Associate
Hi guys,
I'm after a bit of help/advice/guidance, I own a nightclub/live music venue in Oldham, Greater Manchester. We're coming up to our one year anniversary soon and I'd like to pick your brains about a few things.
We've struggled for the entire year in all honesty, bar a few good months and it's proving very difficult to stay afloat. The original funds to purchase the business and all the various fixtures/fittings/stock/pa/etc came from my parents who were essentially trying to help set me up with a career for life.
We've had good months where we've pulled in an ok amount but most months we struggle to even pay rent and cover costs.
At the moment we have various nights on catering to a variety of people (Indie on a Friday, Rock on a Saturday, Open Mic on a Monday, etc) but because we're struggling to get the numbers in we can't afford to make basic repairs/improvements and it feels like part of that is holding us back.
I believe at the moment we're probably not promoting enough, the bulk of our promotion is done on Facebook and we do have a core group of regulars but we need to reach more people. We've tried flyering before but it didn't really seem to do the trick, perhaps we need to try again but stick to it for longer. Can anyone think of some excellent promotional techniques that would help?
I've contacted the council about possible funding options as Oldham is currently undergoing a regeneration period (new metrolink system, new business incentives, etc), so hopefully we're eligible for something, but it seems venues are quite overlooked sometimes as they're seen as drunk filled spaces.
I've considered the idea of doing some form of crowdfunding/kickstarter type thing as we are the only real live music venue in the area, especially one that actually caters for alternative people. Would this be a fruitless endeavour or are there successful examples of similar businesses being successfully funded like this?
I've probably missed a lot of important information out, so if you have any questions please ask away. But if you can help with any advice or anything I'd be very grateful.
TL;DR: Bar struggling in Oldham, any ideas to boost business?
I'm after a bit of help/advice/guidance, I own a nightclub/live music venue in Oldham, Greater Manchester. We're coming up to our one year anniversary soon and I'd like to pick your brains about a few things.
We've struggled for the entire year in all honesty, bar a few good months and it's proving very difficult to stay afloat. The original funds to purchase the business and all the various fixtures/fittings/stock/pa/etc came from my parents who were essentially trying to help set me up with a career for life.
We've had good months where we've pulled in an ok amount but most months we struggle to even pay rent and cover costs.
At the moment we have various nights on catering to a variety of people (Indie on a Friday, Rock on a Saturday, Open Mic on a Monday, etc) but because we're struggling to get the numbers in we can't afford to make basic repairs/improvements and it feels like part of that is holding us back.
I believe at the moment we're probably not promoting enough, the bulk of our promotion is done on Facebook and we do have a core group of regulars but we need to reach more people. We've tried flyering before but it didn't really seem to do the trick, perhaps we need to try again but stick to it for longer. Can anyone think of some excellent promotional techniques that would help?
I've contacted the council about possible funding options as Oldham is currently undergoing a regeneration period (new metrolink system, new business incentives, etc), so hopefully we're eligible for something, but it seems venues are quite overlooked sometimes as they're seen as drunk filled spaces.
I've considered the idea of doing some form of crowdfunding/kickstarter type thing as we are the only real live music venue in the area, especially one that actually caters for alternative people. Would this be a fruitless endeavour or are there successful examples of similar businesses being successfully funded like this?
I've probably missed a lot of important information out, so if you have any questions please ask away. But if you can help with any advice or anything I'd be very grateful.
TL;DR: Bar struggling in Oldham, any ideas to boost business?
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