Local management and ownership can meet the future “Head-On,”  responding rapidly when challenges or problems occur.  This applies whether they are customer or staff related.    Guests take note of reactions by management and staff in situations involving misunderstandings or conflicts whether they are personally involved or spectators.   

Local ownership can generate positive guest relationships with calm, organized reaction to potentially stressful situations.  Addressing complaints in an evenhanded manner is important.  There are many advantages in being a family fun center owner, as opposed to being part of a major corporate facility.  You control your own destiny; you can make quick and decisive decisions without months of corporate wrangling and you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

The ability to make guests happy with their experience is a result of establishing a positive perception of the  entertainment value of the attractions, creating a comfortable physical environment, a sense of security and  friendliness.   Making each guest feel they are appreciated can go a long way in establishing their positive experience and the knowledge that they will enjoy themselves on repeat visits. 

Meet the Future Head-On:

To meet the future head-on you must  be diligent in establishing your knowledge and understanding of the specific regulations, zoning laws and local procedures that must be satisfied in order to move from Concept to Reality.

In developing the concept or scope of your planned family entertainment facility it is important to establish realistic parameters.  There are many individual elements that establish realistic limits.  Every project should  give consideration to the combination of individual elements that will prove to be the preferred mix. These must be considered against the demographic realities of the desired target market based on the specific existing and proposed competition. 

Some potential attractions, including go-kart tracks and virtual reality elements. may face extensive competition.  The relatively high initial cost of these attractions may well lead to their being lowered in terms of projected attendance and anticipated revenues.  The current apocalypse being experienced throughout the VR industry, worldwide may well justify reticence.   Construction of indoor elevated go-kart tracks is both costly in terms of initial construction and potential removal, should revenues not meet expectations.

 Making  your Dream a Reality!

It is important that you address a wide range of initial decisions that will direct the course of events that must take place in order for your initial dreams to evolve into a successful venture.  This isn’t meant to imply that it is extremely difficult, though in many cases it may well be.  It is definitely a reality that you will face many  individual steps that must be resolved on the path to success.  

As you begin your individual process, recognize that it may require serious and possibly painful modifications or revisions that may result in modification to the original dream.  In some situations this result in consideration of your individual commitment and ability to see it through. 

In this industry, as in most, failing to plan is planning to fail.  Keep this in mind when you make your initial decisions.  Unless you are thoroughly familiar with the industry, carefully assess your personal skills and shortcomings.  No one is an expert at everything.  Do your initial research and soul searching carefully.  If you require outside assistance, be it legal, financial or design, make certain the professional assistance is obtained from people who are truly qualified in the areas of expertise you need support.   Do your initial research and soul searching carefully.   No one is an expert at everything.  If you require outside assistance, be it legal, financial or design, make certain the professional assistance is obtained from people who are truly qualified in the areas of expertise you need support.

 Not every banker, lawyer or design firm has the skills to successfully walk you through your project.  Check out their references and the projects with which they have been associated.  Don’t let your project be a learning experience for the people you hire.  If they have completed similar projects in the past, you should be able to evaluate the results.

For most projects there are a number of common elements, including:

·                  Developing a realistic concept

·                  Establishing capability to carry the project forward

·                  Making a commitment to pursue the project to a realistic conclusion

·                  Establishing a realistic financial capability

·                  Establishing a target market

·                  Establishing a physical location

·                  Establishing a project team

·                  Performing a feasibility evaluation

·                  Development of detailed business plan and design

·                  Verification of government approval

·                  Finalizing financing

·                  Completing final design

·                  Selecting Contractors                          

·                  Constructing project

·                  Developing staff to market and operate the facility

·                  Completing all pre-opening staff training

·                  Opening for business, and may success be yours

 Identify your dream:  This includes researching existing facilities, networking with operators if possible, attending trade shows and seminars, establishing where you would like to build your dream and setting an initial concept on paper.  The earlier you establish a relationship with one or more industry professionals the less time you will spend working on ideas and concepts that may be doomed to failure because of local mores, ordinances, competition and related elements.

 Know Your Financial Capabilities:

An important early, if not first step must be an honest appraisal of your ability to finance the project you have in mind.  This involves consulting and legal services, cost of land, construction of the facility and funding of the first years operations.  Failure to do so has caused many feasible projects to founder before they could be brought to completion.  This not only results in monetary losses but also loss of sweat equity, time and sometimes personal losses as well.

 Location of sufficient funding is vital.  This should be done early in the process.  Funding is vital for the acquisition of the land, development of design, proceeding through the approval process, building the facility and if necessary covering the first year cost of operation.   Being under funded can lead to losing what would have been a profitable venture.

 Measure Staying Power:

If you are married or are collaborating with relatives, partners or investors be aware that the various scenarios that can evolve may involve strains on any relationship.  This can occur even in successful ventures, let alone those that become tenuous or fail.  FECs are no different than any other small business venture.  There are risks, as well as rewards.  What better way to be in business than to be in the business of making people smile, and enjoy themselves while you get paid.  This doesn’t mean that the site you select or the community you wish to build in can support your project. 

Avoid Narrow Target market:

It is very important to recognize that your success or the lack thereof will be determined by how well you develop a facility that draws people.  A common shortcoming of many facilities is that they reflect the owner’s personal interests with little consideration for the potential that exists in the surrounding market.

 A good example of people developing facilities that are based on their own interests and passions rather than looking at the total available market would be the large number of people who have built indoor kart racing facilities in the past ten years.  They developed their facilities be overrun with business.  In following their dream, they did not consider the realities of the market penetration that could be accomplished with the single attraction.  This combined with the high costs of building and operating the facilities and the reality, that in the spring, summer and fall months of the year, most people don’t want to be inside, especially the go-kart racing crowd. 

 Select the Right Site:

Select a market That can Support Your Project: The site must be placed in a market that will support it.  Without sufficient market penetration and sufficient attendance, failure will be a given.  Don’t depend on chamber of commerce or general community market data.  Such data is far too general for the family entertainment industry.

 A concept has to be within the scale of the community it is to be constructed in.  This means that the demographics of the community can greatly affect the size and mix of attractions that can be successfully included in the total mix.  A target market should also be identified.  No one can be all things for all people.  A facility can be developed to appeal to a broad age range if attractions are selected to have a broad appeal.  In smaller markets this becomes very important.

 Location:

 Selecting the proper site on which to build your dream is a very serious step.  Price of land can be a major stumbling block in many locations.  It has always been said that the most important items in being successful are location, location and location.  What many people don’t realize is that location refers to the physical site, the location of funding and the location of a proper time to get started in order to maximize the value of the funding of the site.  Each of these has a number of elements to consider.

 Visibility:

 To be suitable, a site should be visible to as much passing traffic as possible.  It must be easily reached from beyond the local community and it must have good access from the adjacent highway.

 Proper zoning: 

A site must be properly zoned, or it could result in a lengthy rezoning process, which could fail.  Check this carefully.  Many zoning classifications may not be specific on family entertainment facilities.  Some refer to amusement establishments; amusement places, amusement parks or they may refer to go-kart tracks, miniature golf courses or similar specific headings.  An early visit to the local agency having jurisdiction over the zoning of the property you are looking at can often clear up any questions.  If you want a site that doesn’t have the proper zoning, be prepared to contribute to a zoning attorney and be prepared for a long delay.

Don’t assume that because a realtor or property owner says the zoning is correct, that it is..  Verify the zoning to protect your interests.

Don’t Buy or Lease Without Final Approval: 

Never make a purchase or execute a lease on property that hasn’t been approved for the use you propose.  If you have to enter into an agreement, do so with counsel. At the least, the agreement should be binding only upon approval of the zoning, site plan and associated approvals within the specific community the site is located in.  The agreement should also be contingent on the site being physically suitable for construction.  It should have good soil characteristics, not be in a floodway or flood plain or involve serious wetlands.  The site should not have drainage or tree ordinance constraints that cannot be addressed. 

 Be a Good Neighbor and Seek Good Neighbors:

 Many great locations have fallen to the opposition of the neighbors.  Some may not be that close, but still have sufficient clout to prevent final approval.  This writer feels that the best step to take is to identify local community or neighborhood leaders and to seek their support.  Help people to understand what you are planning to build and operate.  Convince them that you wish to be a good neighbor and that you are interested in their support  

 Build a Strong Project Team:

Reality Check - A Good Project Team:

 There are site locations that are obviously ideal in terms of demographics, visibility, access and size.  This does not occur very often.  Most sites are compromises of one sort or other.   Land is too expensive, visibility and or access less than ideal, site configuration challenging and other assorted possibilities.  For this reason, the project team should include a design professional experienced in the design of family entertainment centers as well as in dealing with the wide range of assorted additional conditions that will face the owner and his team. 

 The project team should also include legal and financial consultants that are familiar with the community and local regulations and are able to provide counsel.  There are many ordinances, regulations and laws that can affect the future of the project.

 Know the Project Potential:

In the vast majority of circumstances, entrepreneurs require investment capital from others.  This means that the success of the project will include participation of others.  No one wants to invest in a project that won’t be successful.  Therefore investors, be they friends, relatives, banks or venture capitalists, will require detailed information in the form of a sound business plan.  Part of the business plan will be the demonstration that the project is feasible.  In most instances, this includes an analysis of the demographics, potential market penetration, projected revenues and costs and the resulting potential return on investment that can be anticipated. 

 While some people may be able to create their own feasibility analysis, many bankers and professional investors will require that an outside party make such a study.  There are different levels of study that can be performed.  Each has a price tag based on the amount of work the consultant must perform.

 Select a Qualified Planning and Design Consultant:

The key to creating a successful family entertainment facility is in creating the right facility at the right location and with the right elements for success.  Your local engineer or architect may be excellent in their related fields of practice, but your project is unique and not many local firms will have any experience with your type of project.

 Select a firm that has a long proven track record in designing facilities such as the one you desire.  They will have dealt with many of the problems your site will face as well as others.  Each site is different, but someone who has had to deal with industry specific solutions to placement, access and operation of specific attractions, the environmental and political elements and public perceptions, can better keep a project on schedule and create one that will be successful.

The firm or individual selected must not only be qualified, they must be compatible to you and the client.  If you aren’t comfortable with his or her style, personality or method of communicating with you, maybe you should consider someone else.  It is important that the relationship be open, and comfortable, as there is a lot riding on the association.

 Be Ready for Hard but Rewarding Work:

Opening and operating a family entertainment center is not for the “faint at heart.”  The hours can be long, the problems many and the challenges daunting at times.  The rewards can be many and far overcoming the demands.  What better way to work than to be in an industry that brings entertainment, excitement and happiness to such a broad range of people.

Peter is president of Entertainment Concepts, Inc. (formerly Peter F. Olesen and Associates, Inc.). He is a Licensed Professional Engineer in Illinois, Michigan and North Carolina with more than 40 years of experience in the family entertainment industry He founded the firm in 1984 and in the ensuing years has been responsible for the development of more than 690 separate family entertainment industry projects located in 46 States, Angola, Brunei, Canada (Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan), Cuba (Guantanamo Bay), Kazakhstan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. These projects have spanned initial concepts, feasibility studies, assistance in developing business plans, final design and preparation of contract plans and specifications, construction layout and related services for both new projects and existing facility renovations and modifications. 

Over his career, he has exhibited at a number of national industry trade shows, including 26 years at the annual International Associations of Amusement Parks and Attractions annual Attractions Expo and numerous annual shows including Fun Expo, Leisure Expo and  Kart Expo.

He has made seminar presentations at a wide range of industry seminars, including at the tradeshows listed above, The State of Ohio bi-annual Kart Safety Seminars and 49 sessions of Foundations Entertainment University Seminars.  In addition he has authored 100s of articles for industry magazines and internet magazines and newsletters. He is also a member and active participant in many engineering and entertainment industry associations.

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