Room Owners...would you hire someone that wants to learn the business?

mattman

mattman

Registered User
Silver Member
I would like to start a pool room buisness in the next 2-7 years. Before I do that though, I would like to learn the business. I am thinking of applying for employment at a local pool hall....maybe for a cook position....don't know where else to start. Should I or should I not put on the application that my intentions are to start my own business in the forementioned time frame? I don't know if it would help or hinder my chances for hire. I wouldn't see my business as any direct competition, but none the less, it's in the same industry and would still be considered competition.

What do you think?

Thanks,
Matt
 
mattman said:
I would like to start a pool room buisness in the next 2-7 years. Before I do that though, I would like to learn the business. I am thinking of applying for employment at a local pool hall....maybe for a cook position....don't know where else to start. Should I or should I not put on the application that my intentions are to start my own business in the forementioned time frame? I don't know if it would help or hinder my chances for hire. I wouldn't see my business as any direct competition, but none the less, it's in the same industry and would still be considered competition.

What do you think?

Thanks,
Matt
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The guy hiring you probably doesn't really care what your life goals are 2 to 7 years from now. He just wants you to show up and not steal.

That said if he asks tell the truth. If not just get hired and do the best you can and pay attention to everything. Something else you may want to think about. Working in a pool room for someone else for 2-7 years will not get you the capital to open your own place. I know 20 bartenders that are all gonna open the best place in town someday. You may want to skip the ground floor pool room experience and try to get into a job managing a restaurant or bar because that is what 99% of pool rooms that last turn out to rely on to keep the doors open.

I have seen how the pool room sausage gets made and pool is a pretty small part of it. The business end is what will determine your fate. You can have the best of everything, but if you don't know how to manage the million things that need attention you will still end up busted. It will take you a long time to learn those things behind a grill.

Please do not think I am telling you you can't or shouldn't do this. Just be smart and have a plan. Don't think you have to cook in a poolroom for 2 years to get the knowledge you need.

There is broad and deep base of knowledge here. Some of these guys have been doing what you aspire to for decades. Listen to them and give serious thought to their input. I wish you the best of luck.
 
If I hired you as a cook - that's what I would expect you to do and not be on the business floor.

You may get a better learning experience from volunteering a few hours a day as an all-around helper. Approach the owner from an "Im looking for an internship/apprenticeship to learn the billiards business" perspective. I believe I would try to get to know the owner/manager first and establish some rapport. If you get in and prove to be worth your salt they may just offer you a job. I don't know about your location but here you never see the kitchen help outside the kitchen.

I often advise youngins about the 'get a foot in the door" concept but just don't see that working in the bar/club business.
 
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I agree with everything said above. If I were you I would change my thinking from "pool room" to "sports bar". The business climate has changed over the years from many factors that are not in favor of a "pool room". Including but not limited to , the younger generation no being interested in serious pool in general, rental space is through the roof , utility cost have skyrocketed , insurance has skyrocked , etc...etc... In the old days the local handful of "players" and occassional bangers could support a "pool room". Not today, you need a boatload of customers from diverse groups, pool alone will not bring them in the door. Freddy the Beard said the other day that there were 30 pool rooms in Chicago at one time, they are all gone. There is a reason for that.
 
Thanks for the input. I understand that working in a pool room will not gain capital, although I can always use the extra money. My wife has a great paying job and I own a lawn & landscape business, but only working 20-25 hours a week. I spent 14 years with the Coleman Co. making coolers. Six of those years I was a supervisor and quit last year to focus more on my business. Managing people and running a business is nothing new to me. I have, what I consider, fairly strong organizational skills.

I am still in debate of what kind of business model to follow. It will be either pool room with a bar/kitchen or a bar with a kitchen/pool tables. Either way, I want it themed around billiards. I would like to offer league play in darts and pool and also offering poker.

The main reason I have the idea of starting out as a cook is to mainly just get my foot in the door. I have no idea of a kitchen layout and how it's operated. The closest I have been to a kitchen is watching Hell's Kitchen. Working as a cook, I would probably learn what I need to know within a month or less, as far as basic layout and preparation.

Any and all other advice is welcomed...except for "don't do it"...I don't want to hear all that.

Thanks,
Matt
 
mattman said:
I would like to start a pool room buisness in the next 2-7 years. Before I do that though, I would like to learn the business. I am thinking of applying for employment at a local pool hall....maybe for a cook position....don't know where else to start. Should I or should I not put on the application that my intentions are to start my own business in the forementioned time frame? I don't know if it would help or hinder my chances for hire. I wouldn't see my business as any direct competition, but none the less, it's in the same industry and would still be considered competition.

What do you think?

Thanks,
Matt
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Matt, I have done just that. I have a 22 yr old that works for me for that purpose. He is currently a Business Major at Washington University, and his intention is to open his own pool in the next five years. He is also my apprentice, in my cue shop and has already completed his first custom cue stick which he is very proud of.

I totally think you are track with your thinking, and it could also save you a great deal of money if you decide it not for you.
 
Business models

My family has been running a pool room/ billiard supply store for quite some time. We started in 1966 and the climate has changed dramatically. I would try to think in the direction of: Pool is way to get people in the door, NOT the way to make money. Money will come from cue sales, dart sales, beer, candy, snacks, jukebox, etc etc etc. There is no "magic formula" or everyone would be making money. There are 30 little ways to make some money. You just have to keep banging away every day at all 30 of them to succeed. When you slack off on a couple of them. You will see the income drop. When you don't stock the right candy, or if you are not ordering new cues, or if you dont have the right buns for your hamburgers. All that Mickey Mouse stuff is more important than any business school will teach you. Diversification is the key I think to keeping a room alive today in a business that has a shrinking following. Good luck and always come back here to vent about the bad things and to brag about the good things.
 
Thanks for all the great advice. Even though I do not have a degree, I have taken about 60 hours at Wichita State University. I plan on taking some accounting courses in the near future.

Are there any other eductional courses that you recommend?

Thanks,
Matt
 
Accounting, Business Law and Marketing are all good courses for any type of entrepreneur.

I'm kind of curious - have you taken the time to estimate the cost of this venture? Now would be a good time to start developing your business plan.
 
Dartman said:
Accounting, Business Law and Marketing are all good courses for any type of entrepreneur.

I'm kind of curious - have you taken the time to estimate the cost of this venture? Now would be a good time to start developing your business plan.
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I have taken intro courses on the three subjects that you mentioned above, but that was a long time ago and need some refreshing. I have not taken the time to figure what it would cost to start this venture. I did attend a course on business contracts last week. I have taken a course on writing a business plan at the Kansas Small Business Developmental Center, but that was a couple years ago. It was a course on how to write a business plan for presenting to a bank for capital. I did some research yesterday and plan to take some courses in the spring of 2008. Thanks for the advice and if there is anything anyone wants to add, please do. There are a couple of sample business plans on eBay for around $25 and I might purchase one of these to get some ideas.

Thanks much
Mattman
 
For all it's worth, I ran two pool rooms for other owners not long ago. One was a small players room with 10 tables and beer/soda bar. The last one was a large 30 table, 24 hour operation in Denver. The big place made the owner a multi-millionaire until the downturn in the economy. The restaurant was not cutting it after many years of a good run, so he got smart and leased it out to a local well known Mexican burrito chain so he could cut his overhead and dump the headache on them. Food is not a money real maker in most pool rooms, but only a tool to keep players inside and on the tables. The bar is the moneymaker if it is a full liquor bar. On any given weekend night, if the bar did not sell 3 times what the table time was, the owner would threaten to replace the manager and bartender. The business got so bad from gang problems and the economy that it went from 7x24 operation to closing by 3AM every night after the bar closes. The potential for under-age drinkers and gang problems requires him to hire a uniformed cop 2-3 nights a week and 4- 6 regular house security every weekend. 2 Shootings in the parking lot, and numerous fights made me come to one conclusion. I would not own a pool room to get rich off the bar unless it was in an exclusive area. Not likely. I would go for a low key players room like the first one I ran on the weekends in Florida that served only beer and sees the likes of top rated players on any given night. Shimmed fast level tables that get taken care of are going to keep the better players coming back. The beer drinkers and kids like the 7 and 8 footers with buckets for pockets, so you have to have them to keep them coming back. That place didn't even have a listing in the phone book, but ask many a pro in Florida about Family Billiards in Clearwater they have been there at one time or another. Nothing fancy at all but the owner is a NICE respected guy who competes in Pro tournaments along side of Ray Martin. He is a happy man practicing the keep it simple principle. First thing you need to do is figure out what kind of business you want and then find one similar and hang out there. You can learn more from the owner by talking with him than cleaning his kitchen floors and bathrooms.
 
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