I'm an enthusiastic pool player from the beautiful country of Denmark, where pool is a relatively small sport. I live in a town of about 30k citizens which only has a handful of tables and no more than 2 in the same place. I have been daydreaming for a while now about having my own poolhall. Take all of this as brainstorming, I'm not decided on whether or not to do it and I'm not sure if it's in any way feasible. I'm currently working odd jobs and would be able to save maybe $10k over the next year. I would be able to keep those jobs if I were to run a poolhall, supplementing my income and making me less vulnerable to the risks of this venture.
What I'm hoping to do is make a poolhall with low prices and really good management of expenses. Hopefully I can get a lot of used stuff to set up with. Location could be less central for low rent, and I'd want a small room for around 6 tables. The market for pool is not big here, so I doubt more than 6 tables would be worth it.
Me and my wife can cook fairly well and cheaply, so we hope to have something to offer there. I want it to be kid friendly and am planning on serving reasonably healthy food rather than traditional junk. Beer and soda will be sold, not planning on selling liquor or cigarettes. I'm not interested in slot machines either.
I have a lot of experience with community management and tournaments, and I'm hoping to build a loyal customer base. I'm trying to start up a small local league in the near future, hoping that will give me an impression of the market potential and a network to start from. I moved to this town 2 years ago, having lived in a larger town with an established pool community. The focus in my poolhall will be on attracting social players who want to go somewhere cheap to have fun with their friends, as well as beginners who are interested in learning how to play properly. The concept is to have a place where people can go to shoot a game of pool with the owner, flirt with his wife and get a nice home-cooked meal, all at low cost. The activity level will be high, and I will be doing a lot of network advertising and promotion.
I want to run this mostly alone (with my wife helping out serving and cooking), I think one part-time employee with around 20 hours a week will suffice. I'm toying with the idea of living in the same building, if a suitable location can be found. Since I'll be spending crazy hours there, that might help keep my marriage from going south
My credentials are a bright head, an outgoing nature and a passion for pool. I've done some business management in college and feel confident about managing my own business provided it's planned out properly and set up right. That said, I'm quite the newbie at this.
I'm trying to come up with a list of necessities for setup and a list of running expenses to take into account. This is what they look like at present, please help me fill the blanks:
SETUP
6 pool tables
6 table lamps
a few room lamps
6 cheap sets of balls
2 good sets of balls
chalk
cue repair kit
15 house cues
3 (cheap) regular cues for rent
6 small cafe tables
2 large cafe tables
20 chairs
1 counter
1 refrigerator for display
1 refrigerator for storage
1 cash register
1 credit card terminal
kitchen facilities (hopefully included in the lease)
dish washer
glasses, plates and silverware
phone
RUNNING EXPENSES (excluding items for sale)
staff wages
rent
utilities
cleaning supplies
advertising
misc office and administration expenses
table and cue maintenance
misc maintenance
Any and all advice and criticism appreciated!
What I'm hoping to do is make a poolhall with low prices and really good management of expenses. Hopefully I can get a lot of used stuff to set up with. Location could be less central for low rent, and I'd want a small room for around 6 tables. The market for pool is not big here, so I doubt more than 6 tables would be worth it.
Me and my wife can cook fairly well and cheaply, so we hope to have something to offer there. I want it to be kid friendly and am planning on serving reasonably healthy food rather than traditional junk. Beer and soda will be sold, not planning on selling liquor or cigarettes. I'm not interested in slot machines either.
I have a lot of experience with community management and tournaments, and I'm hoping to build a loyal customer base. I'm trying to start up a small local league in the near future, hoping that will give me an impression of the market potential and a network to start from. I moved to this town 2 years ago, having lived in a larger town with an established pool community. The focus in my poolhall will be on attracting social players who want to go somewhere cheap to have fun with their friends, as well as beginners who are interested in learning how to play properly. The concept is to have a place where people can go to shoot a game of pool with the owner, flirt with his wife and get a nice home-cooked meal, all at low cost. The activity level will be high, and I will be doing a lot of network advertising and promotion.
I want to run this mostly alone (with my wife helping out serving and cooking), I think one part-time employee with around 20 hours a week will suffice. I'm toying with the idea of living in the same building, if a suitable location can be found. Since I'll be spending crazy hours there, that might help keep my marriage from going south
My credentials are a bright head, an outgoing nature and a passion for pool. I've done some business management in college and feel confident about managing my own business provided it's planned out properly and set up right. That said, I'm quite the newbie at this.
I'm trying to come up with a list of necessities for setup and a list of running expenses to take into account. This is what they look like at present, please help me fill the blanks:
SETUP
6 pool tables
6 table lamps
a few room lamps
6 cheap sets of balls
2 good sets of balls
chalk
cue repair kit
15 house cues
3 (cheap) regular cues for rent
6 small cafe tables
2 large cafe tables
20 chairs
1 counter
1 refrigerator for display
1 refrigerator for storage
1 cash register
1 credit card terminal
kitchen facilities (hopefully included in the lease)
dish washer
glasses, plates and silverware
phone
RUNNING EXPENSES (excluding items for sale)
staff wages
rent
utilities
cleaning supplies
advertising
misc office and administration expenses
table and cue maintenance
misc maintenance
Any and all advice and criticism appreciated!
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