Today we’d like to introduce you to William Decamp
Hi William, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My wife Sandy was always an entrepreneur cleaning homes before we met.
Myself worked in several construction companies and landscape construction and other jobs as well.
At some point when we met we were wanting to start our own company ( not feeling appreciated by our employers).
We prayed about it and we both loved working outdoors , and in the dirt.We decided to start a landscaping company starting by mowing and blowing as we call it ,mowing people’s yard and then blowing the residue to clean it up.. but that was just a start . We both handled a paper route during the early hours of the morning to pay our bills till our business would get better. Sandy’s Route was 300 miles per night long and mine was 200 miles per night long .
I would not be lying if I said , it was so difficult to do and try to raise a family at the same time but we overcame the difficulties that it required to achieve our goal.
We worked our mow and blow business for about a year or so ( Serenity Gardens) was that name .we were located in Foresthill Ca.
Then we started to build things for people by request and it wasn’t long till we were landscaping people yards. We loved it!We enjoyed creating things greatly.
I decided to get my Contractors License to make it official and our business took off. Serenity Garden Landscapes, in Foresthill Ca.
We worked and transformed many many yards and some commercial settings , we travelled from time to time as we were a high end installation company.. at some point while we operated our company we restructured our house a little and turned our home into a Airbnb called the Country Place in Foresthill Ca.. we sold it as a Airbnb , it was also successful .
After about 20 ish years we thought we might be ready to retire , but we were not yet sure on how we wanted to retire.
Having loved Rv ing for some years and having been in serving people for so long we decided we would build a Rv camp somewhere , but did not know where. Every year we had looked for property to buy elsewhere for investment purposes, but weren’t sure where that was going to land us..
We completely relied on God to show us where that would be!
Later The Lord showed us this property at Livingston Tn. We knew that we had a lot to prepare for. We had to finish our work with our business Serenity Garden Landscapes , which took about a year , due to calendar log.
Then we sold our Airbnb and moved to Tennessee to embrace our new adventure.
The property that The Lord brought us to was undeveloped Land it had no services yet. …..but we had a lot of vision , and a life career of experience behind us.
My wife Sandy and I brought some equipment with us and bought some while here and we started getting busy.
( Nothing gets done when you’re sitting idle!)
It took 3-4 month to take the trees down and out , we sold a few , kept a few.
3-4 month of grading and adding soil.
And we built the what is now ( Waterwheel RV Camp)
We did have to hire a wonderful electrician but we did all the work ourselves , prep and finish.
It was a huge undertaking but I always have said ( if you risk nothing ….. you gain nothing!)
That is not how my wife and I operate. If you step forward it WILL change something.
We are blessed to be here and for folks to except us into the community , we are very thankful!
But this is how we are retiring …. And we can still stay busy
Every year now you will see improvement into the Rv Camp.
Eventually this will turn into a Christian Camp with cabins and event center.
If I had to send a message to anyone with a dream……… work very hard , pray about the focus on your dream and make it happen .
You can only do it if you are willing to put in the work!
A dream without a will is only a dream .
Unless you come from money …. In our case , we did not and had to earn everything
It is not a loss if you have lived a life building something for improvement , it is a loss if you do not improve your life.
Give all Glory to God and be thankful for whatever comes your way , for it is good!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No it has not been smooth always , the market crash in 2007-8 hit every one hard, including us . We had to let go 9 employees.
It was heart breaking .
And then building a rv Camp from scratch was difficult as well but we had a goal to complete
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are a Rv Camp for travelers and vacationers . Or business and pleasure as well.
We take great pride in customer care and comfort.
We currently offer 19 rv sites with more to come in the future. We have full hookups at every site and 50/30/20 electric options as well. Free great WiFi is included .
We offer a camp bathroom with showers and a laundry room.
We have a playground – dog run- gazebo music stage at/on the pond – walking trails , a creek with 3 beaches for families to play in and a camp store with drinks / coffee and ware for the ladies.
We are right at the entry of Livingston so your right next to services .
Also only 20 min. Away from lake Dale Hollow for boating , hiking and much more.
We offer a clean family environment and relaxation and memories to make😁
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
I would say that if you want to create anything . Stay firm in your belief , work hard stay focused and include God in your plans , you can not fail if you do those things, in my opinion
Pricing:
- $50 per night
- $900 monthly ( no permanents)
- 5% for seniors , military and law enforcement
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Waterwheelrvcamp.com
