How to Start a Bowling Center Business

Summary: Wearing non-marking Brunswick rubber soles, you slowly step forward behind the maple furnished floor foul line. Your knees bent while holding a ten pound pearl like medicine ball, you mentally calculate the distance and amount of push power you plan to exert.

At the back of your mind, you imagine those ten pins going down with one stroke. You aim and let it go.

Truly, bowling remains to be one of America’s favorite past times. It’s one of the indoor sports that could be played individually, in doubles and in teams. It has also become a bonding activity for family time, an exercise to develop team building and spirit, and a tournament league in your home town. Plus, it also makes an excellent stress management outlet! Many agree it’s an awesome sport and past time and some would like to know how one starts a bowling center business of their own. Well to those few here are three simple start-up tips.

Tip number one is to first visualize your bowling center business and affirm it everyday. See yourself already owning and operating it immediately and successfully. Paint a clear positive picture in your mind how you want your bowling business center to be. How will you name it? See its location and the neighborhood setting you want it to be in. Visualize the floor span and the type of materials you want to be used. Imagine the colors of the fixtures, the feel of the fabric of your furniture, and the smell of the food in the restaurant inside. Picture adding a pro-shop, a snack bar, a gift and music shop, an amusement center and how about placing a few pool tables as well. How many lanes will your bowling business have? Will you use maple lanes or synthetic lanes? How about the type of oils you will use in your lanes? Next visualize the market you want to develop as your customers and the service you provide for them. Constant visualization and affirmation will make the process of opening your business easier. This is a key business step in any business venture. Don’t skip it.

Tip number two is to write it down. Develop a business plan. First ask yourself, “What knowledge do I have about the bowling business industry?” Evaluate your past experiences and your strengths. Ask yourself, “Am I equipped to do this?” If not, better seek counsel from someone who does before charging in. Do your research. Write down a plan of action with a set deadline for your grand opening day. In your plan, include the following major points.

• A list of possible locations for your establishment to build on.
• How would you finance it? Is this business a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a corporation?
• Who will be your staff? How will you train them to be efficient?
• You need a strategy how to create traffic into your bowling center. Your profitability relies heavily on it.
• A system how to operate and manage business cash flow to create profit against risk.
• A legal and support team comprised of at least a lawyer, accountant, contractor and a banker. Basically a team you can turn to for advice. Your support team may even advice you first to do a study if bowling is an appropriate business to open in the area you want to venture in.

Keep your plan flexible to change. You may need to constantly adjust it. You may also need to create several resource lists for your business like materials, suppliers, maybe even for advertising partners. After making your plan, break it down to smaller goals.

Final tip is to get started right away. You need to act. Work your plan and adjust it if needed. Do the short term goals and build on it.