So You Want To Open Your Own Bar: Here Are Some Helpful Tips and What to Avoid

Let’s be honest. You love going to your nearby bar, and you spend so much time there and have a great time socializing there, so now you may be thinking that you’d like to invest in your local bar or perhaps even start a new venture with friends. Is this a realistic dream or something that is doomed to lose you vast sums of money?

The truth is that it could be all of these things and more. However, this shouldn’t prevent you from pursuing such an endeavor, but there are many things to consider before you even get started.

Everyone knows that opening a bar or restaurant is a tricky business, and that’s before you factor in the way that the coronavirus pandemic decimated the hospitality industry. You may see this as an opportunity, though. In other words, maybe a number of bars in your locality are closed down, and this presents you with the chance to fill the hole.

The idea of owning a bar is often far more glamorous and inviting than the reality, so you’ll need to be realistic about the process. Your expectations need to be ones that are easily managed, and you shouldn’t expect to turn a profit any time soon.

Let’s Checkout Top Seven Tips To Open Your Own Bar:

1. Create a Business Plan

You shouldn’t just go into this in a half-cocked manner. You’ll need to draw up a detailed business plan that needs to be itemized to cover every single dime that is put into the process.

Make sure you have the relevant financial experts on board to help you draw up the plan, as this may be crucial if you are looking to get financing from a bank or large-scale investor.

2. Spread The Cost, Encourage Investors to Join

To help cover the cost, and the risk, invite friends to join your project. Not only will this help mitigate the risk it will also make the whole process one that is more manageable. If it’s just you managing the process, then the strain will soon tell.

Discuss the matter with like-minded individuals and look to split the share of the project accordingly. Most importantly, make sure everything is covered from a legal perspective, as you won’t want to end up falling out with friends if the project goes south.

Set Up a Workable Business Structure and Hire Strong, Experienced Managers

If there are going to be a few co-owners of the bar, then you’ll need to set up a hierarchy that will work. Maybe you all get an equal share when it comes to making decisions, or this could be based solely on the amount of investment that each brings in.

Either way, this needs to be in writing so that needless squabbles and issues are avoided, as the last thing you need is in-fighting among the top table.

On top of this, you’ll need a good selection of day-to-day managers who can effectively manage the running of the bar, as this isn’t something you are likely to do yourself. You could try to wear different hats if you wish, but this could prove problematic and unworkable, especially if you don’t have a history in the industry (beyond simply sitting on a stool and enjoying a good beer).

3. Find a Suitable Location

Perhaps the most important aspect of the process is finding a suitable location. Do your research, or better yet, outsource this portion of the project to a company that has experience in this area. They’ll map out possible locations and will factor in local interest and potential competitors.

4. Decide on the Style and Type of Bar You Wish to Create

Will your bar be an upscale high-end establishment with the finest restaurant furniture that caters to diners as well as drinkers? Or will it be a more down-to-earth experience that is looking to encourage an entirely different type of crowd?

Clearly, there are budgetary considerations for both types and every stop in between, but the key reason to get this aspect right is that it will define what you are trying to create with your new bar.

Many outside factors will determine the answer to this point. Perhaps the neighborhood you are opening in is more suited to an easy-going crowd, or it could be an area that has pretensions beyond this, in which case your bar will need to reflect this to entice customers to visit regularly.

Related Resource: TIPS TO DECORATE AND GROW YOUR RESTAURANT BUSINESS

5. Secure Relevant Licenses

This part of the overall process can be one that takes a fair amount of time, and once again, you’ll need assistance from those who know their way around the relevant legislation and permissions required to get the licenses you need before you even serve a single alcoholic beverage.

6. Develop a Marketing Strategy

Your bar isn’t going to be the only one in your area, and you’ll need to know how to stand out from the crowd. This requires a great deal of research and planning, and that type of strategizing will, like many other areas, be best completed by people who know how to do so effectively.

Consider outsourcing the marketing of your bar, at least in part, and they’ll then help to make sure your bar is bringing plenty of passing customers as well as those who may be attracted by online promotions of your bar so much that they are willing to travel to experience what your bar has to offer.

7. Choose a Name

It goes without saying that this isn’t the most important aspect of the process, but it’s a fun one and can actually, to some extent, have a direct effect on the types of customers you wish to bring in.

Decide this between you and your key investors and test it out on potential customers and see what works best. The name should, in some ways, reflect the style and type of bar you are planning on opening.

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