Hookah Bar Business Plan

The focus for implementation will be on establishing the quality of the offering, its suitability for the 22+ target market, and the infrastructure to allow for community-driven culture. The fostering of the Arz al-Lubnan Hookah Bar community will be important to the growth of the business and its proof as a franchisable model.

Competitive Edge

Arz al-Lubnan Hookah Bar’s competitive edge will be established through its community organizing ability via its website. This website will present an interface for users to:

• Connect with each other and Arz al-Lubnan Hookah Bar after they have left the establishment
• Organize groups to attend Arz al-Lubnan Hookah Bar together
• Plan events to propose for the Arz al-Lubnan Hookah Bar calendar
• Send out invites for these events

The party-like atmosphere at other hookah bars does not allow for easy conversation and for performances and events of the type expected at Arz al-Lubnan Hookah Bar.

Marketing Strategy

The marketing strategy of Arz al-Lubnan Hookah Bar will be to establish a base of Middle Eastern American customers first, and using these customers to bring in other young professional as friends. To that end, the following tactics will be employed:

• Seeking mention in blogs for the local area
• Pitching the story of its concept and opening to Middle Eastern cultural and language publications specifically, and area newspapers and magazines in general
• Advertising with posters and flyers in the downtown Trendytown area

The bar’s grand opening will be marked by an event featuring live music, free food and drink offers, and door prizes.

After the launch, promotional incentives for customers will be advertised in newspaper advertisements, on the website, and in the store for:

• Group discounts
• Free prizes for winners of business card drawing (to encourage target market of young professionals)
• Incentives to organize the first events via the website (such as free rounds of tobacco for the organizers at a later date)

These expenses are included in the Profit and Loss statement for Arz al-Lubnan Hookah Bar as marketing expense.

Sales Strategy

Arz al-Lubnan Hookah Bar will sell its products through attentive wait staff and bar counter staff. They will be compensated through base hourly wages and tips and will work to provide the best customer service possible. Wait staff will use wireless tablets to place orders which are sent over the bar’s wireless network to kitchen staff and bar staff to prepare dishes and drinks.

Sales Forecast

Sales will be predominantly through tobacco revenues, which also has a relatively low cost of sales. Secondary revenue streams are food and drinks which will be sold to some, but not all, customers who order tobacco. Sharp growth is expected over the first three years of operation as the community aspect of Arz al-Lubnan Hookah Bar is developed and customer-directed programming begins to take place.

It is expected that a customer will return to Arz al-Lubnan Hookah Bar on average 15 times a year, taking part in 20 rounds of tobacco in that time. Therefore, this projection represents 1,000 customer groups in the first year, 2,500 customer groups in the second year and 3,500 customer groups in the third year.

Milestones

The $15,000 in start-up marketing will be spent on the downtown ad campaign (design and production of posters and flyers, as well as purchasing ad space), PR campaign (creation and mailing of press kit), and the grand opening event (live music, door prizes, decorations, free food and drink offers).

After the launch, the business will hold a series of promotions – first the business card drawing and then event incentives – to initiate programming at Arz al-Lubnan Hookah Bar.