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 Message 10088 of 22774 in Behind the Bar
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Subject: My dad wants to open a bar, need some advice.
From: Mister2
Posted: Mon Dec 26. 2005, 05:49 UTC
This is gonna be kinda long, sorry in advance.

My dad's always had an entepreneurial streak.  He's opened half a dozen 
businesses or so, with varying success.  Now he's hearing about how much money 
the bar I tend at is making, and he wants a piece of the pie.

Now, I'm a bartender.  I could probably manage a bar if I were promoted, but 
it'd take a bit of time for me to learn the books and whatnot.  But opening an 
establishment is beyond me - I know shit about shit when it comes to acquiring 
insurance, getting a liquor license, etc.  But he wants me to open it with him 
and manage it.

Now, I've told him this.  He still wants me to write up a business plan, he'll 
secure capital, and he wants this to work.

In theory, I'm all for it.  I'd love to have my old man open up a bar, put me 
at the helm, and make us both a few bucks.  I'd get a bump in pay (hopefully), 
some experience under my belt in the back of the house, and everything would 
work out.  In reality, however, I'm a little skeptical.  Actually, I'm 
extremely skeptical.  I don't have any experience in equipment acquisition, 
accounting, staffing, etc.  Simply put, I'm way the hell out of my depth.  I 
want this to work, but I know the odds are against ANY bar running into the 
black, and given my lack of experience, I'd say we don't rate very well.

Right now, I'm thinking I should start costing everything, and simply overcost 
everything to scare him away with numbers.  He wants to open up a bar for 
$150,000 - I think that's a little low, personally.  I think this is a bad 
idea and I don't want him to sink his credit and his money into it, only to 
come up short in the end.  Any other ideas?

Or, should I go for it?  If this does work, it'll give me very valuable 
experience, and more importantly, it would provide me with a more stable 
income.


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