Do you want to start a summer camp and need to write a plan? If YES, here is a detailed sample summer camp business plan template & FREE feasibility report.
Americans like camping especially during the spring and summer; this goes to show that a summer camp business is profitable and an aspiring entrepreneur can successfully launch it in the United States of America. The bulk of the job when it comes to starting a summer camp business is securing a facility that is large enough to contain the required facilities that will make your camp worth patronizing.
Also, your camp facility should be in a location with the right atmosphere in terms of serenity; a location that can attract the kind of clients that would pay to make use of your facility. It might take you months to get an ideal facility so it is better to inform your real estate agent in advance to help you with the search.
Building a summer camp facility can be expensive but you can make your money within few years of launching the business especially if you have people patronizing your facility on a regular basis.
So, if you have decided to open a summer camp facility for business, then you should ensure that you carry out thorough feasibility studies and market survey. Below is a sample summer camp business plan template that can help you to write your own with little or no difficulty.
A Sample Summer Camp Business Plan Template
1. Industry Overview
The summer camp industry includes facilities that operate overnight recreational camps for adults and children. Camps may have themes and the industry includes outdoor adventure retreats. Camps generally provide accommodations and other amenities such as cabins, fixed campsites, food services, recreational facilities, equipment, and organized activities.
Summer camp facilities and instructional day camps are excluded. Operators may specialize in any of the niche idea in the industry and it could be sports, teambuilding, community service, farming/ranching/gardening and wilderness camps.
The summer camps industry is indeed a very large industry and pretty much thriving in developed countries such as United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and New Zealand et al.
Statistics has it that in the united states of America alone, there are about 5,905 licensed and registered summer camp facilities and they are responsible for employing about 27,011 people and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $4 billion annually with an annual growth rate projected at 2.6 percent between 2014 and 2019. It is important to state that no establishment has a lion share in the industry.
A recent report published by IBISWORLD shows that the Summer Camps industry is tied closely to overall economic indicators such as per capita disposable income, population growth and leisure time. Disposable income has grown every year since 2014 as unemployment has fallen, contributing to industry revenue gains.
However, at the same time, competition from instructional day camps, which are excluded from this industry, has been increasing, limiting revenue growth.
Nevertheless, as niche and specialty camps become more popular, demand for industry operators is expected to trend upward. As a result of the combination of these factors, IBISWorld expects industry revenue to increase at an annualized rate of 2.6 percent to $3.5 billion over the five years to 2019, including a 0.8% growth rate in 2019.
In recent time, the summer camp industry has experienced revenue growth, despite many families being time – strapped. While the industry contended with mounting competition from alternative leisure activities, such as bouncing castles, gym and fitness centers and cinemas, many operators generated industry revenue growth on the basis of convenience.
In the coming years, the industry revenue is forecast to grow as family entertainment centers will continue to enhance their product portfolios to attract families, despite their reduced leisure time
Starting a summer camp business in the United States of America can be somewhat stressful as it requires enough cash to acquire land large enough to accommodate the facility that can comfortably attract families and other large groups. But that does not rule out the fact that the business is profitable.
2. Executive Summary
Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC is a standard summer camp facility that will be located in a serene environment in the outskirt of New Haven – Connecticut. Our aim of setting up the business is to contribute our quota in ensuring that campers have a facility that is highly suitable for their intentions.
We have successfully leased a standard facility in a central and easy to locate area in New Haven – Connecticut and we are well equipped to service the community as well as visitors and travelers. Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC is going to become the number one choice for summer campers looking towards camping in New Haven – Connecticut and we will work hard to build our facility to match the needs of all our clients.
Before choosing a location for our summer campsite, we conducted a thorough research and feasibility studies and we were able to come to the conclusion that New Haven – Connecticut is the right place to open our summer camp facility.
Our camp facility is specifically designed to take care of religious events, corporate events, school events et al. We have active childcare services for toddlers and we have membership packages that are highly discounted for families that enroll with us or churches, corporate organizations and schools who would want to regularly make use of our facility.
Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as a business, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible.
We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our client’s needs precisely and completely.
Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC is a registered family business that is owned and managed by James M Philips and his immediate family members. James M Philips has a degree in Business Management from the University of Connecticut.
He has over 10 years hands on experience in the summer camps industry working for some of the leading brands in the United States of America and Canada.
3. Our Products and Services
Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC is in the summer camps industry to provide camping and recreational facility for campers, religious organizations, corporate organizations, and families living in New Haven and other neighboring cities and we have been able to put up a facility that can help us achieve our business goal.
We are optimistic that everyone who makes use of our facility will definitely derive value for their money. These are the services and amenities that will be made available to our clients;
- Overnight recreational camping
- Meals, snacks and nonalcoholic beverages prepared for immediate consumption
- Room or unit accommodation for travelers and others
4. Our Mission and Vision Statement
- Our vision of starting Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC is to build a world – class summer camp facility and also to contribute our quota in encourage families and residents of New Haven and neighboring cities to actively engage in summer camping.
- Our mission for establishing Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC is to create a movement in the community that supports total engagement of families and groups in fun filled summer camping and related recreational activities.
Our Business Structure
Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC is in business to become the leading private summer camping and recreational facility in the whole of New Haven – Connecticut and we are fully aware that it will take the right facility, management and organizational structure to achieve our goal.
We will ensure that we hire people that are qualified, honest, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all the stakeholders. As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our senior management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of ten years or more.
Our business will not be built only for the purpose of giving our members / customers value for their money, but also to make our work environment highly conducive for all our employees. We will provide them with facilities that will help them stay motivated and deliver on their various tasks and goals et al.
In view of that, we have made provisions for the following positions to be occupied by highly qualified and experienced staff;
- Chief Executive Office – CEO
- Camping Facility Manager
- Admin and Human Resources Manager
- Accountant/Cashier
- Marketing and Sales Officer
- Customer Care Executive/Front Desk Officer
- Cleaners
5. Job Roles and Responsibilities
Chief Executive Officer – CEO:
- Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results
- Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
- Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
- Responsible for providing direction for the business
- Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
- Evaluates the success of the organization
- Carrying out staff induction for new team members
Camping Facility Manager
- Responsible for operating and managing the summer camp facility
- Ensures that the camping facility is in tip top shape at all times
- Responsible for managing food and beverage services
- Manage membership and registration services
- Handle equipment rentals and sales services
- Handle other relevant camping facility operation
Admin and HR Manager
- Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
- Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
- Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
- Defining job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
- Carrying out induction for new team members
- Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
- Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
- Oversee the smooth running of the daily office activities.
Marketing and Sales Officer (2)
- Identify, prioritize, and reach out to new clients, and business opportunities et al
- Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts
- Writing winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
- Responsible for handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies
- Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
- Document all customer contact and information
- Represent the organization in strategic meetings
- Help increase sales and growth for the organization.
Accountant/Cashier:
- Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
- Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports
- Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
- Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for the organization
- Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
- Responsible for administering payrolls
- Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
- Handles all financial transactions for the organization
- Serves as internal auditor for the organization.
Client Service Executive
- Welcomes members and potential members/clients by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
- Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
- Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the organization’s products and services
- Manages administrative duties such as membership registrations and other related tasks assigned by the management in an effective and timely manner
- Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to clients when they make enquiries
Cleaners (3):
- Responsible for cleaning in and around the summer camp facility
- Clean up after customers
- Wash glassware and utensils after each use.
- Ensure that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
- Handle any other duty as assigned by the summer camp manager.
6. SWOT Analysis
Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC is in business to provide summer camping and recreational facility for families and groups in New Haven – Connecticut and at the same time to make profits. We are aware that there are competitions in the summer camps industry which is why we took out time to conduct an effective SWOT Analysis before investing our hard – earned money into the business.
We know that if we get things right before starting our summer camp facility, we will not have to struggle before attracting loyal clients and building our membership base to a level where we can easily breakeven. We hired the services a HR and Business consultant with bias in business structuring to help us conduct SWOT analysis for our company and he did a pretty good job for us.
Here is a of the result we got from the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC;
- Strength:
One of the obvious strengths that will definitely stand as a plus for Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC is the fact that our facility is of great standard and it is strategically located in a serene area in New Haven – Connecticut; our location is in fact one of our major strengths.
We equally have a team of highly qualified professionals who will work with all our clients to achieve their aims making use of our summer camp facility and lastly our gate fee/membership package is one of the best that anybody living in New Haven – Connecticut can get; it is cheap and affordable.
- Weakness:
We critically looked into our Business model and we were able to identify two major weaknesses. One is the fact that we are a new business and the second is the fact that we may not have the financial resources required to match up with existing summer camp facilities in and around Connecticut when it comes to generating the needed hypes that can drive traffic towards our facility.
- Opportunities:
Total recreation expenditure tracks the total spent by US consumers on recreation services per year. Camp attendance represents a recreational activity and is therefore tied to changes in related spending. Total recreation expenditure is expected to increase in 2019, presenting a potential opportunity for the industry. With that in view, we have mapped strategies to help us maximize this opportunity.
- Threat:
The number of K-12 students represents the total student enrollment in public and private kindergartens, elementary and secondary schools. This demographic represents a key market for overnight camps. The number of K-12 students is expected to nearly stagnate 2019, representing a potential threat to the industry.
Some other threats that may also confront Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC are unfavorable government policies, inclement weather, demographic/social factors, downturn in the economy which is likely going to affect consumers spending and lastly, the emergence of new competitors within the same location where our camp facility is located.
7. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Market Trends
The summer camp industry has indeed benefited from recent marketing campaigns which is targeted towards encouraging people to participate in recreation activities and camping, as well as consumer trends toward healthy living.
Going forward, many people who are part of the baby boomer’s generation are expected to sign up for recreational club memberships or make use of camping and recreation facilities in their communities, as they become more family cum health – conscious as they grow older.
However, patrons of summer camp facilities and recreation centers are anticipated to increasingly pick up membership from less expensive camping and recreational centers as against expensive all – inclusive clubs.
The trend in the summer camps industry is such that if a facility is well – equipped and positioned close to a residential area or a place where people can easily access without much stress, there is the likelihood that the facility will enjoy high patronage.
Just like in other business ventures, the owners of summer camp facilities are always looking for ways to increase their market share; they go as far as signing deals with sports clubs, high schools and also religious organizations et al to make use of their facility.
Lastly, it is a common trend that as summer camp facilities grows, it becomes necessary for them to develop new service offerings or install new facilities that will help them attract more people. Little wonder some summer camp facilities now have other facilities targeted towards attracting adults/parents. In order words, it is very important for summer camp facilities to continue to improvise if they want to grow their business.
8. Our Target Market
The target market for summer camp facility cuts across people from different backgrounds. The fact that people visit or register in summer camp facilities makes marketing the business interesting. The target market for summer camp facilities can be categorized into three various groups.
The first group are families who are looking towards creating time for family hangouts and bonding. The other group are schools who would want an ideal place to take students during excursions or playtime et al. The last group are religious organizations, corporate organizations and sport clubs who are looking for towards team bonding activities and other similar activities.
Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC will work towards providing services, facilities and environment that will help us reach out to our target market. These are the category of people that we intend marketing our summer camp facility to;
- Households and families in an around New Haven – Connecticut
- Schools
- Churches and Religious centers
- Sport clubs
- Corporate organizations
- Travelers/Tourists
Our Competitive Advantage
The summer camps industry is indeed a prolific and highly competitive industry especially in the United States of America. There seems to be an ever – increasing number of summer camps competing for a limited number of campers.
This makes it essential to maintain a relationship with your campers and community throughout the year to remind them that your summer camp is approaching. Part of our competitive advantages is that we are going to make use of customized software to run our facility. The customized software apps will help us with;
Customized registration, roommate and housing assignments, donor management and prospect campers. Self-scheduled camper assignments.
Let campers (or their parents) organize their own schedules before the start of camp. With this tool, the campers can look forward to their favorite activities and we will be able to know which activities are popular, without manually inputting data or checking spreadsheets.
Camper tracking. If our campers are traveling, it will enable us to have real-time updates on tracking information. This will ensure we, and the parents, know where our campers are at all times. Integrated point of sale. We will be able to take any type of payment online, to make registering for our camp as easy as possible.
Lastly, Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC is strategically located in a serene area in New Haven – Connecticut; our location is in fact one of our major strengths. We equally have a team of highly qualified professionals and lastly our gate fee/membership package is one of the best that anybody living in New Haven – Connecticut can get; it is cheap and affordable.
9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the summer camp industry and we are going to ensure that we do all it takes to attract both individual clients on a regular basis. Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC will generate income by offering the following services;
- Overnight recreational camping
- Meals, snacks and nonalcoholic beverages prepared for immediate consumption
- Room or unit accommodation for travelers and others
10. Sales Forecast
It is important to state that our sales forecast is based on the data gathered during our feasibility studies and also some of the assumptions readily available on the field. It would be hard to create a sales forecast with a newly opened business because the statistics that will be provided will be on a short – term basis.
Experts say that usually a business should be in operation for at least one year before they can generate the statistics that will help in accurate forecasting; statistics should be at least one – year – old in order to show the trends and pattern in consumer spending.
We expect to welcome a minimum of 12,000 customers i.e. 0ne thousand customers per month within our first year of operation and then in subsequent years we will grow by 25 percent or more Below are the sales projection for Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC, it is based on the location of our summer camp facility and the services and products that we will be offering to our clients (members);
- First Fiscal Year (FY1): $450,000
- Second Fiscal Year (FY2): $650,000
- Third Fiscal Year (FY3): $950,000
N.B: This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major competitor offering same services as we do within 4.5 miles radius from our facility. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.
- Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy
Our marketing strategies will be directed towards achieving specific objectives that support the strategic goals of the organization. The truth is that all that we do will be geared towards creating new market channels, increasing sales and our market share. We will leverage on improving our services and facility to ensure that we win new clients and retain old members.
Our unique selling proposition is that we are well positioned and people can easily access our facility, our prices are affordable and we have a complete package for families, clubs, schools and religious organizations. Parts of the marketing and sales strategies that we will adopt are;
- Open our summer camp facility with a big party for all and sundry
- Advertise our summer camp facility on national dailies, local TV and local radio stations
- Promote our summer camp facility online via our official website and all available social media platforms
- Introduce our summer camp facility by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to religious organizations, schools, corporate organizations, households and key stakeholders in Los Angeles – California
- Print out fliers and business cards and strategically drop them in offices, libraries, public facilities and train stations et al.
- Making our first impression count positively to those making use of our summer camp facility for the first time
- Make use of attractive hand bills to create awareness and also to give direction to our summer camp facility
- Adopt direct mailing coupon marketing approach
- Position our signage/flexi banners at strategic places in and around New Haven – Connecticut
- Create a loyalty plan that will enable us reward our consistent members especially those that registered as a family or groups
- Engage in roadshows within our neighborhood to create awareness for our summer camp facility.
11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy
We have been able to work with our branding and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market.
We are set to become the number one choice for both corporate and individual clients in the whole of New Haven – Connecticut which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our summer camp facility.
Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC;
- Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
- Sponsor relevant community based sport events and competitions
- Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
- Install our Billboards in strategic locations all around New Haven – Connecticut
- Engage in roadshow from time to time in targeted neighborhoods
- Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
- List Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC on local directories/yellow pages
- Advertise our summer camp facility in our official website and employ strategies that will help us pull traffic to the site.
- Ensure that all our staff members wear our branded shirts and all our official vehicles and trucks are well branded with our corporate logo et al.
12. Our Pricing Strategy
Our pricing system is going to be based on what is obtainable in the summer camps industry, we don’t intend to charge more (except for premium and customized services) and we don’t intend to charge less than what our competitors are charging as gate fees or members fee in New Haven – Connecticut.
But be that as it may, we have put plans in place to offer discount services once in a while and also reward our loyal customers especially when they refer clients to us or when they register as a family or group.
- Payment Options
The payment policy adopted by Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulations of the United States of America.
Here are the payment options that Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC will make available to her clients;
- Payment via bank transfer
- Payment with cash
- Payment via credit cards
- Payment via online bank transfer
- Payment via check
- Payment via mobile money transfer
In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our clients make payment for gate fees and products purchase without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials.
13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)
This is what it would cost us to set up Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC in the United of America;
- The total fee for registering the Business in the United States of America – $750.
- Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits – $1,500.
- Marketing promotion expenses (8,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $10,000.
- The cost for hiring Business Consultant – $5,000.
- Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $30,800.
- The cost of accounting software, CRM software and Payroll Software – $3,000
- The cost for leasing facility for the summer camp facility and recreational facility – $350,000.
- The total cost for facility remodeling and equipping the facility ((electrical, furnishings, plumbing, painting and landscaping) – $150,000.
- Other start-up expenses including stationery – $1000
- Phone and utility deposits – $3,500
- Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $100,000
- The cost for the purchase of room furniture, kitchen equipment and gadgets (mattresses, bed sheets, blankets, pillows, beds, fridges, smoke detector, TVs, microwave oven, Sound System, tables and chairs et al) – $150,000
- The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, Sound System, video games, snooker board, tables and chairs et al) – $10,000.
- The cost of Launching a Website – $600
- The cost for our grand opening party – $15,000
- Additional Expenditure (Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions et al) – $5,000
We would need an estimate of $1.5 million to successfully launch a small but standard and well – equipped summer camp facility and recreational facility in New Haven – Connecticut.
Generating Funds/Startup Capital for Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC
Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC is a family registered business that will be owned and managed by James M Philips and his immediate family members. They decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital for the business to just three major sources. They do not intend welcoming external investors for now.
These are the areas we intend generating our startup capital;
- Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings and sale of his stocks
- Generate part of the startup capital from friends and other extended family members
- Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the bank (loan facility).
N.B: We have been able to generate about $250,000 (Personal savings $200,000 and soft loan from family members $50,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $1.250 million from our bank. All the papers and documents have been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.
14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy
The future of a business lies in the number of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of their employees, their investment strategy and business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business, then it won’t be too long before the business closes shop.
One of our major goals of starting Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.
We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to pick up membership in our summer camp facility is to equip our facility with state of the art recreational equipment, ensure that the camping facility is always in tip top shape and conducive, and over and above make our services affordable.
Green Haven® Summer Camp, LLC will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner.
As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of ten years or more. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.
Check List/Milestone
- Business Name Availability Check: Completed
- Business Registration: Completed
- Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
- Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
- Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
- Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
- Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
- Application for business license and permit: Completed
- Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
- Acquiring facility and remodeling the facility: In Progress
- Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
- Generating capital from family members: Completed
- Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
- Writing of Business Plan: Completed
- Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
- Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
- Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
- Printing of Promotional Materials: In Progress
- Recruitment of employees: In Progress
- Purchase of the needed camping equipment, electronic appliances, office appliances and suppliers: In progress
- Creating Official Website for the Company: Completed
- Creating Awareness for the business both online and in the neighborhood: In Progress
- Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
- Opening party/launching party planning: In Progress
- Establishing business relationship with vendors and key stakeholders in the industry: In Progress