Page 6 of Charm Me
“I’ll get started then.” I cleared my throat and took a drink of water. “Mr. Strong, this may se—”
“Please, call me Wyatt.” His low, throaty voice cut right through me. I looked up from my computer screen and his bright green eyes darkened. I spread my fingers out and pressed them to my side. Holy hell, that look. I wasn’t sure if I’d survive this meeting without fainting under his gaze.
“Yes sir.” I forced my best smile and hoped Glen didn’t notice the effect Wyatt had on me. “Wyatt, this may seem a bit unconventional, but bear with me.” I clicked to the first slide in my presentation with a map of Montana and Wyoming. “It’s my understanding that the majority of your operations are managed on your lands in southeastern Montana and northwestern Wyoming. Only a small percentage of the original Strong Valley Ranch near Flathead still runs cattle. Correct?”
“Yes ma’am.” I wished he would smile or show some form of emotion other than the intense seriousness he seemed to wear like a second skin.
Clicking to the next slide, I presented a map zoomed into Wyatt’s land near Flathead National Park in the Rocky Mountains of Montana. “If my calculations are correct, about thirty-five percent of the original 3,500 acres are mountainous and unsuitable for cattle.”
“That’s correct.” He narrowed his eyes in on me.
“You’re sitting on approximately 1,200 acres of some of the most beautiful land in all of Montana.” I flipped through a series of photos I collected from his company website, all taken from his family ranch house in the mountains. “People would pay good money to come spend a week or more to escape to the secluded mountains with access to Glacier National Park.”
“We’re not interested in convertin’ our family ranch into a dude ranch.”
“Good, because I’m not proposing a dude ranch. I’m proposing a luxury vacation destination. I’ve taken the liberty of sketching up some preliminary concepts, creating complete separation of the current ranch operations and family housing area, of course. About 800 of the acres you own to the north are cut off from the rest of the property.”
I turned to the screen and pointed to the area I was referring to. If the look on his face was any indication of his initial thoughts on my proposal, I was toast. But if I made it to the end, I knew I’d have his attention. Men like him rarely turned their backs on a great investment. “I conducted a geological assessment, mind you a very crude one, and estimated you could easily construct a few hundred cabins in this area. Now I think that’s way too many for a luxury destination spot like this. I’d stick to fifty or less.”
“I thought you were a financial analyst?” Wyatt interrupted.
“I am, but I’m also a skilled sustainable environmental planner specializing in agricultural enterprises.” His brows raised a tick, but I’d found my groove and didn’t miss a beat. “I based this conceptual plan on thirty-five units. You already have fifteen small hunting cabins in this area which would make startup costs significantly less. If you’ll look at these sketches and figures, taking a very conservative approach and a few years for expansion, you could easily bring in over six figures in net profit. And if you—”
“Did you say net profit?”
“Yes.” I handed Wyatt a summary report as I continued to flip through my presentation. “Keep in mind that would be after several years unless you chose to build more cabins up front. Of course, the construction expenses would decrease the net profit considerably until you recouped the upfront investment, but with updating the existing fifteen cabins into luxury vacation homes you’d bring in six figures easy. If you’ll flip to page six, I’ve outlined all the operating costs, expenses, marketing and promotions, and maintenance with a few different build out options.”
I paused, giving him time to flip through the report. This wasn’t what he was expecting, and I could tell he was thrown off, but I had his interest. Now I needed to keep it.
“I’ve taken a very conservative approach to estimating the profit and assumed a maximum of four months per year at max capacity. Chances are high, you could rent these units out a lot more than that, maybe even double that time. Host a winter festival and you could draw a crowd over the holidays. This concept requires very little staffing; a manager, a booking agent, maybe an event planner, maintenance, and the cleaning can be outsourced. As you’ll see destination vacation enterprises are very lucrative.”
His gaze softened, but only slightly as he looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. He was intrigued, which was more than I’d hoped for. “How solid are these numbers?”
“Very. In the past four years I’ve helped six struggling farms, four in New York, one in Pennsylvania, and one in Texas. They all converted a portion of their property to vacation rentals, a couple with a bed and breakfast, and they’re all making six figure incomes from those properties. The Texas ranch is the largest and had the greatest potential. They’re bringing in close to seven figures a year. Having beach front property increases their profit considerably. With your land holdings and scenic location you could easily exceed the Texas ranch’s earnings. You’re very fortunate to own the perfect location or else this wouldn’t work quite as well.
“With their permission, I’ve outlined each of those success stories for you starting on page fourteen of the report. Their initial project costs, operating expenses, and maintenance are all there. I believe everything you need to evaluate this option is contained in my report.”
He flipped through the report, stopping every few pages to study the content. Glen tossed me a gentle smile which from him meant he was impressed. We both turned our gazes to Wyatt and waited.
He was quiet for several minutes as he read through the information and the figures I’d prepared. Strong Valley Ranch was one of the oldest and wealthiest cattle ranchers in the United States. With their proposed expansion into the Dakotas, they’d become the largest in all of North America. This conversion would turn their original homestead, which was currently losing them money, into one of the most profitable ranches of its size in Montana. Granted, that profit wouldn’t come from ranching.
Wyatt maintained his stony-faced expression—no smiles, no sign he was happy about the proposal. Nothing but the same contemplative and solemn look he’d held since the moment I met him.
“I’ll look over this tonight and let you know what I think in the morning.” He looked up at me, and his bottom lip twitched. He let out a slow breath and clenched his fist around the edge of the report. “I need to process this information.”
“Of course, take all the time you need.”