[advice needed]Owning a Bar

his name here is Stack24. he owns Live down on main @ preston..where I was Monday night, by the way!

best of luck to you!!! let me know when you need legal help!

 

That's up to you. Are you up for the challenge of turning an existing one around to be successful, or do you want to start from scratch. There are tons of sports bars popping up so you'll most likely want to do something different.

I know a couple of sports bars for sell. By the way, if you need Realtor help, let me know.

 

if you need people to show up by bribing us with free drinks all night, let me know.

 

Big money, but also a lawsuit waiting to happen.

 

if you need people to show up by bribing u.... never mind macalu beat me to it

 

If this is a concern the obvious way around it is to incorporate in some form. I assume this works as well for bars as well as all other businesses with liability issues.

As far as getting started, I can at least sympathize with how imposing the mountains of variables can be. I'm in the long slow process of starting up a gun store. I've been working online thus far, but want to open a physical address. The number of factors that need to be considered in terms of balancing size/location and realistically estimating sales, etc. can be overwhelming.

The first things I would do would be to get a (free) Small Business 'Getting Started' packet from the City of Houston. It will help you make sure you have all the governmental bases covered.

Next, check out some of the (free) online seminars at sba.gov they have lots of good information and structure that starting businesses need to think about. Some stuff won't apply as it is geared to manufacturing or service industries, but enough of it will that it is worth sifting through the useless stuff.

I would start by figuring out exactly how much you need to earn to make it viable both in the short term and long term and work backwards from there with prices, rent, salaries, and inventory to give you an idea about how to balance your prices and necessary number of customers, etc.

One thing I've done is to print out a map of the city and mark down where all the potential 'competition' is. That can help you identify locations that might benefit from the addition of your sports bar. Think about traffic patterns and when your customers might come in and why.

From my perspective, the most difficult part in minimizing risk for failure is that some variables simply aren't quantifiable. You sometimes just have to make an educated guess.

 

You could probably hire this guy. You might want to introduce him to capital letters though...http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=123737

 

go for it man

just remember to give a clutchfans discount

 

I don't know about starting up or buying an existing one, but you probably want to write up a business plan and work out the numbers.

Restaurants and Bars are in the top five riskiest businesss ventures a person can go into, but they fail usually because of poor planning and inefficient use of funds.

I am doing some legal work starting up a restaurant/bar, and the initial start-up costs are high as well as licenses and permits. Insurance is pricey as well which is topped off with rent if you want a high traffic location. If you need outside funding, a bank won't loan to you unless you have experience owning a bar or are willing to give up a lot of collateral. Venture cap also doesn't invest in bars because of the risk, so you might be on your own in terms of financing.

 

opening a bar is an awful idea.

seriously.

 

I'm a musician and I'll tell you straight up: don't open a bar with live music. One part of me wants to seriously kick the part of me that just typed that in the ass, but, sadly, it's the truth.

Although, if you had a good one, you'd have a LOT less competition today than ever.

 

If you need design or decorating or Furniture etc, then please consult with Griffin Design Interest. They specialize in good taste, both traditional and modern.

 

Maybe you could explain why you feel so strong about your answer.

seriously.

 

Have great specials, have hot chicks bartending and don't charge a cover...There's a cool place I started hanging out, blackfinn in Dallas (beltline/midway)...I'm sure it racks in the money, but as other said, the liability is high...

 

My family created and opened the Draft Choice Sports Bar in San Marcos. At the time, the only sports bar in town, so it seemed like a sure-fire success. And it was, to a certain extent (10 years later, it's still there, I believe). But it taught me a LOT about the bar business.

First, there are a lot of variables to consider. You mentioned one: what type of bar? Jazz club? Piano bar? English pub? C-W bar? Sports bar? Next, what location? For example, a bar in a college town is going to draw a very different clientele than a bar in downtown Houston. Also, the wholesale liquor and beer fees vary from county to county. Do some research and find out what distributors in the area charge.

When you've decided on a theme and a location, you need to consider the amount of time and money you are willing to invest. Starting your own business is a full time job. If you need to work another job while starting your own business, you're going to run into trouble.

Next, you need to accept a very difficult fact: owning a bar is not fun. It's a job. Yes, it can be enjoyable (much like people enjoy being a teacher, or an accountant) but that doesn't mean it's fun. You have to remember that while people are in your place partying and having fun, you are at work. You have to replace the stuff they break (and they break EVERYTHING), you have to clean up the stuff they spill, you have to keep the glasses full and the beer flowing. And if you don't do it yourself, you have to pay for and supervise the staff that does. There are a few bar-owners who spend their time partying with their customers and drinking their own inventory, and they usually go bankrupt.

Owning a bar because you like to hang out in bars is no different than owning a restaurant because you like to eat out. It can be a wonderful experience if you are willing to commit 100% effort and focus to it and treat it as a business investment. And it can be a disastrous failure if you don't.

 

Great post. I think many times people underestimate exactly how much time you have to commit to this type of enterprise. They just think of sitting at the 'owners table' and having a good time.