So, You Want To Start A Hookah Lounge : Updated.

[mushrat]

Funny, I think you've been here before hookahbiz. I recall banning your account. I'll have to check.

I've personally spoken with 3 people who have gotten your material and every one of them said it was a waste of money. One even had to do a chargeback on his cc i recall from earlier forum topics because you refused to answer his questions.

[mushrat]

yup, september, 2005. You spammed the forum and were banned under the name hookahbusiness.

Still stands today even with a different name.

[ASUSEAN1]

yup, september, 2005. You spammed the forum and were banned under the name hookahbusiness.

Still stands today even with a different name.

damn mush that is some good memory

[mushrat]

Thanks, One of the reasons I'm here i guess....

[ghostofdavid]

I forgot what I had for my second breakfast yesterday and you can remember who you banned over two years ago?

Shoo'!

Mush, maybe you should sell your ideas on ebay, too.

[Seant]

Nope... You are only allowed to sell tobacco products at the location your store is at.. lOL..

trust me.. I went over this time and time again..

I tried to find loop holes... and there werent really anything worth paying for...

LOL.. as for looking "cool" by smoking hookah...

Yea

Could you say they are taking possesion? Have like a down payment in which they are paying for the pack of hookah, therefore, they have already bought the tobacco. And add a hidden "refill" fee.

[mushrat]

quick bump for folks...
I know i owe some of you some e-mails. I'll try to get to them this week or weekend. Sorry i havent had a lot of spare time...

[nofrendo]

I think this topic should be sticky-d, as I'm sure many of us are thinking of opening our hookah lounges in the near/distant future

[rbyers]

Why is this not stickied?

It needs to be!

I am now starting to think about how it would be to run a hookah bar/lounge/cafe.

If you don't mind me asking, how much money do you make annually at your location?

[Tempest72]

Funny, I think you've been here before hookahbiz. I recall banning your account. I'll have to check.

I've personally spoken with 3 people who have gotten your material and every one of them said it was a waste of money. One even had to do a chargeback on his cc i recall from earlier forum topics because you refused to answer his questions.

Kudos! I was another dumb ass that paid for their info. Wasted crap files on an unmarked CD-Rom. Nothing on the CD to tell you what it was. It looks like a bad dump of stuff from a hard drive.
Nothing of value! Tried to contact them and got no answer. Do not waist your money. I did just to see if it was something I could used to get investors to help me. Nothing on the disk to use to sell idea to anybody. They do nothing that looks like a real business. STAY AWAY.

[sunsetlounge]

I am starting a hookah lounge, I'm about halfway done with my business plan, and have my start up costs, break even analysis, and profit and loss done. My actual start up costs are calculated at $25,000. Does anyone have access to real profit & loss for a hookah lounge that I can look at to compare what I have estimated? Also what % extra cash is good to have over my calculated start up cost figure?

Thanks

[cb1021]

dont want to be discouraging, but just 0.02.

ask yourself why you want to run such business establishment. then compare it to the reality of the business revenue & cost. how long does it take you to break even? then see how much profit you will be generating. if both #s look optimum, I suggest you be more realistic.

[sunsetlounge]

You aren't discouraging, but you really didn't answer my question at all.

I want to run a hookah lounge because I love smoking hookah, and I like the atmosphere of a lounge. Break even point is at 87k. I already own another business, so I am aware that numbers definitely don't come out to what a person might imagine. That is why I am asking for solid numbers to relate to.

[Tom1]

ahh, this is a good thread bump. I can't blame anyone for wanting to open a lounge. If the operation is something you would enjoy (a lot), then by all means good luck.

[SimplexCoda]

so there is a building downtown that i have been looking at thinking that would make a BA lounge for like a year, two days ago it went up for sell and now im trying to figure out how to afford it and all the other crap i need to get right now.

[cemab4y]

In Northern VA (Not including WashDC and Maryland), there are many hookah lounges. New ones have opened in the last months. Fri/Sat nites, they are all crowded, people just love them. I can only guess that they are making a profit. My wife does not smoke hookah (only cigs), but she loves to go, and eat the moroccan spicy chicken. My only real complaint is that the music TOO LOUD. We have to keep telling the manager to turn off the stereo in the back room so that we can converse, without screaming.

I am considering opening a lounge as a retirement business. Virginia is a tobacco-producing state, and it does not have the draconian smoking laws of other areas. I spent two months in Fort Wayne IN, and there is no smoking permitted in any establishment where people are working. That means no smoking in restaurants, bars, even adult "strip clubs". I would be afraid to invest in a business that depends on smoking, and then have the politicians pass some law, that would put me out of business.

I would like to learn more about a hookah catering business, it seems like a way to "stick your toe in the water",without spending as much initially, as required in opening a fixed lounge, and all of the overhead costs that it would require.

Does ANYONE here, operate a hookah catering business?

[mattarios2]

When you sign up for your ein number, do you already have to have decided what type of business, sole proprietership, partnership, llc, etc. ? Or can you get just the ein number for wholesale pricing etc from suppliers and when you start the business decide what type of business you want to be and pay the fee yearly?

I know when you pick your ein you have to chose what type of business but does that mean you have to start paying the yearly fee for the type of business once your ein is completed?

Thanks Mush

[TBatcho07]

Sorry if I sound like another kid wanting to start a hookah lounge eventually.I am currently attending Devry Online for Business and I WILL use every ounce of knowledge I gain to open a Hookah Lounge.I know it will feel like an impossibility but if you don't try,you will never know.

[redjako]

LOL.. as for looking "cool" by smoking hookah...

Yea

+1 to Erica for that.

A Couple of companies in the uk offer this service. I'm not sure how successfull they are.

If you owned a lounge I guess it would be possible to 'sell' the tobacco from the lounge... But serve it at a remote location?

JD

Our local hookah lounge here in Utah has their famous "Hookah Girls" hotties who cruise around parties (events, not private small pieces typically) serving hookah. I do not believe they Sell anything, they are a eye-candy piece (the hookah and the girls).

http://www.myspace.com/thehukabar

[Apoc Genesis]

yay for hookah small business!!!

i have neither the paitence or the business savvy to open up my own lounge although the idea is pretty sweet. theres one lounge in particular by me i go to even though I have my own hookah cause they not only have an excellent atmosphere but also amazing food and a stock of hookahs for retail.

funny note, ive also noticed older people (30-40+, businessy types) going into hookah cafes more often. its nice to see that it isnt just a 2000s college kid trend

[Scalliwag]

Hey Mush I know this is dredging up an old thread but I figure as much time has passed and times being what they are I imagine there are some more thoughts you have on the subject.
That first post was very well written. How have things been going for you? I'm really happy to see that you've done well on this. I know you've put a ton of everything in your being into this. When I ran a welding shop there were weeks my guys were making more than me. Cash flow is a bit different with that sort of business but I'm sure a lot of things are relative. Ya don't wanna figure out what you're making an hour fer sure.

I'd just like to hear some more thoughts from your experience. Edited January 18, 2009 by Scalliwag

[mustang_steve]

The biggest thing before starting a business is understanding where the bulk of the revenue will come from. You need to look at the best way to satisfy the customer, and maximize revenue.

For example....the hotdog stand downtown.....I know for a fact (I used to do the buying and operations for a hotdog stand back in my boyscout days) that he was barely pulling a profit on the dogs....but the sodas, which were an off-brand, he was making close to 200% profit on....and being priced slightly less than the dogs, gave him a total profit of about 30-40% per sale. THAT was how he stays in business. People want drinks with their dogs, and his drinks were still cheap and refreshing, just marked up heavily to compensate for the aggressive hotdog pricing. Thanks to his use of off-brand drinks, the price is perfectly fair to anyone looking for a drink though.

See, sometimes the business is not as clearly defined as some think....in the case of the hotdog guy, the main attraction was what grabbed them, but the accessory was his bread and butter.

[Boricua]

Hey Mush I know this is dredging up an old thread but I figure as much time has passed and times being what they are I imagine there are some more thoughts you have on the subject.
That first post was very well written. How have things been going for you? I'm really happy to see that you've done well on this. I know you've put a ton of everything in your being into this. When I ran a welding shop there were weeks my guys were making more than me. Cash flow is a bit different with that sort of business but I'm sure a lot of things are relative. Ya don't wanna figure out what you're making an hour fer sure.

I'd just like to hear some more thoughts from your experience.

I second this

[sunsetlounge]

I'll add to this. I've been trying to start a lounge for 4 months now...was suppose to be open feb 1st. Watch out and ask your town development office multiple multiple times if they are sure they will allow a hookah lounge. I spent 1400 dollars for my permit that they said would be issued, and on the last part of the permit being processed come to find out the health department has issues with me opening a hookah lounge. Now my permit, (that the town said would give me) is rejected and they still charged me 400 dollars for the time they worked on the permit.

I basically threw 400 dollars in the trash can.

[Scalliwag]

I'll add to this. I've been trying to start a lounge for 4 months now...was suppose to be open feb 1st. Watch out and ask your town development office multiple multiple times if they are sure they will allow a hookah lounge. I spent 1400 dollars for my permit that they said would be issued, and on the last part of the permit being processed come to find out the health department has issues with me opening a hookah lounge. Now my permit, (that the town said would give me) is rejected and they still charged me 400 dollars for the time they worked on the permit.

I basically threw 400 dollars in the trash can.

that really sux bro. Where was this at?