How to Start a Family Entertainment Business
A family entertainment center, or FEC, is a business that provides activities and amusements for children and adults. A typical FEC might contain activities like a child care center, a soft play structure, a go-kart track, a roller skating rink, and/or a laser tag arena. Nearly anything that can be packed into a building, from a rock wall to a play structure, is fair game for a FEC.
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Instructions
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Determine the need for a FEC in your community. If you live in a big city with offerings like amusements parks and many other entertainment options, you will have a very hard time getting started. Likewise, if you live in a very small community, and a FEC already exists that seems to meet the needs of the community, it will be a very tough competition. Ideally, your community should have an obvious lack of things to do, particularly for teenagers.
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Formulate a business plan. This should include information like how much you expect to spend, how much you expect to make, strategies, etc. If you do not know how to put together a business plan, you can read a book like "Anatomy of a Business Plan," hire a writer with business writing experience, or buy a pre-written FEC business plan to study and follow.
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Obtain a business license from your city government. Contact them before you come in to find out if they require any specific information or documentation. This will vary from city to city.
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Apply for business loans. It may be easier and much less expensive to rent a shut- down FEC than to renovate a new space, if there happens to be one down your area. Focus on what they did right, as well as what they did wrong. You will need a large sum of start up capital to get started, and the exact amount will depend on what attractions you plan on adding, what your space will cost you, and how good you are at sniffing out deals.
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Buy a building. Location is extremely important, as you should not be too far from your customer base. A location near schools is excellent, as is a downtown location (near malls and restaurants). A suburban location could work, but there may be issues with zoning. Be sure to find out zoning restrictions before you commit to any building.
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Hire a contractor to help you design and renovate your building. You will need a front desk area, separate rooms for things like child care or laser tag, and office space for yourself. Don't forget essentials like party rooms and restrooms, and consider a locker room if you have highly active activities like roller skating or a rock climbing area. A small, portable rock wall probably does not require this, however. Look at other successful FECs for ideas. For example, multi-story laser tag arenas are very popular.
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Install your attractions. While construction is happening on your new facility, you should also assess how many employees you will need to run/monitor each attraction, as well as man desks, take money, cook snack foods, run the prize counter, and monitor the arcade games.
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Interview for employees while construction is going on. People who are hired before the facility is entirely completed can still be of use stocking prizes, counting and organizing skating shoes, and cleaning up the construction dust and random debris.
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Promote your new FEC. This includes putting up a web site, designing grand opening promotions and specials, getting the word out to local youths and families through schools and childcare centers, and sending out fliers and mailers.
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Tips & Warnings
Contact FEC owners in other states, well out of your area, and ask them for advice. If you are not a direct competitor, and you are willing to really talk to them and listen, you may get invaluable advice. Listen to the experts, from business planners to contractors. They can help you get past the parts that you don't quite understand. Subscribe to trade magazines like "Rinksider," for roller skating rinks. They are full of valuable advice and ideas.
Do not neglect the legalities, including insurance.
