Teen Club Guide

There has been resurgence in the interest of building teen clubs. More then I have seen in many years. It is amazing the amount of questions I get on this subject these days. Although I have a page on my site dedicated to Teen Clubs, many ask if they buy my Management Guide, or my How to start a Nightclub Guide if they could be used to open a Teen Club? And I always reply, yes, as it is based on the same premise. The acquisition of a site, management, and operations, etc.

However, with so much interest and questions that fill my mailbox, I thought I would write this guide just for teen clubs, and be a little more specific.

So get comfortable, grab your favorite beverage, and let’s get started.

When deciding you want to go in the direction of opening your own Teen Club, along with the financial interest you have in doing so, you have to be honest with yourself about the clientele you will be serving, and most important, being responsible for. Although you are responsible for your guests in any business, here you have the responsibility of taking care of someone’s children. That’s a pretty big undertaking, morally if nothing else.

Greed is a terrible thing though. Many people who look at this type of business look at the financial returns and never consider anything else. Every child has a money sign on their head. These same people are the ones that cities and towns all over generally have problems with, and give the Teen Club business a bad name. That being said, you may find some resistance from local authorities to allow such an establishment from being opened in their town.

So we will start here first. You will need to go to your local city building and check with the Zoning Dept. to see what part of your city is zoned commercial to open such a business. Some cities will actually have areas of their city designated for these types of businesses, and has nothing to do with commercial zoning. Of course, you will need to ask if this type of business is permitted in your city at all.

There have been some cities and towns that actually have had a Teen Club in their area at one time. If in fact there was problems with that club, your local lawmakers, may have already passed a law outlawing them from their area. Do your homework. This step needs to be done before you do anything else. Insure that your city or town welcomes what you are doing legally.

Once you have the zoning issues completed, and everything is legal, you can begin your next step of the process. Money. Opening a Teen Club is substantially less expensive to open then an adult driven nightclub. However, it still requires the money to do so. Don’t assume that since your new Teen Club is just for kids, that you just need four walls and a DJ. You need to be able to offer an atmosphere that will be conducive for that age group of the youth you are trying to attract. And more importantly, an atmosphere that they will want to keep returning to.

So money is an issue. Depending on where you live, will depend on your investment. Like anything else, smaller towns are less expensive to open in that let’s say New York City. You lease will be less expensive, your labor will be less expensive, and just about anything you need to acquire will be less expensive. I always say, everything is relevant.

I know, I know, you want to know how much it will cost. Well, that is something only you are going to be able to determine by doing some homework. I know, no one likes to do homework. But many average every day people have no idea what it takes to open a club, or anything else for that matter. There is a lot of legwork that is involved just to see if it all works for you. I can tell you I have spec’ed out many places that the numbers didn’t work. That’s part of business. You don’t know until you can put all the information together and see if it will be a profitable venture for you.

If this part is a pain in the ass for you, maybe you shouldn’t be in business. Something to consider? This should be exciting for you. And you have to go in with the idea that by the time you are done, there is no guarantee that the numbers will work out, and you may not be opening the Teen Club.

So doing your homework, and doing it right is very, very important. Take your time. Don’t rush and do things right. You will thank yourself later.

But I guess you need some kind of figure to start with to see if you have close to enough money. Well, if you had the ideal location with minimal renovation required, flooring was in good shape, and bathrooms in place, in a small town, you would need at least fifty thousand dollars. My first Teen Club I opened I did with fifteen thousand dollars. Of course that was in the late seventies, early eighties. And it was a former bar, that just needed a little face-lift. The bathrooms were already in place, I only had to partially put new rug in, advertising was cheap, and the most expensive part of the renovation was the sound and lighting. But, I did it all myself. I didn’t have to hire anyone to do anything. So if you are a little handy, you can really save money. But remember, you will need to have your work inspected. So if you are just a weekend handy person, this is something you won’t be able to tackle.

I think you get my drift. It is always important to try and find the best place suited for you and your budget. Do I mean you should compromise? No it doesn’t. It means that you need to look at everything when you are done and weigh it all. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, you move on and look at another location. And just for your information, even if you find a great location, and it doesn’t require major renovation, you may find that when you do the numbers, that it still doesn’t work. It may be just too expensive.

Why you ask? Because of your fixed costs. By the time you are done with your homework, and you are faced with the monthly costs to operate, you may find that you may need more customers then you thought just to break even. Or, you may find that the amount you wanted to charge at the door for admission can’t be as low as you wanted it to, because your costs are too high. So you see, you have to do all your homework. Then you will have your answer.

But let’s move on. So you have a few bucks, and you have found out it is legal to open a Teen Club in your area, and the Zoning Office has told you what areas of your city that you can open in. While you are gathering this information, find out what the procedures are for obtaining permits, and their costs. Jot all this information down before you leave, and the names of the people you have spoken with.

Now, it’s time to look for your location. This is the real time consuming part. You have to drive around and find an area that it is legal to open in, a place that has ample well lit parking, in an area that is safe, and that is easily accessible to drive to, in a location that parents won’t mind their children going to. That’s a mouthful! You ask, why not just use a realtor? You should, but not just yet.

Realtors have a vested interest in the time they spend with you. They make their living by selling you a property, or have a part in you obtaining a lease for a property. And some are better sales people then others. Don’t let a Realtor sell you something you don’t want or need. But many will try.

So drive around and look at locations. Write down the contact information that is posted on these vacant properties. Some will be through Realtor, and some will be available through an individual. After gathering your information, start making appointments to go and view these locations.

Can you see why all the criteria mentioned above is important? Read it over again and let it make sense to you. Bottom line is this. No parent is going to permit their child to go to a place they don’t feel safe about, or is out of the way and not easily accessible. Period! If you are a parent you understand all this. I hope anyway. So your location is number one. I’m sure you have heard the old adage, location, location, location. It’s true.

The ideal locations for such a place is in a strip plaza. There is tons of parking, well lit, generally safe, and easy to get to. Are they all that way? NO! You know that though. And with the hours of operation you will have, the other stores in the plaza will be closed most of the hours you are going to be open. This is real important too. If you have a business in that plaza, the last thing you want is a couple hundred kids hanging out if front of your store. Large groups of kids scare many people. And sometimes kids can want to show off in front of their friends and do and say things to people that would not be appropriate. Then the complaints start.

So, if you find a location, in a strip plaza or not, find out the hours of business the stores near your location have. You may find that they all close at five or six and never stay open late. This would be ideal.

A freestanding building would be ideal though. But the problem with these are that their parking lot is usually small, not lit, and the parking lot itself can be dirt, or have bad paving. Many times you will find the location of a free standing building that was a hardware store, or a carpet house, etc, that are large buildings but never needed to accommodate a couple of hundred cars. See what I mean? Big buildings, but little parking lots.

Some lessors will just rent as is. Some will remodel to suit you, which the charge you for in the lease, and some will provide the basics of four clean walls, a ceiling, finished floor, and two bathrooms. When you find a location you like, it is up to you to negotiate what you want in that location, if possible. Also, as they may be willing to provide you the basics, you may be able to get them to provide you what you need and only charge you the difference.

What I mean by that is this. By law, you are required to provide a certain amount of toilets and urinals per the occupancy of the room. In other words, if your room will have an occupancy load of fifty people, you will not be required to but in huge bathrooms. But, in your case, if you have a room with an occupancy of let’s say, three hundred people, the Health Department will require you to put in very large bathrooms and that they will have to be handicap accessible. And bathrooms are an expensive proposition. Your occupancy load is determined by the Fire Department, or your Department of Labor and Industry. You will need to check with your City to see how to apply and get your certificate of occupancy. All areas are different.

For many of you this may be looking a little difficult. Take a breath. It’s just learning something you are not familiar with. Once you have done one, you will be a pro at it.

As you can see that just bathrooms are an issue. When I go into a site, there are three things I look for. Bathrooms, A/C, and power. If there is a basement at this location, bathrooms are easier to expand and plumb. Many commercial places are built on a concrete slab though. And depending on the location of the sewer, and the size of the pipe originally installed, along with breaking up all that concrete and refinishing, it can really be expensive.

The other I mentioned is power. I mean electricity. Many retail locations have a small electrical panel. Usually a one hundred amp panel. As the owners who built these strip plazas and buildings had the intention of renting to retail clients, there was no reason to put in a large electrical panel. After all, that’s all they were going to require was overhead lighting and air conditioning.

But in your case, you will need a two-hundred amp panel box, minimum. Depending on your electrical needs, you may require more, but you will need to get an electrician to review this with you. Also, many times your local Electric Company will send someone out to you at no charge to figure that for you. You see you are going to have equipment that will draw power that a retail entity would never. You will need an ice machine, refrigerator, freezer, ovens, microwave, sound and lighting equipment, not to mention the A/C load.

Which brings me to the last thing I look for which is A/C. As I described in the paragraph above, retail entities never required air conditioning units that would keep three hundred people or more, cool. So the chances are the A/C units are way too small for your usage. Now you have to have it looked at by professionals to give you a quote on adding more units.

Whatever you do, if you need to add more A/C, INSURE that they put in an economizer. What this is, is a duct that leads to the outside. In the colder months, you don’t have to turn your A/C on. You just turn your fans on and it draws the cold air from outside to cool your place down.

So now you can see why these are the three things I look for. They are the most expensive, and are usually the deal breakers.

So in your hunt for that location, try and find a location that used to be a bar, club, etc. These types of businesses already have all these things installed.

I think I have you on the right track to look for a location. Be patient! Looking for a location takes time.

Remember the larger the facility, the more money you make. But the larger the facility, the more people it takes to look busy. You need to come up with a happy medium. I always liked ten thousand square feet. Take out about fifteen hundred square feet for bathrooms, about two thousand square feet for a game area, another five hundred square feet for a bar/food area, another one thousand square feet for an entry, cashier, and office, and the last one thousand square feet for janitorial, storage, and coat room. This leaves you with four thousand square feet for customers to have fun in. This will get you about three hundred fifty kids in there nightly. And at about ten dollars a head, depending on what your market will bear, that’s thirty five hundred dollars a night, times two nights, that a quick seven thousand dollars for a weekend. And for holidays, and a third day in the summer months you can open because the kids are on summer vacation, the financial rewards can be great.

Does it have to be ten thousand square feet? No. I wouldn’t go below five thousand square feet though. But your gut has a lot to do with this. When becoming an entrepreneur, you feel as though there is a need for something, in which you want to provide. And for your own reasons, you have a gut feeling that you feel that this business will draw x amount of people per night. It’s a business plan. This is where you put down on paper all your costs to operate per month. You then figure in based on your research the amount of kids you figure that will frequent your club, and what is left after you pay all of your bills is profit.

It’s forecasting your revenue based on… Yes, that’s right. You have the reasons that you believe that you will draw x amount of people. Are your perceptions correct? Only you can answer that. But like anything else, do your homework. Don’t be like many people who will give you their opinions of things without any proof. It’s just their opinion. Based on what? There has to be well thought out reasoning behind your opinions. Don’t be a moron. I always preach on my web site the importance of education. You have to make the best educated guess you can. The term I used in case you didn’t, was “educated”.

So as far as a room size you need to look at, it depends on your area. Small town? Big city? Is there a need? Only you can make a decision on the size.

It would also be a benefit if you can go and see a club that is open. Maybe there is one in the next town. Maybe further. I call them road trips. And they are useful for the most part. It will also allow you to see what someone else’s perception is for the needs of the kids in their area. You may find that you like one thing, but not another. You may not like the floor plan and say if this was mine I would have done…

I call this education. Everything that you can learn is a benefit. The fewer mistakes you make, the better.

Let’s say you have come this far and have the location and the size of a club you desire. Now you need to figure out what it would cost to renovate. This goes back to what I say “everything is relevant”. You can put gold leaf on the walls and it would cost you millions! What is your budget?? Most people say I am willing to invest X amount of dollars. What can I do with my X ? The more you are willing to invest, the more lavish you can be. But lavish isn’t necessarily the answer. You have to innovative. After all, you are not building something for the heads of State. Get into the mindset of the youth you are trying to attract.

That can be very difficult with the youth these days. And depending on how old you are, it can be more difficult. So I’ll make it easier for you. Try and remember how you felt as a youth. You see, the premise is the same. Boy meets girl. You know you have to have a game room. Depending on the size of your place, a large one is beneficial. Most vending companies’ will gladly put in a game room for you at about a fifty or sixty percent cut of the profits. That’s ok though. They will repair them, and switch them out when sales start to fall off. But tie yourself in with the biggest vending company in the area. I don’t care if your friend has a small vending company and you think to yourself, I’ll just call Pete. No, don’t call Pete!

Large vending companies have the funds to invest in games, and they are expensive. They can provide you with the biggest selection. And remember, if you have three or four hundred kids in your place, ten games are not going to do it. They have to be new, and plenty of them. But they tend to take up a lot of room. Be prepared to set aside space for this. And don’t forget the power requirements for this area.

Pool tables tend to be very popular as the allow others to play together. And boys sure like to try and teach girls how to play pool. Or visa versa! A game of pool is interactive.

So you have your game room. You know you need a dance floor. This should be located in the middle of your room, with the DJ booth nearby. The dance floor is the center of attention, so it should be in the center. It allows the kids, no matter where they are sitting or standing, to look at their special someone.

You have to have a snack bar, but don’t make it look like a carnival. Make it look like a real bar. It makes the kids feel a little older and mature. It’s just a state of mind. You need to be able to serve soda, and snack items. Will they eat? Well, most girls and boys that age are embarrassed to eat in front of the other gender. But they will a little. But they are going to but soda. And there is a lot of profit in soda.

Your dance floor lighting and sound is the most important. And probably the most money you will spend on any one thing will be light and sound. But it is imperative that it kicks ass. Don’t try and put in a receiver from home and speakers. You need commercial stuff. And also, if you are a layman in this area, watch out for the salesmen that try and sell you what you don’t need, or what is not going to work in your room. If you’re not sure, call Springtree Media Group out of Tennessee.

Peter, the owner is honest and keeps up with all the new stuff out there. He will also come and do the installation too. But like anything else, it will cost you. His prices are fair, and he is an honest businessman. I use them for product and have for years. And no, I don’t get a commission telling you this, but I think I should, don’t you?

You need to have house lighting, separated into zones. This way you can dim the lights in one area without affecting the lighting in another. Use Sylvania 65watt amber reflector bulbs. These give off a nice amber cast without being bright. The are in indoor flood lamp. Don’t settle for imitators. It is not the same. They will run you about nine dollars per bulb, but are worth it.

Remember, these kids do not want to be on display. You have to keep the lights dimmed. I don’t mean dark where you can’t see what is going on, but dim. This is a social environment for kids. When building, try to incorporate tables that are a little private. Behind a wall, or set in a corner, a little out of the way of the action. They boys and girls want to talk in private many times. Remember?

Get a piece of paper and pencil and draw some ideas on paper for a floor plan. You can add some raised areas, or put some half walls in to distinguish certain areas maybe about three feet high. Make it interesting!

As far as the flooring goes, you need to put down a level loop commercial rug. A dark brown or dark green is the best to use. They hide the wear, dirt and stains so the club always looks new. You will need to have cleaned twice a year but the rug looks good and absorbs sound waves so the room has a nice sound to it. They call that acoustics. I always liked to finish off a couple of walls in the place with rug too. Check with your building codes about fire retardant codes for the rug before you purchase. But it makes a tremendous difference in the sound quality.

Just because the floor in the building you want to lease has a tile floor like at a grocery store, doesn’t mean you want to keep it. Rug over top of it. Keep the tile for the bathrooms, behind the bar, and the storage areas.

Gussy up the bathrooms too. In the ladies rest rooms make sure you have a large mirror so they can primp and do make up, and don’t put in fluorescent lighting either. It’s the least complimentary light there is.

As far as you collecting you cover charge, which is why you went into business in the first place, you need to design your entry correctly and you HAVE to HAVE a turnstile!

A turnstile is a counter. Every time someone pays at the door, the have to push their way through the turnstile. And it counts them with a little meter that can be visible on the one end, or they make them with a guard that slides down and requires a key to turn the metal shield out of the way so you can read it. I always have bought the one that I can lean down and look at the numbers, as it is not located in a prominent place.

This verifies how many people have come through the door. So if three hundred walked through the door, and you were charging ten dollars per person, at the end of the night, there had better be three thousand dollars in the register!! A turnstile takes away any chance of theft by the person who is collecting your money at the door. Period! But if it is not there, you will be ripped off substantially. That one thousand dollar turnstile will pay for it self in a few weeks.

Don’t say I am going to save the money for the turnstile because Aunt Mary is going to watch the door for me. WRONG! Buy the turnstile!

In order to use one, your entry has to be designed so that your security person keeps the customer in line, single file, as if you were herding cattle. The actual cashier booth may be set back twenty or thirty feet from the front door. The turnstile is mounted just past the cashier. They pay their money and push through the turnstile. The customer is kept in line by a three-foot high wall, which extends from about six feet from the front door to just a foot or two past the turnstile. Your security at the front door will just need to guide them to the start of the cashier isle, and not permit anyone to enter without going through this.

As far as snacks go, popcorn was always a favorite. But I also used to sell hot dogs and pizza. Never, but never, sell gum. Sell mints. The gum will end up everywhere but in their mouths.

These items to sell do not require a hood system. You buy a hot dog machine, a small pizza oven, and a popcorn machine. Each of those run about eight hundred dollars.

Most of all you need for these kids to return, so they need to have fun. You and your security are vitally important here. You have to remember, you are responsible for these kids. If you plan to be an absentee owner, don’t build the teen club. It needs to be managed by a mature responsible person. There are going to be fights. Both girl and boy fights. There are going to be kids that are going to experiment with alcohol and drugs and have problems while they are in your place. There are going to be kids that want to have more then an innocent kiss and attempt to make out in the corner, which you have to stop. Do you understand the responsibility?

Let’s take things form the top. You have to have a rule that if there is any fighting, the person that starts the fight is barred from your place permanently! No second chances. Once people know what your rules are, they do not want to be barred and will go to a security guard or the management and tell you, I don’t want to be thrown out, but this person is causing problems. It works.

When someone comes in drunk, or sneaks in alcohol and gets drunk, they have to be taken care of and their parents have to be called. Yes, they will beg you not to call, but you have the responsibility to call the parents and take care of that person until the parents arrive. Always make the call in a calm voice and let them know that you are taking care of that person until they arrive. Don’t make it a big deal. The parents are already embarrassed, worried about their child, and disappointed in their child. Kids experiment. It’s part of growing up for many. Make it as less painful as you can for the parents, and the child.

As far as the hormones raging, you have to handle delicately. You need to always be walking the floor, keeping your eyes open, and talking to the kids when appropriate. But, you are still the owner. You are not trying to be their friend. Be nice, make small talk and move on. When kids are experiencing their first kiss or two, let them go. It’s innocent. But if you find a couple that is in a heated lip lock, it is time for you to step in. Just tell them you want them to have fun and enjoy themselves, but you don’t tolerate that kind of behavior. Just dial it down. They will and usually say thank you.

Insure fun in your place. Kids love and appreciate fun with a sparkle in their eyes. Make sure you have giveaways for tickets to the movies, or music cd’s, a place for the girls to get their nails done, t-shirts, etc. I used to give everyone a ticket when they came in and called out the numbers during the course of the night.

Once a year, give away something special. A his and her bike, a computer, etc. Make it an event. Also, it is important to be a part of the community and give back. It also teaches kids to give back. I used to do a MD danceathon. It was twenty-four hours, and the kids stayed overnight in the club, dancing. You will get donations for food, bottled water, the radio station and local newspaper will be there taking pictures. It’s a lot of fun and good for the soul.

You can do a benefit for just about anything. Be a part of your community and choose the cause that makes the most sense for you.

Always be aware you are dealing with kids. Before you open you have to make an age group that is allowed to attend. I like the teens age group. Thirteen to eighteen, as long as they were a student. Some kids are eighteen in their last year of high school, but many are seventeen. You have to insure that anyone that is eighteen, is still in school. If they have graduated, and are eighteen, they would not be permitted in the club.

You have to always be conscious of the idea of an older teen spending time with a younger teen. This is your responsibility as I see it. Operate a responsible place, and the parents will permit their children to attend

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