works in a factory and she hates it. So the big concern is to get her out of that situation. The big benefit of Florida is the Bright Futures Scholarship. I have a son going to be a freshman this coming year with another boy following a few years behind him.
The opportunity for free or even partially free state college is a HUGE benefit.

You need to look more into these scholarships. To receive them you have to attend high school IN Florida. You cannot attend high school in Michigan or wherever you live and then move to Florida and qualify for the scholarships. Just to get in state tuition and to be eligible for state financial aid you have to live in the state for 12 consecutive months that will be verified. Every student that registers for a Florida college is automatically charge out of state tuition until they prove otherwise. It is set up like this so people cannot come from other states for a semester vacation or basically take scholarships away from real residents.

And if you are trying to get your wife out of a job she hates, you might want to move somewhere else. Chances are the only places she will get a job here are going to be similar to the one she already has.

[Skipatrol]

Thanks for the tips.
I wasn't aware of the Tennessee scholarship thing.
My oldest hasn't started high school yet. He will start this fall.
He would be "wherever" for the full 4 years of high school.
As for the business. I make enough to allow us to move anywhere and survive a middle class lifestyle from my online businesses.
I fully intend to continue that. My wife makes $375/week at her factory job which is better than nothing but it's hardly satisfying. I want to give her the opportunity to run a business again "hopefully profitable" That's why I don't really care what kind of business it is.
I'm just going to help if needed. Otherwise it's her baby.
She likes the idea of used furniture, but that's not necessarily what it's going to be when it's all said and done.
hiknapster We had actually looked into Knoxville, Her Mother and two sisters live in Maryville. My parents are going to Lake Placid FL for retirement this year probably some time.
We thought about getting a small storefront in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge and selling Giant doughnuts to the tourists. lol... Like I said.. We're not picky. We just want to find something that will work in a state that has great scholarship programs for our kids to go to college.

[Billythepokerkid]

Originally Posted by Skipatrol

Thanks for the tips.
I wasn't aware of the Tennessee scholarship thing.
My oldest hasn't started high school yet. He will start this fall.
He would be "wherever" for the full 4 years of high school.
As for the business. I make enough to allow us to move anywhere and survive a middle class lifestyle from my online businesses.
I fully intend to continue that. My wife makes $375/week at her factory job which is better than nothing but it's hardly satisfying. I want to give her the opportunity to run a business again "hopefully profitable" That's why I don't really care what kind of business it is.
I'm just going to help if needed. Otherwise it's her baby.
She likes the idea of used furniture, but that's not necessarily what it's going to be when it's all said and done.
hiknapster We had actually looked into Knoxville, Her Mother and two sisters live in Maryville. My parents are going to Lake Placid FL for retirement this year probably some time.
We thought about getting a small storefront in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge and selling Giant doughnuts to the tourists. lol... Like I said.. We're not picky. We just want to find something that will work in a state that has great scholarship programs for our kids to go to college.

Again, no matter what state you move to, they are not going to just start throwing obscene amounts of scholarship money at kids that just moved to the state. If scholarships are that important, maybe you should start looking at scholarships from some of your prospective schools. At that point you can see what kind of grades, test scores, and extracurriculars are needed to qualify and maybe your kids, especially the one that hasn't started high school yet, can put in that extra effort. If a good education is that important, you haven't picked the greatest area to move to either. Both Edison and FGCU have had serious issues with their state accreditation in a few of their programs.