There’s a lot of legislation you’ll need to comply with if you’re thinking of running a late night leisure outlet. You’ll find all you need to start up and run your own night club business in our practical guide.
Research your target market
Establish your customer profile
Your facilities and services
Getting a licence
Promoting your night club
Buy an existing business
Research your target market
Estimating demand
It’s important to do all you can to find out whether there is enough local demand for your night club. Be aware that the late night economy is very competitive and that you will be competing directly against other clubs, bars and licensed venues as well as indirectly against other entertainment venues that stay open late, like cinemas. There are also growing concerns that late night disorder, drunkenness and noise need to be curbed and in some areas local authorities have taken steps to limit or prevent new night club licences from being granted or have imposed restrictions on opening hours on new licensees. Before going too far with your planning it makes sense to check with the local licensing authority and the police that you have a reasonable chance of obtaining a licence.
Check out the competition in your area to identify:
how many existing night clubs and pubs with late licences there are
the types of customer they target
their opening hours
the types of music they play and whether this varies throughout the week
their entry fees and bar prices
any special offers and promotions
how popular they are
This might immediately show you that there is a gap in the market for a certain type of club, for example incorporating a stylish restaurant area.
It would also be helpful to find out how many nights in a typical week are ‘big nights out’ – nights when large numbers of people normally visit existing clubs in your area.
Research current trends, plus legal and tax issues
Sector trends for night clubs
Legal issues for night clubs
VAT rules for night clubs
Establish your customer profile
It is likely that a very large proportion of your customers will be young people between 18 and 25 years old, although you might also decide to have special nights for more mature clubbers or for teenagers (where you would only serve soft drinks). You might also hire out part or all of your venue to private parties and these might be members of the public celebrating birthdays, weddings and so on or business people, for example holding a launch party for a new product.
Special offers, discounts and promotions
You may decide to offer customers a variety of discounts and special offers, such as:
cheaper entry fees at the beginning of the week
free entry for women on some nights
student discounts
a free drink on entry before a particular time
promotions on certain drinks brands – but bear in mind that the licensed trade is committed to discouraging ‘binge’ drinking and ‘irresponsible’ promotions are banned
Don’t forget to brief your staff thoroughly on the discounts that can be offered. Guard against staff offering unauthorised discounts to their friends and family.
Dress code
Give some thought to the dress code that you will insist on. For example, you might specify smart casual, with no jeans or trainers. Perhaps the dress code will vary on different nights. Make sure your dress code is widely publicised. You will also need to put in place an ID policy so that staff do not admit anyone who is under-age – and decide whether you will restrict entry to people over a certain age, such as 21.
Your facilities and services
The range of facilities and services you offer your customers will depend to a certain extent on how spacious your premises are. For example, you might plan to operate from a three-storey building which you would split up in the following way:
ground floor – bar and restaurant serving meals at lunch-time and in the evenings
first floor – cocktail and snack bar serving drinks until late at night. This area might have plenty of seating
second floor – bar and dance floor
Or you might decide to split your premises up into different rooms, each of which offers a different type of music such as:
60s, 70s, 80s and 90s
disco
drum and bass
soul and pop
house and garage
indie and alternative
techno and hard house
metal and rock
Alternatively, you may choose to have a single large room, with only one type of music being played. Bear in mind, though, that one of the things that puts clubbers off is not liking the music played in the club. Having different rooms with different types of music can be a way round this.
There may be the opportunity to create chill out areas if you have enough room and an outside terrace or balcony is likely to be popular in nice weather.
Other attractions you might offer your customers include:
large screen TVs
pool tables
amusement and quiz machines
food and drink and other vending machines
cash machines
Some night clubs have installed cash machines on their premises.
Think about how you will keep customers coming back to your club. Ideally you will gain a reputation for promoting new musicians and DJs and for keeping up with musical developments. For many clubs it’s essential that the venue remains fashionable, stylish and inviting and this may mean frequent refurbishments and replacement of fixtures and fittings.
Private parties
Many clubs have smaller areas which they are prepared to hire out for private parties – and in some cases members of the public or organisations such as college societies can take over the whole club for a really large gathering. Think about how much you would charge for private hirings and what the fee would include – for example, you might offer catering facilities such as a buffet.
Seasonality
In common with the rest of the licensed trade the run up to Christmas and over New Year is often a peak period for night clubs. February is likely to be a quieter month and, if many of the customers are students, college holidays are also likely to see a fall in numbers.
Within the week, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are the busiest days and many night club operators try to attract clubbers during the early part of the week by targeting a certain age group (such as offering safe events for teenagers where no alcohol is served) or offering reduced entry fees or promotions. Sunday is becoming more and more popular as a club night out.