Dream Homes?

[Captain]

This is just for the sake of day-dreaming (probably), but if money and job was not an issue what would your dream home be?

Here is one to get the ball rolling:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTmks3XENpY

Walker's Cay off the east coast of Florida and apparently for sale for only $14mill.

Maybe an old missile silo mansion:  https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/nuclear-missile-silo-home...

A cavern:  https://www.arkhaven.org/Huge_cavern_system.htm

A lighthouse?  https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/real-estate/a11660003/gov...

[Captain]

https://portland.craigslist.org/nco/cto/d/1942-chevy-gypsy-wagon-ti...

[Isabella Delphinia Ravensdale]

This. It would go with great with my love of both Steampunk and Halloween.

[Captain]

Where is that house? 

[Isabella Delphinia Ravensdale]

It's in Missouri

[Sophia Beaumont]

I would love to live in one of the steampunk horse trailers floating around on the internet. 

Or in a creepy old Victorian, because I'm a horror writer. 

I also really want to make a Goth spa with steampunk and Victorian influences, but you usually need money to start a business.

[Captain]

I am having trouble visualizing what all would go into a Goth spa.  Probably since I do not frequent spas in general. 

[Sophia Beaumont]

Normal spa: Massages. Facials. All sorts of treatments to relax you and make you feel healthier. Modern buildings, clean lines, lots of sunlight. Color pallets usually include a lot of white, blue, pale grey, and green. There's usually a lot of stuff that smells like lavender and cucumber, with flute and piano music in the background and nature sounds.

Lady Bathory's Gothic Day Spa: Same treatments, but it's in a big old Victorian house. The colors are black, grey, red, and purple. There's cello music or instrumental horror movie soundtracks playing in the background, and scents like pomegranate and sandalwood. You can drink tea and get your leaves read, or soak in a great big pool of warm water (colored red, of course. But with bath bombs, not blood). 

I might be a little twisted.

[Captain]

My Y chromosome is very confused by this description.  ;-) 

If you were converting a big old Victorian house to a Goth spa, or maybe a Goth spa/ B&B, you might want one or more Victorian wrought iron greenhouses attached for the pools.  Himalayan "salt caves" seem to be the rage locally.

I occasionally see these old iron greenhouses on Ebay but not very cheap. 

There are a number of formerly wealthy towns across the US which no longer sustain industries so are quiet and cheap.  Old "river towns" such as western WV/eastern OH among other places have a number of beautiful old Victorian homes for sale around $150K-$250K and as low as $30K for fixer-uppers.  Many towns have limited business zonings though and there is not much of a customer base locally.  I cannot seem to figure out WV B&B laws/customs. 

If I were you I would take a long weekend or two and start with a visit to Parkersburg, WV traveling up and down the river to look at houses with FOR SALE yard flowers.  Maybe do some yard sales (great gossip opportunities).    Have you thought about raising capital with a "go fund me" or taking a silent partner?  Doctors' wives often need to lose money to save their husband taxes so they invest in antique shops and such. 

Sometimes my lovely wife and I peruse real estate listings in that area for the far off day when we might retire.  Mostly it is for entertainment. 

BTW - take a look at this place and picture it as your home/business: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/320-Condor-St-Pomeroy-OH-45769/1...  I suspect that the reason that it is so cheap is OH taxes and that floods can reach it.  Are you a good enough mason to add say a 5' deep set stone wall? 

[Sophia Beaumont]

Hey, men can go to spas, too! Massages can be great for back problems, muscular/skeletal pain, chronic illness, lymphatic cancers, and other diseases, as well as general stress relief. :)

Ooh, yes. One of those greenhouses would be lovely. 

Mostly I'm just dreaming about this. I can't even afford to buy myself a house, let alone start a business--my degree/student loans tanked any chance I ever had of that short of winning the lottery. Mostly, I'm just daydreaming. I wouldn't know the first thing about running a business or a spa, I just think it would be a fun idea and the type of place I would like to go to.

That house would be wonderful. (Not being able to buy a house has never stopped me from drooling over all the listings...)

[Captain]

Males of men?  ;-)  I just am not sure that I could see myself in such a spa.  Maybe if it were attached to a nice fencing salle. 

You are on the right path since the first step to creating a business is (constructive, realistic) daydreaming.  There are many resources out there like:

https://articles.bplans.com/how-to-start-a-luxury-day-spa/

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/75152

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/needed-started-spa-business-2375.html

etc......

I owned a book store for 14+ years so this is just a fun game to me helping create a business. 

Besides things like go fund me look at grants such as: https://bizfluent.com/info-8692451-grants-open-salons-women.html 

Not to sound sexist but as a female you have probably ten times the grants available as say a retired marine starting a gun store.  There may even be grants to pay back student loans for female entrepreneurs.   

A virtual mansion for under $80K even if it needs another $20K in gear and upgrades is pretty much chump change for a business startup.  It just sounds high.

My tips: never take a partner, never take a loan, keep your credit cards completely paid off, there is no such thing as bad advertisement, it is easier to keep a good customer than to find one, always suggest one more thing for them to buy, pay for a check book that makes duplicates, bake fresh cookies every day, and wear green shirts. 

I suspect that the go fund me name of "Goth spa" might get a whole different level of notice than just another generic day spa. 

[Sophia Beaumont]

I like to day dream, but I can't get loans anymore. I have over 100k in student loans (tip: don't go to private art school during a recession) and then there's credit cards on top of that because I worked minimum wage retail for 5 years after I graduated. 

We are hoping to move out of state soon (in the next 1-2 years) but don't know exactly where, so that's also going to have an impact on things. 

[Captain]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLWB88QQt6E

Super cheap islands for sale (including Baltimore).