Thread: Southern California Nighclub Chain

not LA, not SD. more like Redlands. there are lots of illegal raves and young adults looking for nightlife but all we have is a 1970's retro/ghetto club called Revolution. i had a brilliant idea of opening a mega club. i know this will be very popular because nearly everyone i know say that they and everyone they know would go. anybody know how much i would need to start off? im new to business like this so dont hate the newbie. lol.

Don't. Just don't.


you say rave and I can guarantee you that your insurance will not cover the lawsuit when the first person goes to the hospital from E they got in your club

Originally Posted by buddyleee5

Don't. Just don't.


you say rave and I can guarantee you that your insurance will not cover the lawsuit when the first person goes to the hospital from E they got in your club

These are what we call obstacles and you can overcome them. Every business has them.

I'd say find out the information, talk to lawyers, talk to other club owners and ask how they handle that, the legality of everything etc. Sounds like a cool idea. I would love to own a club one day.

Originally Posted by IamStephen

These are what we call obstacles and you can overcome them. Every business has them.

I'd say find out the information, talk to lawyers, talk to other club owners and ask how they handle that, the legality of everything etc. Sounds like a cool idea. I would love to own a club one day.

I own 3 different clubs and one thing I can tell you from inside the industry is if you have never worked for a club in any type of management roll there are things that you will never think about. Everybody and their brother wants to own a club/bar but what people don't realize is that the average life of a club is <5 years- that being said you will never get funding from a bank it is all private investment. The business's success is dependent on your ability to manage and control processes and you're only as good as the people that work under you. When you have $10,000 coming in cash from a cover charge on any given night it doesn't take much for your new door guy to think that he can skim $500 off the top of that without me noticing. The amount of insurance you need, experience to handle drunk patrons who don't think rationally, and the connections with the local liquor commission so that you don't lose your license the first time your door guy gets duped on a fake go a long way. It's not just opening the door to an empty warehouse and watching the money flow in. Good clubs can spend $50-100k on sound alone- thats before having a design that facilitates the vibe you want to create whether that is dancing or mingling and how to maximize the revenue per square foot based on the number of tables and the arrangement of the bar- the correct layout behind a bar can be a $1,000 difference every night.

I am not hating on your idea by any means, but when your first questions about the industry mention "illegal raves, megaclub, and everyone you know" you have a long way to go.

^^^ +1M. Beyond the huge startup costs as well as ongoing operating/management/marketing costs, you need to understand that when you say "nearly everyone i know say that they and everyone they know would go" means two things:

1) They're not going to be there every night that you're open, or should even be counted on to be there even a few times a month once the initial opening buzz wears off.
2) They're going to want to be comped the cover charge and get free drinks/reduced price bottles. Hot chicks? That's fine. Dudes? Once you get a rep of being a consistent sausagefest, you're just circling the drain until your doors close.

No offense, but your initial post just shows you're not well suited for this.

I don't know if your actually serious on half the things you post or not. But in the case you are. I know the owner of SBE which basically owns all the best clubs in hollywood. I also know there top promotor which is one of my best friends. I could put you in contact with the people you'd need to talk to and get to know to start something like that. If your willing to invest into it I can promise they'd help you start or go co-owner with you in.

p.s. buddylee what clubs do you own?. Curious so I can go to them and you can hook me up

Originally Posted by buddyleee5

I own 3 different clubs and one thing I can tell you from inside the industry is if you have never worked for a club in any type of management roll there are things that you will never think about. Everybody and their brother wants to own a club/bar but what people don't realize is that the average life of a club is <5 years- that being said you will never get funding from a bank it is all private investment. The business's success is dependent on your ability to manage and control processes and you're only as good as the people that work under you. When you have $10,000 coming in cash from a cover charge on any given night it doesn't take much for your new door guy to think that he can skim $500 off the top of that without me noticing. The amount of insurance you need, experience to handle drunk patrons who don't think rationally, and the connections with the local liquor commission so that you don't lose your license the first time your door guy gets duped on a fake go a long way. It's not just opening the door to an empty warehouse and watching the money flow in. Good clubs can spend $50-100k on sound alone- thats before having a design that facilitates the vibe you want to create whether that is dancing or mingling and how to maximize the revenue per square foot based on the number of tables and the arrangement of the bar- the correct layout behind a bar can be a $1,000 difference every night.

I am not hating on your idea by any means, but when your first questions about the industry mention "illegal raves, megaclub, and everyone you know" you have a long way to go.

And did you start out knowing everything you know now? Surely you can remember what it was like in the beginning. If Nick is interested in doing the same thing, you shouldn't discourage him. Clearly Nick has a long way to go, but he's got to start somewhere.

Originally Posted by lifeoftheparty.

No offense, but your initial post just shows you're not well suited for this.

this. do something else first that is a little less complicated.

Originally Posted by IamStephen

And did you start out knowing everything you know now? Surely you can remember what it was like in the beginning. If Nick is interested in doing the same thing, you shouldn't discourage him. Clearly Nick has a long way to go, but he's got to start somewhere.

and based off his first post my advice is to start in another industry- I don't understand import and export businesses but if I were to look for information my post wouldn't be "me and all my friends have businesses and need cheap stuff from china and they said if I had a business they would all buy all their stuff from me so anyone know how much money I need to open an import business?"

The nightclub business is very 2 faced- we are loved by many of our patrons that come out, but in the wrong neighborhood or with the wrong patrons we can be hated by the community and all grouped into one band of outlaws. The more people that think because they throw $50,000 into a club and open their doors they will make money the worse off the industry is as a whole. Those owners don't understand crowd control, don't understand when people need to be cut off and how to do it with the least amount of issue- if you are seriously interested in opening a club I suggest you go out and get yourself a barback job, then work up to bartending, security, manager etc. before you post asking how much money you need.

The final thing you should understand is that if you have a girlfriend/wife, family, and friends kiss them all goodbye. As an owner you need to be in your club all the time, not just to make sure your processes are running correctly but to notice issues and fix them, take care of your best customers, and make your patrons feel wanted- it goes a long way when the owner comes over to the table thats spending $10,000 and says hey next time you're here ask for me I'll take care of a bottle for you. So expect to be in your club every night it opens at least 2 hrs after close and 3-4 before the open doing other ancillary tasks such as inventory and payroll. One other thing to note you NEVER drink when you're working.

At this point I'd say you'd be better off exploring other careers