BUSINESS PLAN
Industry: Museum / Themed
Attraction
Number of Employees: 75+ (Five year projection)
Number of Volunteers: 120 (since 06/15/13)
Bank: TBA
Initial
Funding Sought: $800,000 PHASE I (Leased Location) in cash
Total Project Cost PHASE II-V: $7,000,000 as of 11/01/21
Use of Funds: Start-up Costs including Construction, Materials, Lease
Payments, Utilities,
Payroll,
Advertising and Promotions for the first six months of pre
opening operation
Location:
Numerous locations have been reviewed for the
model train display / museum and have narrowed the choices down to two leased locations.
The
preferred location is in Greenville County outside the City of Greenville, SC and
is not located in the downtown area thus
given the project plenty of parking which was lacking at the downtown
location of the MWOT BETA Test Display.
The location does not have any pedestrian traffic but have high volumes
of vehicle traffic and have easy access coming from major highways and is
close to
downtown Greenville. This location has easy access for both out of town and locale visitors to locate
the venue and have plenty of free parking.
It makes
perfect sense to locate the project at this
locations for many reasons
and will aid the
city and county in adding additional tourism income.
Other proof of concept
locations that are similar but are not the same as the Miniature World of
Trains are operating throughout the world as for profits. MWOT will need
to be a fully funded LLC. We will not open unless MWOT is funded in full.
CLICK HERE
for amounts of start up funding needed
Business Description
As a Themed Attraction and Museum, Miniature World of Trains
"Our World In Miniature"
has been created to
provide a state of the art miniature (scaled model) representation of our
worlds infrastructure and cities.
Miniature World of Trains
will educate via our S.T.E.A.M. programs and entertain all
age groups with its sophisticated computer controlled and self activated
push button displays of our
worlds transportation systems and infrastructures in miniature.
The miniature world (MWOT) will show the world's highways, small
towns and cities, railways including commuter, freight, passenger and High
Speed Rail, monorails and magnetic levitation systems, as well as water and air
transport systems. All will be modeled and automated. MWOT
will exhibit
realism and details and will emphasize our past, present and future use of
these infrastructures. How they have adapted with technology to provide
safer and energy-efficient systems. The miniature world will show how goods
are created using these transportation and manufacturing facilities, and
ultimately delivered to your local store or home.
MWOT
plans are to partner with several corporations to provide a high
visibility venue to increase public awareness of their existing safety,
energy efficiency and emerging technologies. MWOT
will also host hobby
"Do It Yourself" (DIY) programs and promote existing safety programs such as
Operation Lifesaver, a national rail crossing safety program.
The Miniature World of Trains
(MWOT) will feature a
Museum of Transportation History once location and funding to house such a
display is found. It will feature prototype and scale models, as
well as interactive displays that will teach and entertain about the history
of transportation. Included in the museum will be vehicle and railroad
displays as
well as a toy train museum to complement MWOT.
MWOT
will have tenants that will be subletting space. They are
a two or three retail locations and a food service
vendor that can allow visitors to shop and eat without going to the MWOT
display.
These
operations will be an additional source of income and a great revenue
generator for MWOT.
The Catalyst / Proof of Concept
The catalyst for creating MWOT
is the financially successful Minatur
Wunderland exhibit in Hamburg, Germany started in 2000 and attracts over one
million visitors per year and is the number one tourist attraction in
Germany. Due to the capital
requirements involved in matching and exceeding the German enterprise MWOT
has formed the new Miniature World of Trains
as a completely new non profit to facilitate concept funding.
Markets
There are several commercial and museum model train displays
around the USA but most are
located in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, Florida
and West Coast.
The Upcountry of South Carolina has seen explosive growth due to its diverse
economy. Because of its climate many retirees have moved into the area. Our
initial research has provided funding sources to help with the
construction start-up and model building. Our goal is to create an
attraction that overwhelms the senses and appeals to all age groups.
Introductory meetings have already occurred to partner with local and state
economic development and tourism bureaus during the earlier stages of the
Miniature World of Trains
concept creation from 2009 until today.
Within 100 miles of Greenville, SC there exists the potential of 10 million
visitors.
Our goal
is to reach 1 million visitors annually within 10 years.
CLICK
HERE for monthly sales projections
Products/Services
MWOT has been planned as a themed
family museum and attraction. It will
be built in phases over a minimum of 5 to 10 or more years.
MWOT
will be built to grow and to accommodate and average 2,750+ visitors daily
which equates to 1,000,000 visitors per year!
Modern energy efficient lighting, communications and audio systems will
transition the main exhibit, MWOT,
from day to night operations, all in a climate controlled atmosphere for
maximum theatrical effect and enjoyment of all visitors
MWOT will feature numerous well lit displays throughout the museum area.
Guests will be able to comfortably view the exhibits or interact with the
systems and actually control some of the infrastructure in the displays.
Current plans also include prototype memorabilia exhibits in the museum with
plans to allow for emerging technologies exhibits in transportation and city
infrastructure systems as well as energy efficiency and generation as time
and space allow.
A corporate training and/or group meeting / activity room (DIY), a gift and
hobby shop and two restaurants to accommodate 100+ customers each are also
planned if space permits. The hobby shop and restaurants will be leased space to offset
operational costs.
Unique Technologies/Key Differentiators
Besides our main exhibit MWOT,
the retail store
will open after our first phase of interior construction is completed while
the displays are still being created. This will allow retail store customers
to preview the displays as they are being constructed. As trains begin to
run and scenery begins to be completed, a preview admission will be charged
prior to the grand opening.
MWOT
will incorporate many operating trains, vehicles, planes and ships that
will be interactive with museum guests. For the professional transportation
worker or modeler there will be special sessions that will give them total
operational control at MWOT
or via our offsite interactive experience for businesses and schools.
It will be possible to use the MWOT
exhibit as a training tool emphasizing
safe operations of our various transportation infrastructures. Our goal is
for railroad dispatchers, engineers, conductors, truck drivers, automotive
highway design engineers, civil engineers, architects, construction
engineers, ship captains, dock workers, pilots, ground crews and air traffic
controllers to be able to test their skills of operation when interfacing
with each other. Also, the general public will be allowed to operate in the
MWOT
if they are pre qualified in advance. MWOT
will not be the
typical and ordinary displays, they will be " A fun and educational
experience for the whole family"
"Where Ordinary
Days Become Extraordinary".
Railroads were our worlds first entry in the industrial revolutions
transportation infrastructure growth in the mid 1800s. Unlike most
commercial and museum model train displays, MWOT
trains in our exhibits in
the MWOT
are simply the foundation for expanding it to include all of our
current and future transportation systems.
Competition
Regionally, besides a few club displays, there are no commercial
displays planned to open in the region or in the USA of this quality. Our goal is to be world class and the benchmark for this
type of attraction. Minatur Wunderland in Germany has an 18 year head start. Also. site visits to the following:
North Carolina Transportation Museum / Spencer Shops, Pennsylvania
State Railroad Museum in Strasburg, PA; Virginia Museum of Transportation,
the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona, PA; the Union Pacific Museum in
Ogden, Utah; Entertrainment in Cincinnati, OH, Museum of Science and
Industry in Chicago, IL ,the San Diego Model Railroad Museum in California
and several large private displays have been completed.
How It Will Be Done
A Board of Advisors will be formed and MWOT is currently recruiting
volunteer experts to assist MWOT
and its salaried employees. Model Railroaders and others with
the talent needed to create the project are contacting MWOT
currently who are local as well as around the US and Europe in order to build a reliable
exhibit, with minimal downtime.
In this respect we have the advantage of not
making the same mistakes in exhibit construction, operations and funding
that others have made and from what was learned at the MWOT BETA test. Completion of Phase
I construction exhibits
are planned to take 6 to 9 months with a planned target opening date window
of PHASE I for Christmas 2022. The first display
to open will be to Christmas Model Train Display and possibly PHASE I of the
Miniature World of Trains display either at the
permanent location.
Plans are currently being drawn up for the project
so that when start up funding is received, we can move forward quickly.
Definition Of The Market
The Project will be located near the City of Greenville, SC roughly
half way between Atlanta and Charlotte about a 1.5 to 2 hour drive.
Demographics
The Greenville MSA is the most populated region in South Carolina with more
than 1.2 million residents and an annual growth rate of 10 percent from
2000 to 2007.
Greenville was included in America's 50 hottest cities per Expansion
Management's survey of national site consultants.
Greenville has the highest level of foreign capital investment per capita in the nation and
rated as a top area for European expansion in the United States, as
recognized by the New York Times, USA Today and Business Week.
Greenville has attracted more than $6 billion in new business investment and
43,000 new jobs during the past decade alone. To that point, BMW recently
announced a $750 million infusion to its Greenville operation.
4.8 million people visit Greenville annually and spend more than $780
million.
|
MSA |
County |
25 Mile |
15 Mile |
5 Mile |
Population |
1,321,980 |
456,675 |
806,388 |
503,368 |
151,256 |
Households
(HH) |
503,933 |
166,706 |
320,798 |
201,567 |
63,608 |
Avg HH
Income |
$55,970 |
$63,626 |
$58,950 |
$62,373 |
$72,576 |
Traffic Count
MWOT will be strategically located near Downtown Greenville and
accessible from Interstate 85,
the busiest interstate in the South,
Interstate 385 and Woodruff Road.
I-385 - 86,000 Vehicles per Day (VPD)
I-85 North of 385 - 110,800 VPD
I-85 South of 385 - 97,400 VPD
Area Economic Development
Greenville is recognized as the economic center of South Carolina. It boasts
the highest level of foreign capital investment per capita in the nation
with more than 240 international firms from 23 nations located in Greenville
including BMW, Protera, Michelin, , General Electric, Hubbell Lighting and
many more.
Greenville County also serves as the retail hub of the Upstate with more
than $12.9 billion in retail sales annually and a 26% growth over the last
five years.
The Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson MSA was ranked seventh among all MSA's
by site consultants considering the top markets for economic development in
the millennium. Several major economic development projects are now underway
within a one-mile radius of MWOT along Greenville's Power Corridor.
CLICK HERE for
more information on why MWOT
should be
located in Greenville, SC
Marketing
MWOT is currently creating the buzz for the project via any free
media outlets we can find. The MWOT
concept
first appeared in an internet article from Model Retailer Magazine
in 2010 announcing the
project to the world. MWOT has also followed up with email updates to
the list of previous visitors as well as the official and continuing
additions to join the email list at
miniatureworldoftrains.com
which is
updated daily as needed. Some third party model railroad fans have already
created blogs on the internet about the project.
We will be promoting the MWOT project at all large regional train
shows within an 8 hour drive from Greenville, SC as time and funding
permits.
We will also partner with some of the area transportation and other museums
such as BMW Zentrum, Spencer Shops, Virginia Museum of Transportation,
Southern Railway Museum, Tweetsie Railroad, Smokey Mountain Railroad, Walt
Disney World, Dollywood and the Children's Museum of the Upstate.
The MWOT
concept has
been in the news constantly in from 2010 to 2015 in Greenville / Upstate
South Carolina with media help from WYFF an NBC Affiliate, Greenville News a
Gannett Affiliate, Associated Press, Greenville Journal, South Carolina
Radio Network, WSPA a CBS Affiliate, Fox Carolina a Fox Affiliate,
Greenville Business Magazine as well as many blogs, forums and Tweets. This
will continue as we move forward.
See
NEWS for more updated
information.
Online merchandise will be for sale
online as well as at
the official store of MWOT,
Blue Ridge Hobbies(R).
As opening day approaches, heavy marketing will be used in all model
railroad media as well as any free avenues to market the project.
Area Entertainment
Close to the venue is the Greenville County Schools Roper
Mountain Science Center where tens of thousands of K-12 students visit
throughout the school year. Across I-385 opposite the RMSC is Sparetime family entertainment complex. Within
7 miles is Frankie's Fun
Park Family Entertainment Center. Also, the regional and thriving Haywood
Mall and the main area retail corridor for Greenville along Woodruff,
Laurens, Wade Hampton and Haywood Rd. The Greenville Zoo is 4 miles away and downtown
Greenville featuring the Greenville Drive minor league baseball stadium, the
Peace Center and St Francis Wellness Area, Upstate Museum and the Children's
Museum of the Upstate. BMW Zentrum car museum is about 15 miles away at the
BMW Factory.
Our plan is to get all of these entertainment venues to be part of the city
entertainment card so all can benefit from mutual client bases that have the
same cross over entertainment wishes.
All of these venues compliment each other and the Miniature World of Trains
will be another reasonably priced high quality entertainment option.
Employment
The LLC
dba Miniature World of Trains
will create up to 75 paid jobs by year 5 of operations and will be
supported by volunteers as well.
------------------------------------------
Frank Ruby
Founder and President
Last updated
12/14/2022
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