Entrepreneurship and Business Ventures

Over the next several decades, technological advancements will likely create more jobs in the respective industry throughout the country. Yet while the tech industry may be the most lucrative for prospecting entrepreneurs, others, such as food and beverage, can also expect steady growth over the next several years. For this fictional study, I will plan the building of a large bar in a major metropolis alongside four friends. Although the tech industry is very appealing to both myself and other contemporary entrepreneurs, it is important to begin my business career doing something that will generate a steady return before moving on to other projects.

Firstly, the market is ripe for expansion in the food and beverage industry and appeals to me as a stepping stone toward other business endeavors. Being a millennial, this climate is making it easier to grow the business quickly and expand my personal wealth. After the Great Recession of 2008, Americans increasingly spent their money on moderately priced forms of entertainment like the theatre instead of taking expensive vacations or going to high-priced sports events. With the economy still lingering forward, this trend will only continue in the future. Hence, our bar will be part of a growing niche market: affordable entertainment. This affordability will my business partners and I leverage in the future; due to stagnant liquor prices, there will always be an interest in going out to bars. Furthermore, it has always been a passion of mine to be somewhat of a host to guests and offering a great environment for people to enjoy themselves would be personally rewarding.

While the company name would not be discussed until the final stages of the project, I would opt to take into consideration our location and potential clientele before committing to a brand name. Because the bar scene offers an array of possibilities for owners – dive bars cater to those in search of cheaper, affordable drinks while cocktail lounges cater to those in search of a more luxurious evening out – the name and market to which our bar will serve will require devout research in the industry. Likely, we will try and cultivate a mix of cocktail appreciation with affordability and a more relaxed attitude towards the mixology movement, coming up with a classy name along the lines of the Speakeasy movement, such as Cole’s or French’s.

The business has a great chance of becoming successful. To start, we will move forward with the idea with the promise of one day potentially franchising the idea and brand. While many of our competitors create individual locations for their customers, we have the idea of expanding the scale and product of our business to a wider population. Should we be successful in creating this niche brand, it is feasible to think that we can net several millions of dollars per year in profit. The company will be set up like a corporation. Businesses which tend to recognize the strengths of every one of its components tend to be the most successful; we will structure an LLC in which titles are created and job duties and expectations made clear (Ferrell et al. 221). Because there need to be final decisions made in companies, it is prudent that while every founder receives the same money for their input and investment, they are not all equal behind the scenes. Such a company would struggle to move forward with a long-term agenda.

During our first year of business in our startup investment, we expect that we will gross around one million in gross sales. If we have a successful bar established in a large city, we can expect to make anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000 dollars depending on the night of the week, keeping a large percentage of that due to the industry’s exceptional profit margin. In essence, if we were to sell liquor and beer with a 400% profit (every $7.00 shot costs roughly $1.75), we can assume that we could sell at least five hundred shots or beers per night, generating $3,500 in gross sales. Totaling these numbers up, we may generate more than one million in sales; however, because it is our first year of business, we are expecting turbulence and potential problems arising.

By the end of our second year of business, we expect to be profitable. Obviously, that is merely a reasonable calculation; however, after studying other businesses in our industry and looking at the margin for immediate growth amongst young people in a large metropolitan area, we believe it is feasible to think we could expand so quickly. We look forward to pursuing this endeavor. There is a great opportunity for growth in this market.

Work Cited

Ferrell, O.C., Geoffrey Hirt, and Linda Ferrell. Business with Connect Plus. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.