Looking for advice

[johnmd32]

I am an 18 year old college student with no credit. But I do have an idea. I am looking to open up a club in my college town offering a twist. I want to open a hookah bar inside it. I have done a lot of research and believe that there is a strong demand for it in my area. I know the start up costs I face will be severe. I was looking for some insight as to how I would go about looking to fund this. I am currently a freshman, who is going to partner with a sophomore. Should I wait until I have my degree before starting this? I think finance is my biggest concern right now, so if anyone could offer me some advice on how to acquire the money I would really appreciate it.

[GriZzly]

Come again... a hooker bar?

[Antdizzle]

Come again... a hooker bar?

Hookahs are water pipe thingys used for smoking. I heard somewhere that they are getting more popular around the country.

[nado]

lol these are becoming popular: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookah

The thing you need to look at is will you have enough time to focus on the business?

... then start looking for funding. If you exhaust every possible method for funding, then it might be an idea to wait till you graduate. Since then you can walk up to an investor and show your shiny new piece of paper (degree) and then they may take notice. Yes sad, but true.

I'm sort of in the same situation... at uni, would prefer to be running businesses, but would like it if I could do both.

[johnmd32]

Personally I wouldn't be able to contribute any money out of pocket... basically because I don't have it. Would a small business loan be my best option? And if I were to look at private investors, how should I go about looking for them?

[akula]

I am an 18 year old college student with no credit. But I do have an idea. I am looking to open up a club in my college town offering a twist. I want to open a hookah bar inside it. I have done a lot of research and believe that there is a strong demand for it in my area. I know the start up costs I face will be severe. I was looking for some insight as to how I would go about looking to fund this. I am currently a freshman, who is going to partner with a sophomore. Should I wait until I have my degree before starting this? I think finance is my biggest concern right now, so if anyone could offer me some advice on how to acquire the money I would really appreciate it.

why is a hookah bar a better opportunity than other opportunity?

"I have done a lot of research and believe that there is a strong demand for it in my area"

i hope you have actual customer surveys to back your self up, or i'll be very upset.

.................listen to grizzly, start a hooker bar

[johnmd32]

A large percentage of my school is Indian. The Indian culture is very partial to hookah. I walk around at night and see 10 people crowded around a hookah pipe in the freezing cold. Considering there is no hookah bar in the area, and knowing that there are people on campus who partake in this growing hobby, I feel confident in saying that there is a high demand for a hookah bar in the area.

[akula]

A large percentage of my school is Indian. The Indian culture is very partial to hookah. I walk around at night and see 10 people crowded around a hookah pipe in the freezing cold. Considering there is no hookah bar in the area, and knowing that there are people on campus who partake in this growing hobby, I feel confident in saying that there is a high demand for a hookah bar in the area.

do the surveys

[Sport Skeds]

...I agree with akula ("Do the surveys") - but think the answer may be simpler.

It's not whether your 'college town' needs a hookah bar - it's about whether it needs another *bar*. Does you're town need another one? Even with solid "proof" in the surveys to show that you absolutely need this gimmick (hookah) to succeed - I'd venture a bet that it's significance would be as minimal as having a blue-felted pool table over the traditional green.

Potential Patron1 : "Let's go to a bar..."
Potential Patron2 : "Yeah but where?"
PP1 : "Let's go where there's blue felt/hookahs."
PP2 : "I couldn't care less - let's just go where there's chicks and good grub."
PP1 : "Yeah but which one?"
PP2 : "The cheapest, or closest, or funnest(sic)..."

You called the hookah a "hobby" - is it fun like beer pong? Cause unless it's exciting or addictive (legal?) - I doubt even positive survey results would be solid grounds to make a decision about opening an establishment centered around it.

Sorry to be pessimistic... but the daunting task of just opening/running/owning a *regular* bar is hard enough...
a realistic article discussing such issues

[GriZzly]

Hookahs are water pipe thingys used for smoking. I heard somewhere that they are getting more popular around the country.

Ah the hubbly-bubbly thing from the middle-east. Gotcha

[thinkcomp]

Hi,

What's key to remember is that you're after profit, not demand. If you don't have good credit and the start-up costs are prohibitive, I think you might want to think about getting rid of some of the obstacles in your way rather than diving in head-first by taking on more debt. Try to clean up your credit history first, and then you'll have a better chance at getting a loan.

Also, once that's done, make sure that there really is enough demand to keep your business going once it's up and running. If this kind of establishment is just a fad, is this really a business you'll want to be in, in five years? Renting commercial real estate requires a lot of time and effort, aside from huge amounts of money. Make sure your revenue stream won't dry up.

Good luck,

Aaron

[Mr. Hookah]

I am an 18 year old college student with no credit. But I do have an idea. I am looking to open up a club in my college town offering a twist. I want to open a hookah bar inside it. I have done a lot of research and believe that there is a strong demand for it in my area. I know the start up costs I face will be severe. I was looking for some insight as to how I would go about looking to fund this. I am currently a freshman, who is going to partner with a sophomore. Should I wait until I have my degree before starting this? I think finance is my biggest concern right now, so if anyone could offer me some advice on how to acquire the money I would really appreciate it.

I am from California where I too see the growing popularity in the Hookah culture, I am opening my first lounge in Santa Cruz California... What you need to do is write a strong business plan and show investors how your idea will turn into profit, at my lounge i have comparable prices with other lounges in the area with only 1.50 going into each bowl and charging $12.00, the profits are amazing and cutting the startup cost should not be hard. Where is your location that you are looking to put it?

[SSM]

Is this just going to be a hooka bar or a hooka/booze club?

[rmapes]

There are a few places to find funding even if you don't have credit. The best people to ask are friends and family. They may be willing to front enough cash to get you started (in exchange for a stake in the business). You can specify that they won't have decision making abilities, so you don't have any problems with that. If you can't find funding this way, you may try reaching out to an Angel investor---you might find somebody who is willing to put a little money behind you to back your venture. Of course, they'll want to see how you intend to repay them with a solid return and how quickly you intend to do this.

[shawnman19]

Hooka Bars make a killing. Its like a normal bar, plus patrons pay an extra $5-10 per Hooka they smoke. Its a great change from normal bars.

I went to Purdue University, and my Senior year they put in a Hooka Bar near the other "traditional" bars, and it was packed every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Night.

Make sure you make the Hooka Bar open later then the other bars, this will make it a "late night" hang out, and drunk people love to spend money.

I sent you a PM.