How to open up a bar

Costs. Startup costs are the first major hurdle to bar ownership. Total startup costs for a bar that rents or leases its location are estimated to be between $110,000 and $550,000, depending on size. 1 A bar that purchases its location and pays a mortgage has an average startup cost of between $175,000-$850,000.

Small Business Association (SBA) loans are among the best ways to get funding for a bar, let alone any other kind of entrepreneurial idea you might want to pursue. SBA loans come in several forms, a wide variety of sizes, and very flexible terms of repayment.

Estimates suggest the revenue of the average bar is between $25,000 to $30,000 per month. Your profits will depend on how well you run your bar and manage your operating costs.

Spreading your resources too thin creates major pitfalls and causes many bars to fail. The most common and obvious culprit is financing: You don’t start with enough capital, you spend it on the wrong things, or you pay too much for equipment. Often, bar owners overwork their employees to the point of exhaustion.

Crowdfunding – Crowdfunding is another way that people are able to open bars without any money. They use services like GoFundMe, FoodStart, Kickstarter, and AngelList. Field and Vine in MA used Kickstarter to start out and Swah-Rey also used Kickstarter in FL to open their bar.