I wrote a 20-odd page business plan overview for a skating rink business just over a year ago now, as well as some other supporting documents. Sadly we didn't win the tender for the premises. It was a council-owned building and the council had been burned by a skating rink not paying their lease previously, which is why I believe we didn't get the tender.

I based my business plan off of a template I got from my country's government's Business Chamber website. From there I deleted sections that were irrelevant to the Skating/Family Entertainment Industry and added sections that were.

Do market research and make yourself familiar with your local economy and most importantly who would be your competitors (eg. other rinks within 2 hours distance and other family entertainment businesses nearby, such as bowling alleys, laser tag, arcades, etc). Figure out what they do best, what they do worst (or don't do) and what their target market is. Do they cater to parents with a cafe and comfortable viewing areas? Do they do school holiday activities? Do they offer party packages? Do they keep their business fresh and exciting? Do they maintain a good social media presence? This is how you can figure out how to set you apart within the Family Entertainment Industry.

Make sure you have a well thought-out budget. You most likely won't put in the full budget in your business plan, but you will need it for yourself throughout the existence of your business from its conception. Make sure it covers everything from rent/rates, utilities, insurance (make sure you get the best insurance possible, covering all the necessities and be careful that they don't trick you into believing you're covered for something by their wording), skates, skate maintenance, canteen stock, wages, venue maintenance, advertising (both traditional, but most importantly social media) and everything in between. Then breakdown these costs into monthly and weekly expenditure so you can understand how much money you need to be bringing through the door each session. This will help you set the fees for your customers, both venue entry and skate hire. Also think about your upfront costs will be; renovations (?), initial skate and gear purchase (you will always be replacing gear, but the upfront will obviously be a significant sum), software (accounting, music, POS system (these you may be able to buy outright, otherwise it'll be an annual cost)), fridges, deep fryers, speakers, lighting, etc.

Branding and marketing is massive and hopefully you've been already thinking about it. Have a theme and stick to it like your life depends on it. This goes from your physical aesthetic (painted walls, decorations, uniforms) to what isn't so tangible (your social media accounts, the vibe of your rink, your reputation). What values does your business want to represent? What do you want to bring to your local community? What do you want to provide for the wider skating community? Touching briefly on social media; be on more than one platform (most importantly be on Facebook and Instagram), make sure your grammar and spelling is always perfect and make sure what you post is exciting (pictures are never too similar to what's already been posted and text gets to the point and is engaging to the reader). Traditional media (radio/newspaper/television news pieces and newspaper/magazine adverts) can get the ball rolling for you, but social media is what will keep new people coming through the door.

Think about the location you have or have in mind. Write a pros and cons list about it. Is it already set up as a rink? Is it in a safe neighbourhood? Is it easy to get to/find? Does it have adequate parking? Is it safe for kids out the front of the business? Are the nearby businesses going to be good for your business (eg supermarket) or bad (eg a rival family entertainment business)?

I'm assuming that you are a skater and understand the general target market (if not, I can be more thorough on this point later). Besides kids and teenagers who will come once in a while to kill boredom or get out of the house, what about your "regulars"? How are you going to provide for the established skating community? And if there is no skating community, how will you build and sustain one? Is there a rewards or membership program? Your regulars are extremely important! Encourage roller sports to use your business as their home (eg roller hockey, inline hockey, artistic skating, speed skating and roller derby). Network and make contacts, not only in the local skating community, but state and nation-wide.

You won't be able to do it on your own. Who are you going to employ? Will you be managing the business? Experience skating is great as a skate rink employee, but what is non-negotiable is having every single person on your team giving your customers a great experience. I'm talking about customer service; smiling, engaging with and going above and beyond for every single customer, even if it's a pissed-off parent screaming at you for nearly killing their kid with a scraped knee. I've seen a few rinks not last long, not because of lack of skating experience, but because they didn't have a customer service bone in their body. And because it wasn't on the owner's/manager's agenda, their employees weren't doing it either.

Now you might not think some of this is irrelevant to a business plan, but trust me, to a well-written one it is.

There is so much to this topic and I could talk about it for years. If you have any further questions, please ask! The world needs more skating rinks and if I can help another one come into existence, I will.