THE PLAN
In order for Soleil Gourmet to come to fruition, I have a plan. This plan should take one year to see the first Soleil Gourmet desserts lounge open it's doors.
This plan involves several major steps which are detailed below.
We are at the ground floor of an opportunity that could see this venture achieving levels of success in the millions of dollars.
STEP ONE: THE LAND
The first stage of the plan is to acquire land. Land is always a safe investment over the years. Colorado has always been the place I call home, as well as being the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes. In searching for land on which to start the grow project, I encountered several new friends while travelling around Poland. These new friends were from Paonia, CO. Paonia, is one of the most famous garden spots in Colorado, with local growers raising organic vegetables and fruit, beef, lamb, honey, goat cheese, and many other crops that are popular with food enthusiasts far and wide. Peaches, wine
grapes, apples, cherries, all types of vegetables, pears, garlic, okra, and even award-winning hops are grown in the local area. I have been looking at properties online, and have found a few that sound perfect for the plan. Of course, upon return to the US, I am going to spend some time in Paonia to personally inspect land and make new connections. I have several friends who are already part of this project who have years of marijuana growing experience, as well as standard farming. The land we are looking at is perfect for organic farming.
One parcel is 12.36 acres, at $249K. Click here to see the property listing.
Another parcel comes in with 40 acres, at $399K Click here to see the property listing.
There are many other options, as well as some that we will discover upon visiting Paonia and looking at properties.
Ideally, this part of the plan must happen quickly, so we can have the summer season for growing and building up the property. We intend to build yurts and earth-ship houses on the property to keep costs low and to build efficient, eco-friendly housing.
STEP TWO: THE GROW
With an outdoor garden in this area of Colorado, there is ample sunshine and a late growing season. With the higher altitude and more potent sunshine, we could be looking at 2-3lbs per plant harvested.
With an indoor greenhouse, at 1000 sq ft, 40 HID Lights, we are looking at an output of around 50 lbs every two months once the cycle has started.
On the indoor harvest alone, 50 lbs, 10 of which would be set aside for extracting oils for Soleil Gourmet. The other 40 would be sold to various dispensaries around Colorado, at an
average price of $2,000/lb, or $160K per cycle. Between the six month outdoor harvest and two full cycles of the indoor garden, we would be looking at around $800K by the end of one season. Thereby paying off the land quickly, and having the money to invest ourselves into the rest of Soleil Gourmet.
Between the group of us, we have dozens of years of growing experience. Bringing the best organic techniques together, we can produce a high yield, high quality product that will be easy to sell to dispensaries.
STEP THREE: THE DESSERTS
Once we have our first oil extracts, we can start the desserts process. First off will be the sourcing and purchasing of the best, sustainably grown Chocolate for use in Soleil Gourmet. As soon as we have selected our premium chocolate, the experimenting in the kitchen begins! These early experiements will be in testing recipes, design, and potency. Initially, we will focus on gourmet chocolates, and other hand held desserts. This first stage of desserts will be designed for two purposes. First to start selling them in various dispensaries across Colorado, to help introduce the Soleil Gourmet name to the public. Secondly, these chocolates and hand held desserts will be available for sale in our food truck.
STEP FOUR: THE FOOD TRUCK
Before going to the final step of opening a brick & mortar restaurant location, having a food truck will allow us to further test and market our products. This food truck will be less costly than most, since it will not be used for any kind of cooking. We will only need display cases and refrigeration units to keep the chocolates cool. With a food truck, we can travel to various music festivals, and all over the region, introducing the Soleil Gourmet concept. The food truck will also have a rear fold out shade structure and DJ booth/sound system, so we can keep the party going and gather interest from crowds.
STEP FIVE: THE DESSERTS LOUNGE
Once the above steps have been completed, by the end of one year, we would be looking at properties to lease or purchase for the opening of the first Soleil Gourmet Desserts Lounge. This is the culmination of the whole project. As noted before, Soleil Gourmet will be part art gallery, part DJ lounge and part desserts restaurant serving the very best in gourmet medicated desserts.
Currently, we are looking at the first grand opening taking place in either Seattle, WA where the laws are such that we can open this kind of business. The other main option is
Las Vegas, NV. Nevada has recently legalized for recreational use, but will not implement it until the end of this year. One of our key partners involved in the bigger picture and his family have secured dozens of the initial license offerings in Nevada, including cultivation licenses, retail and research licenses. This gives us the option of opening in Las Vegas in early 2016. Being such a tourist mecca, and marijuana being legal, we feel that the Soleil Gourmet concept will be well accepted, and gain worldwide notoriety. But it doesn't end there...
As other states legalize, we will be able to come in early, purchase the necessary licenses, then start growing and opening new Soleil Gourmet lounges. This could truly be the beginning of a new empire. As legalization takes place across America, so it will follow in Europe, and we can open Soleil Gourmets in some of the best European capitals.
This is such the lofty dream, but it is a culmination of all the various talents, experience and passion that I have had throughout my life. I have always been one to entertain and host. Soleil Gourmet will allow me to become the best host, and provide a unique and well loved service.
With some inital help in investment to secure the land, the rest of the process will generate the capital needed to fund all future developments of the company.
Now is the time to get on board for what is going to be one wild ride to the top of an Empire!