The business plan for a cigar lounge is a good opportunity for you to show why the area you envision opening in can support this new business. Seen as something of an “old guard†business model, the typical cigar lounge generates revenue by selling single cigars, cases of imported or local cigars, and in some cases memberships for monthly use of a smoking room or first access to special imports. They commonly have leather armchairs, polished humidor rooms, and a loyal base of patrons that skews towards the older end of the demographic scale. For your business plan, you will want to prove that a cigar lounge can be successful:
• What price points can you command for cigars, memberships, incidentals, etc.?
• What are your leading competitors likely to be?
• How far away is the next nearest cigar place?
• What will it cost you to furnish, rent, and maintain the lounge space?
• What staffing needs will there be, or is one owner-operator sufficient?
• What regulations/permitting issues might you face?
If your cigar lounge is already in business, consider showing how you have performed in recent years by creating a past performance analysis. Even in your recent history has been less than stellar, showing each year (typically 2-3 years into the past) by its final P&L accounting and balance sheets can help a potential funding source know what your margins and performance have been to date. Prove that you know how to apply any money you get (category by category) and show that you can reasonably maintain a revenue level to make this an appealing investment. Need more help than this to get the document together? MasterPlans has written dozens of customized cigar lounge and smoke shop business plans dating back to 2002. Call a consultant today at 877-453-2011.
