suburbian club?

[dexxl]

hi everyone, i'd just like to start off by saying that this is one of
the best resources there is out there for nightclubs, i've read through most of your comments and suggestions in the other threads and appreciate them all.

i've been giving the opportunity to research into starting a nightclub / lounge. This will a new industry for me. I've ran my own companies before and currently own part of a small advertising company. what i'm trying to say is, when it comes to nightclubs. i got no idea what i'm doing.

i've been reading up on as much articles and doing area researches, also hanging out in the place where venue of the nightclub is and observing the crowds as to determine what kind of lounge / nightclub it will be.

my biggest concern is that, the area is in the suburbs. not really the suburbs as it's 2 km out of the main city and in a very affluent area, so it's got about 50 cafes and 20 restaurants on the same street. it has a very successful lounge, and a very posch pool hall.

i know i can take 2 maybe 3 or 4 months to put together enough research and summarize a concept out of that to have a adequate looking idea of what it should look like and feel, but i can't get over this bad feeling of the location.


my question is: has anyone tried the same thing in a similar situation? and how did you over come the location obsticle.

please feel free to post back or ask me any question if you need more detail. of course there are some things that i can't say, but i do want help and will do the best i can.


thanx
Dexxl

[The Event Guy]

You need to put your advertising components in order and seeing that you own an advertising company, it shouldn't be a problem.

Start by adverting in the immediate radius of your venue. If you're not trying market the types of people in this area, you should be opening a lounge there.

[dexxl]

thanx for the reply event guy.

i'd be honest, i have a marketing diploma that i gained 6 years ago, i've been working in an enginneering industry and never really put my diploma into practice.

this advertising company that i started as a pet project with 2 close friends of mine is very new and we're still learning the ropes on pretty much everything.

it's specialised for restaurants and bars and the like.

because our advertising company is based on only two core products our website directory and a card (www.mealdeal.com.au)

i've never really explored into other forms of advertising other than on the competitor SWOT analysis of the business plan.

what i'm asking now, if you don't mind is:

what forms of advertising have to seen actually work in a situation like mine. of course, cost is a factor always.

or even what forms of advertising has anyone found to be most effective

eg. printed media? gimmicks?

my problem summarised is this, i'm in a area where the traffic is diversed and not as heavy as the main city. i've seen clubs and lounges alike being successful, but they have been mostly located near a hotel.

if anyone out there has managed to kick off a successful venture of similar sorts, please let me know i will be sooo sooo grateful.

thank you
dexter

[Andrew]

I'm from your neck of the woods

-hello-

Have you factored in the cost and availability of a city 24-hour liquor license, if that it what you seek?

About $A 1 million is what they tell me. If you could even get one, of course. Do you intend to trade past 3 AM?

[dexxl]

hey andrew,

i'm actually going to call the licensing people tomorrow to find out excatly how much they want to hurt me.

depending on the cost of it, i'm thinking more of serving alcohol from lunch time to about 3am and keep the place open but no more alcohol, kind like a chill out place after a hard night for residence around the area. since i am in a semi surburbian type area, it's the only way i've thought of to fully utilize to my advantage.

how much did your licensing cost you? and is it 24 hours?

i don't think i've got a problem getting a licensing as there's already some pubs along the same street. but 1 mil??

my whole planning can go down the drain if it's 1 mil...

[The Event Guy]

Originally posted by The Event Guy
You need to put your advertising components in order and seeing that you own an advertising company, it shouldn't be a problem.

Start by adverting in the immediate radius of your venue. If you're not trying market the types of people in this area, you should be opening a lounge there.

I just re-read this. What I meant to say is if you're not marketing to the type of people in the immediate area, then you should NOT open there. It would be like opening a lingerie shop in an elderly complex, ya know.

I don't know what type of market you have there so it's tough to speculate, but I think that you must know you're target.

Research them, take notes, find ouit what it is they do...then you advertise in the medium they understand best.

Many forms of advertising can work depending on who you're targeting, right? You've got to find out what these people do, what they wear, where do they eat, etc. etc. etc. Only then will you figure out the best marketing medium for your audience.

[Andrew]

dexxl, I am not a club owner, just someone that thinks it is a fascinating business filled with conflicting challenges.

The more I observe, the more respect I gain for the industry.

I never realised how poiltical the role of a licensee/publican is.

3 am should be much, much cheaper

[dexxl]

i spoke to the office of fair trading earlier today, and dude! i got no idea where you heard of 1mil for licensing, they said the most i could ever spend is 20k and that's including going through a consultant and paying their fees.

opening past 3am actually doesn't cost anything. it's just an application that cost you $118

i'm back in the game!

i bought that business plan bar thingy btw, for anyone who is interested. and it's soooo worthwhile...

[The Event Guy]

Ohhh, great! Noe you're gonnatease us all by keeping the info all to yourself and keep posting how great it is, huh?

:p

[dexxl]

it's pretty much everything you could think of that you would want your bar to be. marketing wise, operational wise, financially wise. it really covers all aspects, and best part. it's all already in writting. so instead of actually having to think and write, you just read and agree :D than go in and change whatever you need to, to suit your situation or how you're going to make your place unique.

it's like while reading it, you're thinking "i was going to do that anyway". but you would have probably taken 6 hours of put it into words...


i'm loving it..

[Andrew]

Dexxl, applying to open past 3am and being able to trade 24-hours are 2 very seperate matters, that's all.

I am only passing on what I have been told and you don't need to trade past 3am anyway because you may not be able to get the clientelle

[David]

I don't see a problem with your location.

We had a bar in our town that was within walking distance from two colleges and a short drive from the downtown area. He sold the building and moved about fifteen miles outside of town. Amongst the cattle and wheat fields, close to my house. There are a few multi-family housing developments in the area. Mostly farms and high end houses ($500K plus and that's on the upper end for us). Everybody thought he was crazy. Even me. Low and behold, the guy is packed every night of the week. So, the location didn't make a difference. He will probably pay off his mortgage in one year.

Liquor serving establishments are a destination type of business. If you build it will they come? Your guess is as good as mine. It's funny though, there are about ten business's that have been built around his to feed off of his genius.

[dexxl]

Originally posted by David
I don't see a problem with your location.

We had a bar in our town that was within walking distance from two colleges and a short drive from the downtown area. He sold the building and moved about fifteen miles outside of town. Amongst the cattle and wheat fields, close to my house. There are a few multi-family housing developments in the area. Mostly farms and high end houses ($500K plus and that's on the upper end for us). Everybody thought he was crazy. Even me. Low and behold, the guy is packed every night of the week. So, the location didn't make a difference. He will probably pay off his mortgage in one year.

Liquor serving establishments are a destination type of business. If you build it will they come? Your guess is as good as mine. It's funny though, there are about ten business's that have been built around his to feed off of his genius.

what kind of establishment was it?, as in what type of clientel did he attract (or maybe i should ask, what type of people live in that area)? is there anything he did special?

any hints at all???

i like how you said liquor serving establishments are a destination type of business. kind of really makes clear how much effort i got to put in to keep my customers there and coming back.

thanx

[dexxl]

Originally posted by Andrew
Dexxl, applying to open past 3am and being able to trade 24-hours are 2 very seperate matters, that's all.

I am only passing on what I have been told and you don't need to trade past 3am anyway because you may not be able to get the clientelle

andrew, give a brother some hope!, i'm hoping to have my place packed from 10:30am in the morning to 3am at night! and i will make 1 million dollars in 6 months and take everyone in the forum on holiday :D

or should i say i'm dreaming to have my place packed......

[Andrew]

I sincerely wish you well and would very much like to see you succeed.

Then I know who to ask questions on local matters, naturally..

[David]

Dexxl:

You asked what type of a bar it is.

It's a lounge with Karaoke. It attracts a demo from 21 to 70 plus. I know that that's a huge range but the main stay of the cliental is between 35 and 50. No hints. Just do it.

[PLP]

i spoke to the office of fair trading earlier today, and dude! i got no idea where you heard of 1mil for licensing, they said the most i could ever spend is 20k and that's including going through a consultant and paying their fees.

opening past 3am actually doesn't cost anything. it's just an application that cost you $118

i'm back in the game!

i bought that business plan bar thingy btw, for anyone who is interested. and it's soooo worthwhile...


Hi Drexl, Can you please refer me to where I may pick up a copy of the business plan bar thingy btw you refer to above? Thank u much.

I was in Australia the year before last and loved the fact that there were 24 hour drinking establishments, however I didn't notice too much in the way of business at 8am (except at the "REVOLVER"( I think it was in Sydney), where on a Sunday morning it was a great spot for people that weren't ready to retire yet and keep partying) Best of Luck Mate!

[anders]

not sure how much this will help you but here goes:

we have a club that is in a place like yours just out of the city center, it has been around a couple of years and does very well, currently hits about 2000 people a night on fri, and sat nights and 1000-1200 on tues night.

Club opens at 9pm and closes at 3am and does not really pick up till 11pm once the city pubs close, lots of people drive to the venue and busses are run from 4 local towns with the longes town being a 25 min drive in the bus about 15-20 miles away

its got busy due to the adverts in local papers, hook ups with local bars i.e the club linked in and advertised inside as the after party location

and of course the busses running from the town centers

maybe you could do the same kind of thing with other local city bars and other a shuttle bus service?