How do you picture your center? What will you do different? What will be the focus? If you have not done so, write out the focus of your center. Will it be for a certain age group only, or appeal to a broad range? Will parties be the main draw or open play? Will you have a jump area or several? Laser tag and arcade games? An indoor play structure maybe? What about go-karts and other big ticket items? Will you serve food? Will you have redemption games and a merchandise counter? How do you picture the party area? What days/hours will you be open? Who will your center appeal to?

Differentiate or Die

The key to any business is finding the niche for your region, your project. Some services sell better than others in different regions and within different target age groups. What does this mean? Well if your center is in a largely populated area, open play may make more money than parties. You will need to adapt your services once you open, if you discover customers needs not being met.

Put all your thoughts in writing. Put thought into what you have learned about your region and how families in your region behave. All of this provides the focus that will help you write a strong business plan.

When I was running the laser tag center the information below made up the focus of the center and how we thought about our services. We added services, removed services, tweaked hours, and were always asking our customers for feedback on what appeals to them.

In the laser tag business, we made the most profit on these services (in order)

1. Private parties. A totally private laser tag arena & cake room for parties. We offered exclusive group usage and rates that also appealed to corporate companies looking to blow off some steam or host an off-site meeting. Always charge a deposit. This provides daily cash flow & prevents no shows.

2. Teen Night and Church group lock-ins. We offered teen night every week, for ages 12 and up, and twice a month offered group lock-ins with secure overnight chaperons.  The teen night was a drop-off event and many of our hard core customers were 12-17 years old. It is a challenge to keep them safe and orderly, but they are a great money maker as they most often have their own discretionary income and want to spend it as soon as they get it.

3. Retail Sales. Food, party supplies, balloons and merchandise are great add-ons and money makers. Many centers require you use their food and supplies. we offered flexibility on this issue and did not require customers to use our food. We find that by allowing the customer the choice of bringing in their own food, we still got 90% of the food business, but we also got the business of those that are on a smaller budget, or special diet (kosher for example). We were not a restaurant; but contract for the pizzas, cakes & party supplies and still made money, but eliminate overhead. Having been through that process - there are always exceptions to the norm. If I did it again, I would probably look to add a little more muscle to the food service bottom line by bringing it in-house.

4. Open play. This is when the general public can play. No drop-offs were offered. People will use you for inexpensive daycare if you allow them. Nor did we charge by the hour (unless you were a group and played three or more games), this philosophy caused people to watch the clock and rush to leave. One price, no time limit allows them to relax, play, take time to eat, play arcades games, etc. The longer they are in your building, the more money they spend. Although we did not, many facilities will offer an 'At-home-mom's' club that can help mothers with under school age children band together, have some coffee, a little community gossip and get some 'on-the-floor-time' with their young ones. Many parents do not like the smaller kids playing with the older kids, they are concerned about them getting hurt so this offers sensitive mothers an exclusive time to safely play and enjoy time with their children. Especially for boys 7 and older - they play much harder, and do not watch for smaller kids.

5. Arcade and redemption Games. I know most parents hate them, but you learn to love them, epecially when you see how much money they add to the bottom line. The nice thing about today's games, is that many manufacturers are cognizant of parents feeling towards them and have done much innovation in the last few years when it comes to play-a-bility and game type. Almost all parents will put a few coins in to allow kids to play. This adds up quickly.

You may have other ideas, and again, that's the beauty of this amusement business... there are lots of great activity choices out there, and great companies to work with who will help you clearly identify your target audience and the possible activity mix that best meets their needs - that's the key.

Hours of Operation

This is an important consideration. The laser tag center was open 7 days a week, 14-16 hours a day on the weekends. We opened at 10am everyday and stay open until 2:00 am on some Saturday's. This is a lot to keep up with, but the customers expect it. Look around your community at other entertainment and leisure centers, what do they offer? Is there an opportunity for longer or shorter hours? Each community and new business owner will have her / his own set of criteria when it comes to setting hours. But, don't ignore your market, if they want you to be open earlier or later and you determine you can make it work, then do so.

If you want to have at least one day a week where the business is closed, you will need to be established this early after opening, so customers can get used to your schedule. We did change hours in summer and winter. We closed earlier Monday through Thursday in the winter. This is because we learned that after the time changes and it gets dark early, our open maze was very slow. In the summer our hours are later, because people are out later.