the killer rent

About ten years ago, my wife and I were very excited about a business idea that we were developing for a new nightclub. We did the research, checked out demographics, looked at necessary equipment and supplies, devised a unique "theme", and tried to come up with costs and funding. unfortunately, the only areas that we could even come sloe to renting were in the scariest parts of town, where people frequently were robbed, mugged, raped and/or shot. Trying to find affordable space for rent in a more "friendly" area, as would be more befitting for an all ages (16+) nightclub, was proving to be near impossible. In the end, we couldn't get a loan from the bank since k=nightclubs were too risky and we didn't have enough money of our own to invest.

At the time, it was very frustrating, but looking back, I can understand why the bank would have taken this position. We were young and naive, inexperienced, and neither of us had any economical prowess. We had a dream,and we were "hip". Ironically enough, I'd be much more prepared and experienced to try and start something like that at the age I am now, but I am definitely not as "hip" or aware of the trends as I once was. This got me thinking...

How do new businesses open up that truly appeal to the younger crowd? If the majority of these types of business are started by boomers and the over thirty crowd, how do any of them manage to still appeal to the youth of today? Maybe they don't - maybe that it why there is such an alarming rate of failure for ventures like nightclubs. You've got old people who are trying to relive their youth by running a "cool" business, but without timely and insightful details from the youth they are appealing to, how would they ever create a successful business model?

Unfortunately, there are few young people who would be able to fund their own ventures of this sort, especially in larger cities. Imagine a twenty-something year old in Manhattan trying to start his ow nightclub. Ha! With those rent prices? Best of luck. Unless he's got a day job as a New York personal injury lawyer or he is a trust fund baby, I don't see how it could be done.

There are some nightclubs that have been around for a while, and manage to stay on top of the trends. Perhaps their deejays keep them in check. Or perhaps they provide the environment and they depend on their younger employees to define the ambiance. It just seems like it is one of those situations where society has set up an economic hurdle that prevents young people from entertaining themselves. Instead, they have to depend on older folks (with deeper pockets) to hopefully offer something to them that appeals to their longing for what is "cool".