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Going into this venture, I’m realizing some things off the bat. Owning a bar means long hours, attention to detail, and sacrificing vacations and weekends. But I’m certain that it will result in a financially successful venture. My confidence stems from the fact that my partner and I each have a large network of friends to rely on. We’re both great with people, and definitely outgoing. I just hope those characteristics help translate into a steady stream of income for our operation.
Do The Due…Diligence
This is easy for me to say. The location we found was previously a bar, and a bar that did well at that. However, the viability of the location is somewhat debatable (I’ll explain more below). But the fact that it will require less capital to get off the ground and that it was an established bar is a huge plus…so much so that I’m betting it will offset any doubts about our selection. Here are some things we considered before settling on the spot.
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After much consideration and a little motivation from friends and family, my good friend and I have decided to couple our financial resources to open a bar. The process has been tedious and getting answers to questions has been more of a chore than anything else…and we haven’t even opened the doors yet.
Family First! No Exceptions.
Many things have crossed my mind as we embark on this journey. First and foremost is family. I hesitated at first because this would mean spending time with my son would be a more challenging feat. And I refuse to even give him any inclination that “daddy owns a bar”. My goals are short term: open a great bar, grow it into a self-sufficient machine, and sell my interest. My intentions are financial. I’ve always been interested in commercial real estate. I am confident that doing this will allow me to explore new opportunities with less of a stigma attached…not that I’m really worried about it in the first place, or I wouldn’t be doing this. But it definitely raises concern. Just not something I want my son (and future children) to be associated with.
Friend = Partner
Second is my friendship with my partner. We’ve been good friends for a long time now. And I would be an idiot to think we are going to see eye to eye on everything. The good thing is that we do trust one another. Without that, we would be headed for certain disaster. Partnerships are hard. Partnerships with friends are even more difficult. There’s more at stake. But we’re focused on a similar goal, and we both have alot on the line…personally and financially. Every decision counts.
Friend = Competition
Another concern is that we each have friends that own bars. Now we’re going to become the competition. Friendly…but still competitive. Part of the planning process is your theme. While we aren’t going to have a blatant theme to go with our catchy name (more on that another time), we will still cater to the same audience as our “competition”: the young, social career-oriented professional. I do know that we plan to offer one additional aspect to our establishment. But I’ll expand on that a little more in another “Pour” down the line (don’t want to give all our secrets away just yet). So, back to our friends…I don’t think its naive of me to think that we can work together. In fact, one of these friends, whom I’ve known since 7th grade, has been gracious enough to help us get going. When you bascially know the same network of people, his help becomes somewhat of a sacrifice…and is greatly appreciated.
So, I’ll leave you with this. But look for “Pour 2″ (versus “Part 2″…thought it was catchy) soon in which I’ll discuss the importance of doing your due diligence. While this is important with any business, we found it to be critical for our purposes.
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