Dreaming of owning your own bar? A Scissors & Scotch barbershop offers a unique spin on a bar franchise and can help make your dream a reality.
You Had a Dream About a Bar…
Growing up, you watched movies, lots of them, and in these movies, people went to bars. Some of the bars were film noir, black-and-white joints where hardboiled guys went to drown their sorrows over good girls and femme fatales. Some were brightly lit, friendly neighborhood hangouts where regulars gathered, and everyone knew your name. And then there were the bars where a little something extra was going on, like the gambling taking place in the back room of a certain establishment in Casablanca.
These imagined places may have fueled your dreams of opening your own bar. But the reality of starting any new business involves a considerable investment of know-how, hard work, and money. There are startup costs and ongoing expenses and risks to be considered. The average cost to open a new bar in 2022 runs around $420,000, with first-year operating costs averaging around $710,000.
That said, the bar business can be lucrative. The industry is currently worth around $28.6 billion having grown 0.9% each year between 2017 and 2022. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic shut businesses down, the bar industry continued to grow. Bars can be profitable due to the steep mark-up on liquor, which can be as high as 500%.
There are various types of bars and other business pairings you might consider as you dream of opening your own bar. Sports bars offer a combo of drinks, sports, and camaraderie, a popular concept year-round but especially during play-offs and other big-deal sporting events. Bars might offer some type of entertainment like live music, dancing, karaoke, or storytelling events. Other bars combine food and liquor, serving pizza, chicken wings, or grilled offerings. And some bars rely on nostalgia, throwing back to the speakeasy days with dress codes and secret passwords with fun and exclusivity on the menu.
You’ll need to focus your dream on a particular concept. And since many bars fail in their first year, you’ll want to figure out ways to make your bar stand out. Starting your own bar business is challenging. Beyond settling on a stand-out concept, you’ve got to come up with a solid business plan, raise the funds to open and operate your new bar, find a location that will set you up for success, find your customers through a savvy marketing plan, and hire, train, and retain employees. Plus, acquiring the proper licenses and permits for a bar business can be challenging and varies from state to state, as some locals put a cap on the number of licenses issued.
If all this seems like a lot to wrangle but your dream of opening your own bar just won’t quit, consider opening a bar franchise. Buying a franchise business has its advantages.
A Bar Franchise: Why You Don’t Have to Go It Alone
Starting any new business can be intimidating. Even if you’ve had a lifelong dream to open your own bar, the steps to ownership may be daunting. But never fear! There’s a way to keep your dream alive without building a new business from the ground up. Want to learn more? Listen up.
When you start your own business, you’ve got to do everything yourself, from creating a unique brand to raising funds, acquiring permits and licenses, and securing real estate to buying insurance, hiring employees, and more — all before you even open your doors. However, when you buy a franchise, you become part of an existing business. There are many advantages to this way of doing business, especially if you’re a newer entrepreneur or a more experienced business owner looking to open multiple units.
With a franchise, you have a partner. And not just any partner, but a really smart partner you can rely on who’s already figured everything out and wants to show you how to make your dream a reality. When you invest in a franchise, you have the advantage of a proven business plan that works like a blueprint for your potential success. A franchise has a developed brand and message that the public is familiar with and trusts. A franchisor has found the best locations, having researched where your customers are. They’ve worked out the best ways to train employees and made relationships with vendors and suppliers, better controlling costs and supply chains. Your cost to invest is clearly spelled out. And you receive support both before and after you open your doors for business.
And sure, you can pick a bar franchise concept like a sports bar or a bar and grill, but if you really want to stand out with that something extra going on, get to know Scissors & Scotch.
Scissors & Scotch: We Put the Bar in Barbershop
At Scissors & Scotch, you’ll be shocked — shocked — to find out there’s barbering going on in this bar. It’s all in our name: We offer customers the chance to get some first-rate barbering along with some top-shelf booze. We’re a unique spin on a franchise barbershop, and we’re looking for dreamers who want to open a bar with something extra. We’d especially love to hear from you if you dream big and want to open multiple units.
At Scissors & Scotch, we’ve got the old-school spirit of a barbershop with a new-age twist. We offer customers classic grooming, a fully stocked bar, and a sleek setting, creating one helluva grooming experience for our customers — and a successful business model for our franchisees.
We’re taking Scissors & Scotch nationwide, and we want you to join in our expansion. We’ve got a team of experts to support you from the moment you sign the franchise agreement to your grand opening and beyond. We have the best employees, with a turnover rate 50% lower than the industry average; the most loyal customers participating in our membership programs; strong community ties; and franchisees who were once just like you: dreaming of opening a fun and unique bar business.
Find out more about owning your own Scissors & Scotch. Get started today.