4 ms·

This is a little rosy. Some issues with bars include: (1) 90% of your revenue comes from two nights a week; (2) Given all the cash, employee theft is a real pro

by bmr 16y ago

This is a little rosy. Some issues with bars include: (1) 90% of your revenue comes from two nights a week; (2) Given all the cash, employee theft is a real problem; (3) Lose-it-all liability. Think about all the ways drunks can die/seriously injure themselves... and about how you'll get blamed every time. I'm not saying it wouldn't be a good investment, but it's hardly a license to print money.

waterlesscloud 16y ago
1- Our revenue was a little more spread out than that. We did certain promotions that boosted us on otherwise off night- Wednesday was about 80% of Friday, and Sunday was our biggest night of the week. It just took a little planning. 2- Yes, which is why I made a good manager, being blood related to the owners. And the employees were watched carefully. 3- I can't recall hearing of a bar losing it all in liability unless they were extremely irresponsible.
- chopsueyar 16y ago
  Can you provide details of what type of promotions you implemented, specifically Sunday?
  - waterlesscloud 16y ago
    Wednesday and Sunday we had live acts, essentially house bands who built a following just by being a routine as much as anything else. Common tactic, and it works. Wed. night we paid them about $100 each and Sun. about $150 each. We made many times that in additional revenue. Friday and Saturday nights we had a live DJ for a few hours a night for atmosphere, but I honestly don't think it mattered much one way or the other. People would have showed up anyway. We tried boosting Mon/Tues night, but nothing made any difference at all on Monday, and the difference on Tuesday didn't cover the costs. We pretty much considered Monday the paying-your-dues night, and had fun amongst ourselves and the handful of regulars and closed at midnight (vs about 2 am on other nights). One thing about the non-fri/sat nights, there's a definite trend of "them that's gots, gets" in the bar scenes on those nights. People go where people are, so it's not a linear function on those nights, it's discontinuous. Once you have a crowd, you get a crowd. Weekends are different, there's crowds everywhere.
    - chopsueyar 16y ago
      No ASCAP shakedowns?
      - waterlesscloud 16y ago
        Yeah, there was. I remember acting outraged and complaining loudly to them about it, then paying what was really a tiny fee anyway.
    - michaelw13 16y ago
      We hold user group sessions (Java and Siebel) at a local bar/restaurant on Monday evenings. It's great for us as it's nice and quiet. It may not be a huge boost to their revenue, but it is consistent. It may be worth looking into encouraging that type of activity on your dead Mondays.

by bmr 16y ago

waterlesscloud 16y ago

1- Our revenue was a little more spread out than that. We did certain promotions that boosted us on otherwise off night- Wednesday was about 80% of Friday, and Sunday was our biggest night of the week. It just took a little planning. 2- Yes, which is why I made a good manager, being blood related to the owners. And the employees were watched carefully. 3- I can't recall hearing of a bar losing it all in liability unless they were extremely irresponsible.

chopsueyar 16y ago
Can you provide details of what type of promotions you implemented, specifically Sunday?
- waterlesscloud 16y ago
  Wednesday and Sunday we had live acts, essentially house bands who built a following just by being a routine as much as anything else. Common tactic, and it works. Wed. night we paid them about $100 each and Sun. about $150 each. We made many times that in additional revenue. Friday and Saturday nights we had a live DJ for a few hours a night for atmosphere, but I honestly don't think it mattered much one way or the other. People would have showed up anyway. We tried boosting Mon/Tues night, but nothing made any difference at all on Monday, and the difference on Tuesday didn't cover the costs. We pretty much considered Monday the paying-your-dues night, and had fun amongst ourselves and the handful of regulars and closed at midnight (vs about 2 am on other nights). One thing about the non-fri/sat nights, there's a definite trend of "them that's gots, gets" in the bar scenes on those nights. People go where people are, so it's not a linear function on those nights, it's discontinuous. Once you have a crowd, you get a crowd. Weekends are different, there's crowds everywhere.
  - chopsueyar 16y ago
    No ASCAP shakedowns?
    - waterlesscloud 16y ago
      Yeah, there was. I remember acting outraged and complaining loudly to them about it, then paying what was really a tiny fee anyway.
  - michaelw13 16y ago
    We hold user group sessions (Java and Siebel) at a local bar/restaurant on Monday evenings. It's great for us as it's nice and quiet. It may not be a huge boost to their revenue, but it is consistent. It may be worth looking into encouraging that type of activity on your dead Mondays.