I need advice on how to get a bar started.

[iceman_extreme]

Hello,

I am a Veteran trying to open a bar with a patriotic theme. I am new and need advice and tips on getting started, but especially how to raise the capitol or "seed money" for the venture. Here is the website I started to explain my goal. supportmilitarydreams.com Please visit and comment on what I need to do differently to suceed. Thanks again for any support or advise.

Mike

[Wozcreative]

I like the theme, have you tried looking into kickstarter.com?

[Harold Mansfield]

Hello,
I am a Veteran trying to open a bar with a patriotic theme. I am new and need advice and tips on getting started, but especially how to raise the capitol or "seed money" for the venture. Here is the website I started to explain my goal. supportmilitarydreams.com Please visit and comment on what I need to do differently to succeed. Thanks again for any support or advise.
Mike

Sounds like you have absolutely no experience in the bar industry. It is not a business that I recommend trying to learn as you go along. Inexperience will cost you a lot of money, cause you to hire the wrong people, and can kill your chances of making it before you even open the doors. If you've never worked in a bar before I highly suggest that you do or you will waste whatever money you get and likely fail, unless you can afford to hire a good, experienced bar manager.

The bar business is vastly different from state to state. I've worked in the industry for over 20 years in MI, FL, and NV and I wouldn't give the same advice to people in all 3 states. It's different. Unfortunately I know nothing about running a bar in CA.

As far as funding goes, you probably know more about any programs for Veterans than we do. I'm sure things are a little different that when I got out of the Army. Back when I was discharged you could use your benefits for college, real estate, or an SBA loan. But just off the top of my head, you need to have some money of your own. No matter how many programs are out there, none of them are going to loan or grant you enough to fund your project 100%. That's with any business. And opening a bar is VERY expensive. Just your opening inventory is going to cost you at least $50k+, and that's bare bones without food or glasses to pour the drinks in.

Also, you need far more money than just enough to start up. A new bar can go months or longer before it can support itself. Some never do. Many times you need to secure the location before you can apply for a liquor license. That means that you need to pay rent during the apporval process which can take months in some states.

Lastly, I'm a Vet, so I'm all for the "Help a Vet" thing, but you have to have more going for you than that. Strictly from a business stand point, a "Patriotism" themed bar is not an original idea nor is it enough to insure any kind of success. I mean this is America. People have been opening "Patriotism" themed bars since the Europeans started migrating here. I just worked on the website of a Patriot Themed Tavern in NE that's been around since 1673.

You have no experience in the bar business, no money, and what you have described on your website basically amounts to a VFW or American Legion Hall.

Strip away the emotion of the idea and think about it as an actual business and what you need to do to open and run a bar that can compete and survive. Trust me, the whole Veterans thing wears off. And if that's all you have going for you, you're doomed.

Every Vet, and Cop wants to open a bar where people like them can "hang out". If you are really serious about this, think beyond that stereotypical "vet bar" and develop an actual plan that is going to make your atmoshere, your service, your food and your activities better than the other bars in the area.

If all you have is just a place to drink, that's not going to cut it. People can do that anywhere.

[MarketingSolutions]

I am a veteran as well, like habit said, it's not the greatest time OR industry to get into right now unfortunately.

[patrickprecisione]

It is not a business that I recommend trying to learn as you go along. Inexperience will cost you a lot of money, cause you to hire the wrong people, and can kill your chances of making it before you even open the doors. If you've never worked in a bar before I highly suggest that you do or you will waste whatever money you get and likely fail, unless you can afford to hire a good, experienced bar manager.

I couldn't tell you much about opening a bar, but I did work in the restaurant industry for a few years, and I've seen alot of Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares. The one common fault of just about every single business owner on that show is that they have zero restaurant experience but they still decide to sink all of the money they've got in to opening a restaurant. It's an odd phenomenon. And it should come as no surprise that they're business is failing and they're now making fools of themselves on a reality show.

It's also important to keep in mind that opening a bar is a ton of work. It's not just serving drinks and chatting with patrons. There's a ton of number crunching and work you might not be considering.

Anyway, have you considered trying to gain some experience by shadowing a manager at a local bar? I would try to gain as much experience as possible then decide if this is still what you want to do.

[MarketingSolutions]

I have thought a lot about opening a bar as well in the past 2 years or so. I really love that show "Bar Rescue". But at the end of the day I think overhead over profit would be a deal breaker for me unless I found a STEAL in a good part of the valley ( Arizona ).

But if you do end up starting the process keep us posted so we can help any way we can!