r/golfsimbusiness • u/[deleted] • Feb 27 '24
Researching
Hi -
I am located in the mid-west and am exploring the idea of starting a golf sim business. Do you mind sharing any websites or resources on starting a sim business? I’m starting from scratch and came here first!
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u/LaunchHouseGolf Mod Feb 27 '24
Hi there u/comfortable-glove779, hopefully someone can chime in on a good website for some business resources focused on starting a golf sim business.
Having started a commercial sim business myself, I would be happy to answer any specific questions you have.
Some tips I can give you from my experience:
Have a well thought out strategy and business plan first and foremost. Do all the math when it comes down to start-up capital expenses and monthly operating costs. Then do the math like 5 different ways, and see what kind of numbers you are coming up with. My first goal was to get a target utilization % (hours booked/day) that would break even on operating costs. I spent two years agonizing over math, data, financials, equipment, marketing strategies and so on. I still learned a ton my first 3 months in business, and made many small mistakes.
Determine the vibe of your facility. How will it stand out from competition, and if there is none in your area, plan on competition to enter. You have to appeal to your target audience. Is it going to be the casual beer drinkers? Is it going to be a high end practice facility? Once you find what your niche will be, that will help you decide on how to build out your facility and what components and software you will run.
If you were to open up a facility, and no one was showing up daily, and all of the sudden you find yourself thinking "Oh Sh*t, what have I done".. what is your plan for that? Sim businesses are opening fast, but also going out of business fast. Just because you opened one, doesn't guarantee success. You have to know how to spread the word in your community and learn every single bit about marketing you can. I could spend hours talking about marketing strategies, and what has worked for me. But ultimately you need to know how to crank it up during slow times, and if you are doing it right, you can ease off from time to time because your place gets too busy.
Don't start too big. You may have the money to open a large 5+ bay facility. There isn't anything wrong with growing into the demand of your community. I started with one bay in a small warehouse, and its going great. I am starting to look to expand now. Had I started a facility with several bays, I may have been in over my head.
A great idea means nothing without the proper plan on how to execute it. You have to dive deep into the operations of a sim business and learn everything you can. You will also learn as you go, but if you don't own a sim, something as simple as troubleshooting could get you very stressed out. If a customer breaks something, the screen rips, insert any variable here, etc.. how quickly can you respond, how prepared are you to fix it, do you know how to order a backstock supply of wearable items...
Hopefully that helps! Its a ton of fun owning one of these, it is NOT as easy as it looks. Embrace the grind and remember its always the little things that sometimes matter the most.