Starting A Beer Garden

Craft beer and food are often served in an outside or semi-outdoor environment in a beer garden. Many beer gardens seek to be places where residents can relax and enjoy entertainment such as live music while ordering beers and food. Beer gardens are distinguished from other pubs and restaurants by their emphasis on pleasant outside sitting and beer — sometimes regional, such as German beer, and occasionally local craft beer.

Follow these ten steps to start a beer garden:

Make plans for your Beer Garden.

Make your Beer Garden a Legal Entity.

Fill out a tax registration form for your beer garden.

Create a Business Bank Account and a Credit Card

Create an Accounting System for Your Beer Garden

Get the Permits and Licenses You Need for Your Beer Garden

Purchase Beer Garden Insurance

Establish your Beer Garden Brand

Make a website for your Beer Garden.

Configure your Business Phone System

Starting a company entails more than just registering it with the state. We’ve put up a basic guide to getting your beer garden up and running. These stages will guarantee that your new company is well-planned, correctly registered, and legally compliant.

STEP 1: Make a business plan.

A well-thought-out strategy is vital for entrepreneur success. It will assist you in mapping out the intricacies of your organisation and uncovering some unknowns. Consider the following crucial topics:

What are the initial and continuing expenses?

Who is your intended audience?

How much money may you charge your customers?

Fortunately, we have done a lot of the legwork for you.

What are the expenses of establishing a beer garden?

Starting a beer garden company may range between $25,000 to $100,000, depending on where you live, what you want to serve, and the size of your beer garden. Beer gardens often need more room than a tiny inside bar, so expenses may be greater than you estimate based on local leasing rates. If you want to brew your own beer, the startup expenses might be $100,000 or more when you include in brewery equipment.

What are the recurring costs of running a beer garden?

A beer garden company has several recurring expenditures, such as liquor costs, food costs, labour, rent/mortgage, utilities, liquor permits, and so on. Depending on the nature of the firm and its location, the total monthly expenditures might reach $20,000 or more.

Who is the intended audience?

Beer aficionados and residents searching for a place to relax are the target market for a beer garden company. Some are searching for unusual beers to try, while others are looking for a place to hang out with their pals – whether they are college students, seniors, or someone in between.

How can a beer garden generate revenue?

A beer garden earns money by charging customers for beer and other drinks, as well as food. Beer gardens may also generate revenue by presenting live entertainment and providing private event planning and hosting services.

How much money may you charge your customers?

It is critical to accurately price your items, which may be difficult at first since you may not know how much markup is required. Beer is generally marked up 200 to 300 percent in bars, with some beers being marked up to 500 percent. For the beer you sell, your profit margin should be approximately 75-80 percent. Aim to achieve the correct balance between making a profit and keeping your consumers happy, since customers who find your beer excessively pricey are unlikely to return.

What kind of profit can a beer garden make?

On average, a bar may earn between $20,000 and $30,000 each week, albeit this number is subject to a variety of factors. With typical launch expenditures, that implies a bar may pay off investors and loans in around two years, after which the firm will begin to profit.

How can you increase the profitability of your company?

You may increase the profitability of your beer garden by attracting more consumers, particularly regulars. If you can make your beer garden a favourite area for your target market, they could come back every week or perhaps many times a week to buy your beer and food. Because your rivals provide many of the same things, you don’t have much control over your expenses and how much you charge. You can, however, influence the mood and experience of your consumers.

STEP 2: Establish a legal entity

Sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), and corporation are the most frequent business structure forms.

If your beer garden is sued, becoming a legitimate business organisation, such as an LLC or corporation, shields you from being held personally accountable.

STEP 3: File your taxes

Before you can begin for business, you must register for a number of state and federal taxes.

To register for taxes, you will need to get an EIN. It’s really simple and completely free!

Taxes on Small Businesses

Depending on the business form you choose, you may have multiple choices for how your company is taxed. Some LLCs, for example, may benefit from being taxed as a S company (S corp).

These guides will teach you more about small company taxes:

Taxes on LLCs

LLC vs. sole proprietorship

Corporation vs. LLC

S Corp vs. LLC

How to Form a S Corporation

S Corporation vs. C Corporation

There may be state taxes that apply to your company. In our state sales tax guides, you may learn more about state sales taxes and franchise taxes.

STEP 4: Establish a company bank account and credit card

Personal asset protection requires the use of distinct business banking and credit accounts.

When you combine your personal and business accounts, your personal assets (your house, vehicle, and other possessions) are at danger if your company is sued. This is known as penetrating your company veil in business law.

Furthermore, understanding how to develop corporate credit may help you get credit cards and other financing in your company’s name (rather than your own), lower interest rates, larger lines of credit, and other benefits.

Establish a business bank account.

Opening a business bank account is not only required when asking for business financing, but it also:

Separates your personal assets from the assets of your firm, which is required for personal asset protection.

It simplifies bookkeeping and tax reporting.

Create a net 30 account.

Net 30 accounts are used to develop and grow company credit while also increasing cash flow. Businesses use a net 30 account to purchase items and refund the whole debt within a 30-day period.

Many net 30 credit suppliers submit information to the main business credit agencies (Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, and Equifax Business Credit). This is how firms establish business credit in order to get approved for credit cards and other lines of credit.

Apply for a business credit card.

Obtaining a business credit card benefits you in the following ways:

Put all of your company’s costs in one location to separate personal and business spending.

Build your company’s credit history, which will be important for raising funds in the future.

STEP 5: Establish business accounting

Recording your numerous costs and sources of revenue is crucial to assessing your company’s financial status. Keeping precise and thorough accounting also makes yearly tax filing much easier.

STEP 6: Obtain all required permissions and licences

Failure to get appropriate permissions and licences may result in significant penalties or possibly the closure of your firm.

STEP 7: Obtain commercial insurance.

Insurance, like licences and permits, is required for your company to operate safely and legally. In the case of a covered loss, business insurance protects your company’s financial well-being.

There are several sorts of insurance plans designed for various types of companies with varying risks. If you are unaware about the hazards that your company may encounter, start with General Liability Insurance. This is the most popular coverage required by small companies, so it’s a good place to start for yours.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance is another important insurance product that many companies need. If your company will have workers, your state may require you to purchase Workers’ Compensation insurance.

STEP 8: Establish your brand

Your company’s brand is what it stands for, as well as how the public perceives it. A strong brand will help your company stand out from the crowd.

How to Market and Promote a Beer Garden

You may go further into your target market by gathering demographic and psychographic information. Demographic data refers to the physical characteristics of your market, such as age, gender, and so on. Psychographic data refers to your market’s mental characteristics, such as political preferences, hobbies, and sense of humour. For example, if you know a college is nearby, you may target college students who are passionate about their football team.

Promotions are another popular marketing strategy for small firms. Happy hours, drink specials, and food specials may all help you bring customers in the door by giving fantastic bargains on things they like.

How to Keep Customers Returning

Beer gardens are more likely to flourish if the correct environment is created. People are come to drink beer and have fun, so you must cater to their wants in a variety of ways. Is the lighting and temperature appropriate? Are the brews appealing? Is the food part of the experience? It may take some trial and error, but it is critical to continuously attempting to create the ideal environment for your consumers. They are more likely to return if arriving to your beer garden feels like returning home.

STEP 9: Create your company’s website.

After you’ve defined your brand and designed your logo, the next step is to build a website for your company.

While developing a website is an important step, some may be concerned that it is out of their grasp due to a lack of website-building skills. While this was a fair concern in 2015, online technology has made significant advances in recent years, making the lives of small company owners considerably easier.

The following are the primary reasons why you should not put off developing your website:

Every genuine company has a website, period. When it comes to bringing your company online, it doesn’t matter what size or sector it is.

Social media accounts, such as Facebook pages or LinkedIn company profiles, are not a substitute for your own business website.

STEP 10. Install your company phone system.

Getting a phone for your company is one of the finest methods to keep your personal and professional lives distinct and private. That isn’t the only advantage; it also helps you automate your company, provides it legitimacy, and makes it simpler for prospective clients to identify and contact you.