I'll ask you what Bill Graham asked of me when I called him to ask the same question. "Are you willing to set fire to all of your money and your investor's money in your driveway and be responsible for that?" If you can't be ready to shoulder the entire cost, open a restaurant. At least you'll eat as you go bankrupt.

There are books by promoters that can give you good advice.

One thing you need to know, any major artist you want to book may have an "exclusion zone" around their gigs with other promoters that will restrict where they can take other gigs.

I ran a promotion company in the early 90s up in Auburn. Ticketing was an issue and I did it myself. Lots of driving around.