Business idea's for a growing college town?

[B.Moore]

I currently attend a university that is growing by the thousands each year and has a current population of about 17,000 students. I'm interested in starting some type of business that apeals to the college student. Bars are out of the question. I want to have a spot that will attract students during their off time to have a spot to "chill". Coffee shops are cool but don't seem to be doing that great. I'm thinking more on the lines of sports, gaming, etc. I don't plan on offering food at first but who knows. Locations are available around the campus and I'm itching to find a niche. Any and all ideas are welcomed and if your interested in chatting more just send me a message.

Thanks: B.Moore

[Gene]

You have a great idea, I think.

Here are my thoughts;

How about a bowling/pool hall where students can chill, relax, and study, but doesn't offer any alcoholic beverages (if you're trying to avoid that), but rather stuff like pizza, sodas, cheeseburgers, etc.

I currently attend a university that is growing by the thousands each year and has a current population of about 17,000 students. I'm interested in starting some type of business that apeals to the college student. Bars are out of the question. I want to have a spot that will attract students during their off time to have a spot to "chill". Coffee shops are cool but don't seem to be doing that great. I'm thinking more on the lines of sports, gaming, etc. I don't plan on offering food at first but who knows. Locations are available around the campus and I'm itching to find a niche. Any and all ideas are welcomed and if your interested in chatting more just send me a message.

Thanks: B.Moore

[chrispalko]

Arcade? (like more modern though)

Think, Gameworks. Google it if you don't know. I'm thinking about pursuing a venture like this.

[B.Moore]

Yall are in the general area I'm thinking of. I would like to have some ps3's set up in a couple lounge areas. I'm not sure how to get a liscense to sell food so any help would be appreciated. My goal is to get this started with as little money as possible. I want to give students incentives for being at my place like tournaments with prizes etc.

[ScottRobertson]

Yall are in the general area I'm thinking of. I would like to have some ps3's set up in a couple lounge areas. I'm not sure how to get a liscense to sell food so any help would be appreciated. My goal is to get this started with as little money as possible. I want to give students incentives for being at my place like tournaments with prizes etc.

I was just thinking about something like this. My school has a huge population of students that absolutely love video games and love competing in them.

I was thinking about buying (or renting - need to analyze that still) three playstation 3's and getting three copies of street fighter and/or similar games, then holding tournaments. i.e. $5 buy in, and prize pool of say $200.

An amazing way to get promotions is to tell on campus clubs that if they get members to come they will get, say, a $1 cut of their admission. This means that you only pay for your 'advertising' if it's effective (ie. brings in customers). It also generates MASSIVE awareness.

I'm curious if I would be able to book a room on campus for free to hold the event. Doubt it since it is not a club specific event.

[Jenie0109]

Billiard Hall is good.. No alcohol drinks allowed. or a Computer Shop..But limited time for elementary and high school students..

[B.Moore]

did some research. this idea's prob not goin to work out.

[ScottRobertson]

Your research determined that the ps3 idea was not going to work?

Why not?

[B.Moore]

no, There's not a big market for what I planned on doing in my region. I'm not fishing in a pond that I know doesn't have any fish. Your idea could work but I'd suggest marketing it way ahead of time and give some type of early sign up incentive so you'll have an idea if its a flop or not.

[Doodyps]

i dont know where you go to school, but where I went, If there wasn't alcohol there, there weren't people there.

why is serving alcohol out of the question?

People dont pay to play pool or darts when there isnt alcohol around.

Also, no offense, but most people that want a PS3 or whatever have one. I guess you can market tournaments, but thats not enough.

You could open a gaming store near campus if there isnt a gamestop or something and hold tournaments there.

Also, if your campus doesnt have a good online food directory where they can find all the restaurant options around campus and order from it, then you could do that.

[Doodyps]

Maybe a food cart in the middle of campus could work.
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[B.Moore]

none taken doodyps thats what these forums are for. I agree about the alcohol, but getting a liscence to sell alcohol is time consuming and expensive from what i understand. A restaurant that served alcohol already failed in this location but it is rite across the street from campus and people have to walk by it everyday from school parking. It seems like a great location but i havn't seen a bus succeed there yet! Of course people like ps3's but why not go to your boys house and play rather than paying for playing time or having one in the comfort of your own home. I think you mis-understood my objective though. The ps3 was just a piece of the puzzel. I wanted to create a gamer/sports invironment complete with computers stocked with the latest games, couches for chilling, tv's for sportscenter "of course" along with one of those tickers displaying the latest scores etc. If this took off then I would invest the time and money for serving food and alcohol. Its not rocket science but it does require some thought.

[Doodyps]

Well from what I'e read about owning a bar (I read a bunch just for fun), they don't even pay for their arcade/vending/machines or pool tables the vast majority of time. They usually have vendors that they split proceeds 50/50 with.

So before going too far with the PS3 and place to chill type thing (which means missing and broken remotes, considering people dont treat stuff they don't own with much respect) maybe consider a model similar to a typical bar.

Maybe you could have a kind of arcade/ pool hall where you pay for the space but go 50/50 with a vendor for the machines. Of course, you would need to convince him you could bring the crowds. Personally, I have trouble imagining getting and keeping a crowd without serving food and alcohol. Arcades are just not my thing, but I'm trying to be objective and just dont see a lot of money in them. You want to find something with great margins, and that's alcohol.

machines break and get outdated and you cant charge a lot for them. alcohol makes dumb things interesting, loosens the wallet, and makes you want to stay. Try to think of the lease costs and the the cost to buy/lease all the equipment inside among other expenses, and try to find out how many people you would have to get to come in and how much they would need to spend to make it worth your time.

Maybe you can find an area vendor that keeps his unused machines in storage. maybe instead of storing his machines where he has them now, he could "store" them with you. You could let him come and go with whatever he has in stock and they could make money for the two of you in the process. I dont know if these guys really keep much inventory, I'm just thinking.

I'm trying to think what I did in college that would make you money. But honestly, I spent probably 90% of my money on alcohol and all my time in class or drinking with friends. There was the occasional pizza break and time with the girlfriend, but we liked to sit on the porch and drink or go the bars and drink. Other people smoked and played video games in their apartments. From what I remember (and I'm only a year removed from college), guys spent their money on food, cigarettes, and booze while girls spend their money on clothes, cigarettes, and booze. other expenditures were maybe textbooks, cd's/dvd's, posters, stuff with school/fraternity logo, and red bull.

The college crowd is tough. We did like to spend time outside throwing a football, playing bocce ball, and stuff like that. We were stingy. i just cant think of places around where i went to school doing well that werent bars or clothing related. Of course I went to school in New Orleans. i guess the casino did well.

[B.Moore]

I could also buy and sell notes from students. Complete with bindings and organized chapters etc. A place in baton rouge does that for lsu students. Thats one way to get people in my lounge.