More details of the Vision
I am writing you and room owners throughout the United States to share in a vision, a vision to make life a little easier for all of us that are directly involved in room ownership.
Certainly from reading posts on AZBilliards.com and my own local experience of seeing 6 rooms go down in a three year period, most room owners are having a difficult time making ends meet. Is this you?
We, the room owners have a chance to change the face of the industry. We have a chance to elevate the standing of the rooms. We have a chance to make this sport what we envisioned so many years ago. We have a chance not only to be successful in our endeavors but to exceed those expectations.
Let’s look at some of the problems we all face.
Insurance costs
Liability
Dram Shop
Health Insurance for you and your employees
Business interruption
Cost of Cues
Sliding cost scale many cuemakers have dependant on volume
Slow service to the rooms for a special order
Not being able to buy directly from the manufacturers
Cost of Food and Beverage
Cost of Accessories
Internet competition taking away sales
Advertising and Marketing
Raising Added money for successful tournament events
I can go on with these but it just gets me depressed as I’m sure it does for you.
What can WE do about it?
The Vision
I want to put a proprietor’s coalition together. I certainly don’t want this to be a "for-profit" group. We room owners have been gouged enough. Think about the possibilities. By having a large group, all needing and wanting a better life and better sport, we can make great strides to that end.
The number one question I’m asked when talking to owners is, “What’s in it for me?” a very good question that needs to be answered with specific examples and be owner friendly. What is the list of items that we can do as a power group instead of individual businesses?
Buying Power or Power Buying
Insurance: As a group with power buying, we can lower the costs of insurance to almost all the room owners. That is a significant and IMMEDIATE savings for you.
Brick & Mortar vs. the Internet: The internet sales have helped in the demise of many rooms. Income that was once exclusive to the rooms is now being divided by large internet companies invading our space and taking our sales. At one time cue sales and accessories were just an added income to the room. NOT SO ANYMORE. Most rooms need that income to stay in business. As individual owners we are not able to get to the volume needed to get the price breaks from the manufacturers that large internet companies get. That is not right. As a coalition of owners we would have the buying power to get those price breaks. We would have the power to buy directly from the manufacturers. We could have the buying power to compete with internet sales. We can take back what belongs in the owners’ scope of business. Whether it is cues and accessories, tips, cloth, chalk, etc., we would have the buying power to go direct at lower manufacturer prices.
National Contracts: A proprietor group can also negotiate national contracts with various food soda and liquor vendors to reduce our costs and enhance our profits. We would NOT be setting retail prices but getting product at lower costs.
These are just some of the savings that can be realized with a large cohesive group of owners that want to be successful.
Please indulge my vision for possible future offerings.
If we work hard together to make this a reality, think of what we can do. We can begin a new era of room ownership.
1) We can create real tours with real sponsorship to member rooms. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a pro tour stop at your room and get help with added money, advertising and media representation?
2) We can create our own website for members to buy from the recommended manufacturers. No muss, no fuss and we know that we are getting the lowest price available. Members can order product directly through the site to make getting product easier, faster and with confidence.
3) We can buy national advertising for the sport with room insertion for area advertising.
So…what am I looking for right now?
First, I want to reiterate that I AM NOT looking to make money out of this venture. What could be better for this sport than a proprietors’ organization?
All I ask is that you respond to this letter with your thoughts or acknowledgement and consider the proposal. If you are interested enough to want to help and be on the ground floor of an exciting time, I might ask you for some volunteer time to help this vision come to fruition. Will it be some hard work? Yes. Will we have setbacks? Yes. Is it a worth while endeavor? Yes!
Thanks for reading
Jay Wegener
