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Running a Bar: 5 Ways to Thrive
When you're thinking about owning and running a bar, images of entertainment, fun and financial gain are often foremost in most entrepreneur's minds. Whilst this might be the bright side of bar ownership, but it's not necessarily all joy behind the scenes. How can you ensure that your enterprise thrives, in what, these days, is a crowded market sector?
Location and Competition
Location should be a key element of your business strategy, in tandem with looking at your competition. Some areas may cry out for a neighborhood bar, the kind of place where 'everyone knows your name', but there's little value in developing this type of establishment if there's already one or more of the same in the area.
A speciality bar could thrive, even in an area with a number of other non-speciality types already established. Sports bars will go down well in larger towns and cities with active sports clubs, less so in smaller towns and villages.
Look at this from all angles before styling a new venture, or when upgrading or modifying an existing one.
Signature Style and Promotion
If you can create a style all of your own, one that's popular with the local crowd, you're likely to be onto a winner. There's a multitude of bars that have managed to start with an individual approach, and have found it successful enough to be able to franchise the style, building multiple-establishment chains throughout the country.
If you're going down this road, some lateral thinking may be required to forge a style that's unique to you, and which proves marketable.
Once you've found your style and/or niche - let the public know about it! Find new ways to promote it, as well as considering traditional advertising.
Responsibility and Training
As time goes on, health and safety regulation of businesses in the public eye tends to increase, rather than decrease, and the licensed trade is no exception. You'll have to be aware of all the legislation covering the business, your public liability insurance obligations, and ensure that your staff also have the appropriate level of training for their individual roles.
It's more important than ever, as regulation increases, and as the public becomes more demanding of their food and drink providers, that you maintain the highest standards of cleanliness throughout your establishment. Nothing will kill your trade quicker than a warning or close-down notice from your local health inspector.
Use the Technology Available to You
It's important to keep track of the money flowing in and out of your business, and progress in point-of-sale technology can assist in this regard, by tracking all sales, by providing large-screen displays of transactions, so the customers can see their sale being rung up, and others. Electronic point-of-sale systems can help to organise orders and tracking, especially on hectic nights.
This article was contributed by BusinessesForSale.com, the market-leading directory of business opportunities from Dynamis, the online media group also behind FranchiseSales.com and PropertySales.com
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