Drop Zone, Part II

Some people have asked me "Zag, what exactly is a drop zone?" So I thought I would explain it here as well as make an update so that I could resubmit it to the proper sites as well as explain how I plan on not only making ChipIn work for me, but help others as well.

A Drop Zone is simply a place where people that Skydive can go to...well, Skydive :) Where I am located there is not a place to skydive within 2 hours in any direction, so I would like to create that business here. It is a tourist area, so there will be plenty of customers during the summer months.

OK, that's cool, but $150,000? That is a lot of money. True!, $150k is indeed a lot of money, but for that money this is what we will be purchasing:

• 1 Cessna 182 (used, older)
  
• 4 tandem skydiving rigs
  
• 4 student skydiving rigs
  
• Misc. Drop Zone related gear (goggles, jumpsuits, etc.)
  

Sounds dangerous!!!. Yeah, it does sound dangerous and in some ways it is. You are exiting an aircraft at 10,000 feet in the air, so in that respect it is dangerous, however, the training for people that skydive is also intense and more than anything SAFETY comes first.

So Zag, you mentioned how you were going to use ChipIn to help others as well, how do you plan to do that?

I plan on using ChipIn to help others by using a percentage of monthly profit to donate to other ChipIn's like this one (example) to make their Chipin a reality.

So how much are you planning on chipping in Zag

I am making a promise to chipin to other projects the same amount that I raise in my own chipin, so If I raise $150k, then I will chipin money to to other projects until I have chipped in $150k. If I raise $30k, then I will chip in $30k.

The goal for me is to get my business off the ground and up and running and then contributing to helping others with their projects whatever they may be with a portion of my own profits.

OK Zag, that's cool and all but why $150k instead of say the $30k you would need to go and get a bank loan for the rest?

Good question. I thought long and hard about this before I decided to make the ChipIn thing. The answer is, what would I really feel better about? Would I feel better about borrowing $120-150k from the bank and then paying that back with interest over the course of 10+ years, or would I feel better not having to pay back the bank and maybe helping someone else start their business, or funding other projects that people might need money for? Well, I feel that I would be much happier being indebtted to my fellow man and paying that back by helping others much like I am asking people for help to get my business started.

Feel free to ask me any questions. I will always answer them even if it takes a day or two :)

Regards,

Greg