AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Jun 15, 2011 14:58:45 GMT -5
The basic formula for success is to find out what people want, go get it, and give it to them (sell it to them). I would survey your market and ASK THEM if they would want this type of product or service. Plan on spending at least $3,000 on the market research.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2011 14:59:44 GMT -5
The basic formula for success is to find out what people want, go get it, and give it to them (sell it to them). I would survey your market and ASK THEM if they would want this type of product or service. Plan on spending at least $3,000 on the market research.
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bring in the new year
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Happy Thanksgiving!
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Post by bring in the new year on Jun 16, 2011 16:52:44 GMT -5
Batting cages or bowling alleys - the first thing you really have to do is become very very well acquainted with your local zoning board and your local alcoholic licensing regs.
I'm pretty sure even in a family friendly place you are going to want to sell beer. So before you take one more step you need to find out how they handle alcoholic licensing around you. Some places have a limited number of licenses and you pay through the nose for one of them. Some have background checks and bonding issues. Some have interesting relationships with distributors.
Unless you want to market yourself as the bowling alley for AA, find out about that first.
I know what you're saying about the franchise BUT if you do a business plan, you're going to get angel investors. And angels (unless you go friends & family) are going to want to know what the return is and when can they get their money back. In a franchise at least there should be training, marketing, etc. With angels or venture capital, you're under the gun to show turnaround on that money and with some of them, if you are successful - they'll take control away as soon as they can. It's a matter of risk - and I think the franchise might be a better bet.
F&F are wonderful, but you have to ask yourself. If I lose this money, where am I going to spend the holidays?
If it were me, I would check out the local Chamber and the state economic development office. See if there's a zone in your county where if you locate there, there's state money. I would also start breaking out your potential customers into niches.
How many companies and what do they spend on entertainment for clients, etc?
How many school age children (whether they're in school or not) in your general area?
How many teenagers and where do they hang out?
Check out the trade association for bowling alleys and see if they have the average distance bowlers go for bowling.
Name all the things your niche groups could do rather than go bowling and then figure out the costs for those activities? Are you near the big amusement park? Once you have that estimate, plug it into your numbers.
Yes, a lot of people would rather go bowling than go to the movies. But if movies are $10 a kid and bowling is $25, movies win.
I actually like the idea of batting cages because it feels like it would be less money upfront to test the waters but with some things you just have to jump in. And I'm not sure that batting cages would go with those beautiful pictures. Although if you're not tied to bowling alleys per se, have you thought of batting cages with driving ranges? Construction costs would be lower, you'd get a feel for running this type of business in your area and with any luck you wouldn't have to clear out every last dollar to get started.
Dumb question - who owns the old bowling alley you guys went to? Does it look like someone who might want a partner? Buying into an existing business gives you a lot of ins into the industry, the customers, etc. until you get your feet wet. Then you can either redo that one or expand into the one of your dreams.
Most importantly, small steps, small steps. Most small business goes belly up because they run through their capital on things that would be nice to have and then just when it starts to look successful, the money runs out.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Jun 16, 2011 17:52:16 GMT -5
So before you take one more step you need to find out how they handle alcoholic licensing around you. I have looked into liquor licensing here a little bit previously because I brew beer and I was curious what it would take to start a very small microbrewery to sell locally. What I found is that there's a huge difference between a beer/wine only license and a full liquor license (from either the retail or production/distribution side). That's why we're thinking beer/wine only. Beyond that it's very location dependent. You have to have a public comment period and hearing. If you try to locate in an area where the locals show up screaming and hollering it can tie you up in red tape for a really long time, or lead to large lawyer fees trying to fight. If nobody opposes your proposal it can be pretty quick, and was cheaper than I thought it would be. Overall it looked like a bit of a crap shoot though. If it were me, I would check out the local Chamber and the state economic development office. See if there's a zone in your county where if you locate there, there's state money. I would also start breaking out your potential customers into niches.
How many companies and what do they spend on entertainment for clients, etc?
How many school age children (whether they're in school or not) in your general area?
How many teenagers and where do they hang out?
Check out the trade association for bowling alleys and see if they have the average distance bowlers go for bowling.
Name all the things your niche groups could do rather than go bowling and then figure out the costs for those activities? Are you near the big amusement park? Once you have that estimate, plug it into your numbers. Working on this now. I actually like the idea of batting cages because it feels like it would be less money upfront to test the waters but with some things you just have to jump in. And I'm not sure that batting cages would go with those beautiful pictures. Although if you're not tied to bowling alleys per se, have you thought of batting cages with driving ranges?. We have two golf courses in town both with driving ranges. We also have a place called Barone's Baseball (run by the former Marlin's pitcher) that has indoor and outdoor batting cages. They do baseball and softball lessons, summer camps, and have a couple travel teams. Needless to say, I'm not really digging the batting cage idea anymore. I am glad I found out about Barone's though. The place looks awesome! I'll definitely be taking the kids pretty soon. Dumb question - who owns the old bowling alley you guys went to? Does it look like someone who might want a partner? Not sure. However, the good bowling alley in Morgan Hill is for sale I think. The listing with the business broker didn't give the location, but there can only be so many recently renovated bowling centers in this area of California that also have indoor bocce ball courts. They did a 1.5 million dollar renovation a couple years ago. The place looks pretty nice, they're profitable, but I don't know what the price tag would be. Our local paper had a story about them having their liquor license suspended for a few weeks earlier this year however. They were also put on probation for 18 months by the alcohol beverage control department. Most importantly, small steps, small steps. Most small business goes belly up because they run through their capital on things that would be nice to have and then just when it starts to look successful, the money runs out. I'm still gathering info on the bowling center idea, but we're also trying to think of other family oriented businesses that would provide the community with something to do and be cheaper to start. If you look at the demographic info I put up earlier you'll see that the average household size here is high. Everyone has kids, and those kids, and their parents, are always complaining that there isn't much for them to do. The median income is high, so they have money to pay for activities, they just need somebody to provide them. Part of it I think is a location issue. We're 30-45 minutes away from several other cities, most of which are larger than us, so a lot of business get opened in the bigger surrounding cities instead of Hollister. That leaves parents with a lot of options if you're willing to drive 45 minutes, which they'll happily do for birthdays and stuff, but they aren't going to do it on a day to day basis. The demographic fit and demand is here though, I just have to figure out the right business to meet it.
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Jun 16, 2011 18:30:51 GMT -5
I have looked into liquor licensing here a little bit previously because I brew beer and I was curious what it would take to start a very small microbrewery to sell locally
Hey, when you were first playing twenty questions I was going to guess a Brew Pub! My intuition wasn't that far off! We also brew and thought of expanding and going commercial, but the competition here in Oregon is intimidating.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Jun 16, 2011 18:45:28 GMT -5
I'll be honest, I still daydream about having my own little brew pub and pool hall. Billiards, burgers, and beer! How could it not work, right? I know that the reality is that it's a business that tends to be a pain in the ass to run, with limited earning potential, but whatever.
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bring in the new year
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Happy Thanksgiving!
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Post by bring in the new year on Jun 16, 2011 18:49:53 GMT -5
On the bowling alley up for sale - If you can, figure out whether the broker is working for the bank or the previous owner. If the previous owner, maybe they'd be willing to let you take a mortgage on the alley just to get some of their money back.
The only ideas I can think of are sort of kid specific and I'm not sure how often people would do them - like paint ball & minature golf. For bowling I know birthday parties and leagues pay the rent, I'm not sure that paint ball & minature golf would have the same all age appeal.
But I would have said the same thing probably about bowling before someone did the retro thing and made it cool.
Although I have no idea if this would work, I will throw out one idea. How hard would it be to set up a game arcade with Wii (or whatever the new one is Kinetic?) and set it up for multiple players and teams?
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Sum Dum Gai
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Joined: Aug 15, 2011 15:39:24 GMT -5
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Jun 16, 2011 18:58:31 GMT -5
On the bowling alley up for sale - If you can, figure out whether the broker is working for the bank or the previous owner. If the previous owner, maybe they'd be willing to let you take a mortgage on the alley just to get some of their money back. It's still open and owned by the owner, according to the broker he's still turning a profit. He just had to stop serving alcohol for two weeks, hire security for the bar/lounge, and change their serving practices. No more happy hour or drink specials. That all happened in February, and I think he's stayed out of trouble since. I'm wondering how much it hurt his bottom line though since he's selling now.
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bring in the new year
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Happy Thanksgiving!
Joined: May 3, 2011 17:28:52 GMT -5
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Post by bring in the new year on Jun 16, 2011 19:14:04 GMT -5
It may have hurt his bottom line or his insurance rates may have gone up.
Just remember before you buy into an existing business, check out the complaint with the state liquor board and make sure that what he said jives up with what they think.
Then have a good CPA, NOT HIS CPA, go over the financials with you. I can turn a profit on some businesses as well - I just can't make it a long term profit.
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