|  Doing
It Right - Starting With a Budget That Works:
About 20 years ago, the idea of getting into the “fun
business” was pretty straightforward. The concept of
course, was to locate a site, acquire some key attractions,
and let the merits of the business sell themselves.
Thinking
of Buying or Selling An Amusement Business? Know Its TRUE
Value: Over the last five years,
a booming economy has fueled a great deal of interest in the
amusement industry, as speculators and industry veterans alike
have targeted family entertainment center facilities and amusement
game operating routes for acquisition...
Challenging
The Norm: When was the last time
you decided to take the road less traveled? You know the road,
it's the one where there are no markings, no directions, and
absolutely no guarantees that you'll get where you're going.
Still, there are many folks who have an idea that differs
from the norm, or a method of doing business that runs counter
to the standards adopted within an industry...
Choosing
The Right Location: One of the
biggest questions that always arises from a new client relates
to the selection of a location for their planned entertainment
venue. It's been universally known that "location, location,
location" seems to be the standard for almost every use
of real estate, and entertainment is no exception. But how
can a facility developer determine what's optimum?
Emerging
Technology: It's Time To Embrace It:
One of the most common comments I've heard at the last few
shows has been a general perception regarding the lack of
newly introduced products. This may be true, but from my vantage
point, there's a tremendous amount of new technology entering
our industry, some seen and some unseen...
Fixing
A Failing Business: Now that it
appears that the down tick in our national economy is here
to stay, I won't be surprised when I hear that companies both
small and large have opted to file for bankruptcy protection...
Go
Ahead...Pick Your Niche: There
was a time, I believe, when developing a successful entertainment
facility was far easier than it is today. Buildings were built,
patrons flocked in, and the biggest dilemma to hit the table
related to how many more copies could be developed in other
markets...
Incorporating
Facility Controls: When I was
a child growing up in a metropolitan area, my parents didn't
have to think twice about allowing me to venture about in
large retail stores or amusement parks. It seemed as though
there wasn't much concern about the risk of abduction or inappropriate
outside influences. Times have changed, however,...
Insuring
Your Future:
A Look At Commercial Insurance Policies:
Let's be honest. When was the last time you really studied
your current commercial insurance policy? Most of the time,
it's more convenient to simply rely on your agent to confirm
that "you're covered". But having an insurance policy
and being "covered" are sometimes mutually exclusive
terms. Insurance is one of those commodities in life where
you get what you pay for...
Using
The Internet As A Marketing Tool:
Entertainment facility owners know that effective marketing
has always been the key to building visitation volumes within
their centers. Unfortunately, as expense budgets get tight,
advertising dollars become scarce, leaving many facilities
with limited advertising coverage within their target markets...
Keeping
Up The Momentum: I just returned
from the IAAPA show in Orlando, and was once again favorably
impressed with the volume of attendees and the breadth of
new product introductions. In essence, IAAPA proved to carry
forward the enthusiasm and rejuvenated interest initially
seen at this year's AMOA/FUN EXPO, with many new faces standing
shoulder-to-shoulder with our industry's veterans...
Leasing
Tips For Your Next Entertainment Site:
As veteran facility operators of this industry know, the process
of acquiring a parcel of land or leasing an existing building
in the ideal location at the right price can be an exhausting
affair. In this world of infinite consumer variety, in-home
advertising, and deep-pocket competitors, an entertainment
business needs every advantage it can find...
Need
An Investor? Now Might Be The Time...:
Looking back over the past year, a lot has changed with respect
to our national economy, and quite coincidentally, our personal
investments - the "personal economy" as I refer
to it. Our high-riding stock markets have settled down to
a gentle, and at times imperceptible roar while domestic production
has slowed for two straight calendar quarters in a row...
It's
Never Too Late...To Turn A Profit:
Times are tough in the amusement industry across many fronts.
The consumer dollar is being pulled in hundreds of directions
by entertainment options that didn't even exist ten years
ago, many of which are outside of our industry...
Pricing
and Delivering It Right: No matter
where you look in our society these days, every wholesaler
and retailer seems to be pitching "value and service"
as the key reasons for selecting their products. Does everyone
really offer the best value and service? In most cases, consumers
have become impervious to such claims, often resulting from
experiences that are the exact opposite of the assurances
provided...
Are
You Selecting The Appropriate Games
For Your Guests: These days, it seems as though
the "information super highway" has permitted both
small and large businesses to analyze anything and everything
about their customer base, from effective target marketing
to the profiling of would-be consumers...
Tips
and Suggestions For Opening Your New Amusement Business:
With the fall of our nation's stock and bond markets over
the last year, my firm has been fielding a significant number
of telephone inquiries relating to the development of new
amusement-based businesses. A surprising number of professionals,
once nestled in the framework of corporate America, have found
themselves on the outside looking in. In some cases, many
are questioning whether they actually want to go back to the
daily grind...
A
Year of Opportunity Ahead: There's
no question in my mind that the AMOA/Fun Expo trade show in
Las Vegas was a complete success. From the day I arrived,
I could sense the high level of energy in the air, almost
as if a great weight had been lifted off of everyone's shoulders.
The Rookies and Newcomers sessions were literally overflowing
with attendees from all over the country, each one looking
to establish a new entertainment venue in their backyard...
Five
Easy Ways To End Up In Hot Water:
There's an interesting trend that's been developing since
the rather dramatic collapse of our nation's stock markets.
It seems, at least from my vantage point, that a growing number
of individuals and investment groups are taking the plunge
in creating new entertainment-based businesses throughout
the United States...
The
ABC's of Selecting The Right Entertainment Space:
One of the biggest challenges in opening an entertainment
facility today is the real estate selection process. If you've
done this before, you know that every offering has its own
set of pluses and minuses. In well-established areas, there
may simply not be an option for "ground up" development,
but instead the retrofit of an existing facility proves to
be the only alternative...
Alternate
Financing Options
What To Do When Your Bank Says 'No':
Sometimes, traditional financing does not provide a good fit
for a particular project. Insufficient equity contributions,
unavailability of personal guarantees from the project developers,
or risks associated with an unproven market or concept can
all prove to be barriers in accessing traditional forms of
funding. ..
Attention
K Mart Shoppers...: A down-spiraling
economy sure has a way of sorting out the winners and losers.
Take the retail sector, for instance. While the home improvement
stores are booming, the sale of retail goods, particularly
apparel, is suffering. Does this mean that men prefer power
tools to power suits and women desire gardening gloves to
leather ones?
Choosing
Attractions For the Millennium:
Having just returned from the AMOA/Fun Expo show in Las Vegas,
I had the opportunity to view many of the newly released and
soon-to-be-released games and attractions slated for our industry.
I'm sure many of you were there as well, perhaps with the
intention of researching and selecting new additions to your
facilities...
Creating
More Value (And Profit) In Your Entertainment Facility:
Admittedly, it's quite difficult to continue to produce an
exciting entertainment experience day-in and day-out, as the
public always looks to us to exceed their expectations...
Customer
Service Is The Answer To Building A Better Business:
Whether you're an amusement game operator or a family entertainment
center owner, there are certainly many ways to improve on
the existing business formula...
Designing
a Winning Layout: Quite often,
my firm is called upon to assist in the design of a new facility's
physical layout or a retrofit of an existing site's now-dated
format. Other times, we're initiating a performance audit
for a client and ultimately determine that the layout is impeding
the facility's ability to generate appropriate revenue levels...
Examining
The Fun Factor: When was the last
time you went out with the family and really had fun? I mean
so much fun that everyone in the family was talking about
it for days, maybe even weeks. Years ago, when we lived in
a less "commercialized" world, it seemed that having
fun with the entire family was easier to do, and at times,
more memorable...
How
Big is BIG?: I've just completed
a 20-year analysis of the amusement industry for one of AEM's
new financial services clients and can't help but notice the
clear trends that are occurring throughout various amusement
sectors, particularly in recent years...
Is
Maintenance Really That Important?:
This year more than ever, accidents and mishaps at entertainment
venues seem to be catching headlines. In actuality, the number
of incidents has not measurably risen but the public's awareness
and concern for them has reached an all time high...
Making
The Most of Your Ride
and Attraction Budget : Inevitably,
once all the hard work has been done with respect to feasibility
review, debt financing, land and building acquisition, and
marketing plan development, new facility developers must concentrate
their efforts on purchasing the necessary attractions and
concessions for their new facility.
Pioneering
New Markets: As we quickly approach
the end of another year, I always enjoy taking some time to
reflect on the events of the last year - where I've been,
what I've seen, and where, as an industry, I think we're going.
It's been an extremely busy year overall, and I believe most
industry vendors would attest to a higher volume of inquiries,
and hopefully, sales...
Securing
Your Future: We've all heard these
stories before. A well-trusted employee has been caught embezzling
funds from a local business. We ponder the mere thought of
it happening in our own enterprise, convince ourselves that
we're okay, and go about our business...
Selecting
Real Estate Locations For Your Entertainment Business:
Over the years, I've noticed that there seem to be two distinct
approaches toward acquiring real estate venues for entertainment
development. Half the world focuses on securing a site, after
which traditional market research and concept planning begins...
Tips
On Avoiding Costly Mistakes: As
corporate America begins to slow, many individuals are viewing
this time period as an opportunity to branch out into their
own endeavors, many of which have been lifelong dreams. Right
now, there are literally hundreds of new entertainment facility
developers throughout the country working on variations of
traditional entertainment venues...
When
Good Isn't Good Enough: Those
of us who live in the world of entertainment on a daily basis
know that standing still is the equivalent of dying a quick
death. This is one of the more challenging of industries by
which to do business, as you must become a master at attraction
selection, customer service, maintenance, zoning, staffing,
security, and yes, profiting...
Where
Are All The Customers?
Getting Started Can Be A Challenging Affair :
Opening any new business can be challenging, let alone a family
entertainment center. There are countless tasks at hand in
the early stages, including the selection of an operating
site, developing an effective amusement layout, choosing a
general contractor, and hiring a small army of staff members,
all of whom need to possess excellent communication and personal
skills...
Assembling
A Winning Team : Times are tough.
For the past few years, many of the high tech companies have
been "borrowing" members of our entertainment labor
force - everyone from game technicians to ride mechanics -
all in the interest of a new evolving business sector...
Is
Your Cash Register Half-Full or Half-Empty?
The circumstances are almost always the same: a fun center
owner has made a big investment in an attractive entertainment
venue - the finest equipment has been selected - the marketing
plan has received rave reviews from local and regional patrons,
and guest attendance levels are exceeding expectations...
Creating
an Effective Operating Agreement :
Whether you're an operator or a location owner, the importance
of establishing an effective Operating Agreement for amusement
games cannot be overemphasized. In the course of performing
performance audits for operators and entertainment centers,
our firm continues to be quite surprised at the intermittent
use and limited scope of such Operating Agreements...
The
Decision To Buy, Lease, or Revenue Share :
For years now, there have been several schools of thought
over the decision to buy, lease, or revenue share amusement
and ride equipment within leisure entertainment complexes.
Many an owner has commented that buying the equipment outright
has put more in his coffers each year, while amusement operators
have argued that the value of working with an experienced
professional can easily be seen in healthy increases in game
grosses and overall facility performance...
A
Feasibility Study Might be the Best Investment You'll Ever
Make : Years ago, when amusement
equipment was less expensive and many markets were still new
to the concept of family entertainment centers, it was less
nerving to invest $50,000, $100,000 or even $200,000 in game
equipment for a brand new facility or perhaps, an existing
one...
Is
Your Family Entertainment Center Up To Snuff? :
Now is the perfect time to conduct your own "Performance
Audit". This can be challenging to do as an owner, as
it becomes quite difficult to correctly evaluate a facility's
effectiveness with as critical an eye as a third party. The
goal of this "audit" is to see your facility through
the eyes of a potential guest and therefore identify the processes
that appear substandard, particularly when compared to your
competition...
Hedging
Your Bet:
Methods To Reduce An Operator's Exposure At Poor Performing
Locations : Eventually it's going
to happen. Despite extensive research, pre-planning, and careful
positioning, your newest operating location is proving to
be a "dud". You've spent weeks reconditioning and
purchasing equipment, hiring and realigning technical staff,
and making (or providing capital for) improvements at your
client's new entertainment facility...
Resurrecting
A Winner : Given the broad level
of development in the entertainment sector over the past ten
years, it's no surprise that the maturity of the industry
has resulted in the closing of many facilities, or the outright
absorption of others into the hands of more stable competitors...
The
Secrets to Establishing and Building Relationships with Creditors
and Lenders : In many instances,
a review was conducted to determine the viability of providing
a lending accommodation to a new client, who perhaps was purchasing
new equipment, expanding an existing facility, or undergoing
major renovations. These were critical times for a would-be
client, as his or her ability to complete any of these processes
was, in most cases, contingent upon the bank's decision to
provide funding... |
CRANKIN’
WITH FRANK
AMOA:
It's Been a Heck of a Ride:
What
Makes A Successful FEC:
Most
Important Number Operator Can Have:
