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Author Topic: drive-in business plan Dave Ganoe Expert Film Handler Posts: 119 From: Point Marion, PA Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-25-2006 07:10 PM                     Anyone have a business plan that they did to acquire a drive-in? I know that one plan does not fit all but it would be nice to have a guide line that would be business specific. I'm in a pretty good position to get a twin and does great business, I ran it for 9 years and now its up for sale. I know the business end as my 9 years turned the place around but the business plan stuff is not my thing. Any help is greatly appreciated.  |  IP: Logged Dennis Benjamin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1445 From: Denton, MD Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-26-2006 06:27 AM                        http://www.crossroadsdrivein.com/build/ Although I have been told that the amount given in his business plan is way off concerning grating the land for the rows.  |  IP: Logged Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 04-26-2006 09:21 AM                        I have the one I created for the business loans / banking and financing needs for the construction of our place.. however because of the length of time I spent preparing it, I won't send a copy of it to anyone... too much work involved in it. I worked with the local SCORE reps here in town and they gave me some basic guidelines to cover in our plan, but they will NOT write the plan for you. I had never written a business plan before in my life, and I took ours to several banks before I found one I didn't get laughed out of. The business plan we developed helped us secure a $400k loan within 4 days of meeting with the banker. Here is the TABLE OF CONTENTS for our business plan, maybe it will point you in the right direction. Table of Contents Executive Summary THE TEAM MANAGEMENT TEAM PROFILES AND OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE Compensation ADVISORS HUMAN RESOURCES REQUIREMENTS THE BUSINESS ENVIROMENT BUSINESS SUMMARY, HISTORY & INDUSTRY OVERVIEW OPERATIONAL SCHEDULE AND SEASONAL FACTORS Consumer Trends POSITION IN THE INDUSTRY Competition MARKETING ANALYSIS AND PRICING STRATEGY THE TARGET MARKET SERVICES PRICING STRATEGY ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONS PLAN OPERATIONS STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT Progress to Date Risks Contingency Plan Association Membership FINANCE Projected Income Statement Projected Cash Flow Analysis Appendices (See separate Appendices Binder) • Projected Income Statements (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006) – Appendix A • Cash Flow Analysis, (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006) – Appendix B • Principal’s Tax Returns (1999, 2000,2001) – Appendix C • Principals Personal Financial Statement – Appendix D • Industry Statistics – Appendix E • Location Map for Proposed Theatre – Appendix F • Site Plan – Appendix G • Concession & Projection Building Architectural Plans and Elevations – Appendix H • Screen Tower Architectural Elevations – Appendix I • Ticket Booth / Box Office Architectural Plans & Elevations – Appendix J • Capital Equipment Inventory – Appendix K • Land Purchase Correspondence – Appendix L • Construction Cost Estimate – Appendix M • Media Coverage - Appendix N On another note. I received a copy of the Crossroads book mentioned above for Fathers Day several years ago. I'll completely agree with Dennis, lots of mis-information. The construction methods described in the book will not even come close to passing building codes in our area. Pulling the financial numbers together was the hardest thing we had to do. I spent MANY nights in front of the computer with an Excel spreadsheet... and still got the projected income wrong. In the last 3 years since we've been in operation we have consistantly averaged 2.3 patrons per vehicle, each vehicle spends an average total of $30.00 +/- (combined boxofice + concessions), and each vehicle spends an average of $14.60 +/- in the concession stand on food. Friday & Saturday nights are your bread & butter... everything else is barely worth being open for. Hope this helps.....  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 04-26-2006 10:28 PM                        Barry's post is spot-on. I would add however, that there will be regional differences in local support. In my area, for example, the demos are predominately blue-collar and military... LOTS of young families connected to the ships and submarines that are based here and in the area. As such, it is worth it to be open on Sundays here. After School lets out, even the slowest weekday is like a Friday or Saturday during our fringe season. Another Washington drive-in is located near a Naval air station. Except for December, it's open year-round... very unusual, given the climate. They augment their income with a large video arcade and a go-cart track. On the other hand, there's a drive-in here that runs Thursday - Sunday, with a season that lasts only during the Summer months.  |  IP: Logged David Kilderry Master Film Handler Posts: 355 From: Melbourne Australia Registered: Sep 1999 posted 04-27-2006 04:41 AM                        I'll jump on the bandwagon here.......what Barry and Jack have said mirror our operation too. We open every night of the year given the weather here. We average 2.3 per car. Friday and Saturday are best by far, Sunday can be good and next is Thursday. We also did a very comprehensive business plan. We actually undershot our lowest admissions forecast in the first year, yet found the profitability was better on those numbers and this was after years of crunching them. We have lifted since year two by growing admits rather than prices. The groundwork for roadways, asphalt and drainage are your biggest cost. Make sure you can secure film supply, or have assurances it will continue in your proposed location. You will need multiple screens for first run, what is run there now Dave? Quality food is essential, but keep the menu simple. Provide what your customers want, not what you think they want. We are surrounded by multiplexes, but survive due to our point of difference i.e. being a drive-in. Make sure you sell this to your investors and customers alike. Good luck. David  |  IP: Logged Andrew McCrea Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 645 From: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Registered: Nov 2000 posted 04-27-2006 07:12 PM                        Barry, Just out of curiousity: What was your down payment/investment prior to getting a $400K loan?  |  IP: Logged Dennis Benjamin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1445 From: Denton, MD Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-28-2006 08:53 AM                        Yeah, actually now that I think about it: $400K isn't that much money. I have written both a indoor theatre business plan and an outdoor thetare business plan. How much more money was used? Just curious - because if I could have opened a theatre on 400K - it would already have been open. [ 04-28-2006, 11:37 AM: Message edited by: Dennis Benjamin ]  |  IP: Logged Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 04-28-2006 09:13 AM                        Andrew, we had to come up with 17% of the $400k in cash for our portion of the "cash injection/equity" in the project. Dennis is right... $400k was our estimated cost of construction... by the time we got the doors open and a picture on the screen it ended up being like $670k. Our theatre was litterally carved out of a rock, and more than half of the original $400k was used just for blasting and grading. If we would have had only dirt to move, the price would have been somewhere closer to $90k for the grading. Funny thing though... last summer(2005)when we added the second screen, our total investment for all of the grading, gravel, screen construction, and booth equipment only totalled around $35k... and we paid for all of that in cash. Here's a couple of photos of the finished project taken from the top of the hydraullic lift we rented for the construction of Screen 2 last summer.  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 04-28-2006 10:29 AM                        Barry: That power pole is right in my line of sight if I want to watch the other movie from the back of my car! Have you ever had a situation where different people in the same carload watch different screens, or stay parked and watch the first showing on one screen, and second showing of the other feature on the other screen?  |  IP: Logged Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 04-28-2006 11:09 AM                        They try.. oh do they try. We had printed up a "Twin Screen Policy" insert that is included in the informational brochure & menu that is handed out to each car at the boxoffice as they enter the theatre. Copied from our website: "Your ticket purchase provides you with admission to one double-feature presentation on one screen only - please do not ask or attempt to change screens at intermission without purchasing an additional admission ticket for that screen. We are bound by licensing agreements to prevent field to field movement; the same policy as all indoor theatres with multiple screens. This policy is in effect to protect our "Double-Feature Discount" pricing structure. This works by allowing us to book features as a unit for a set price, benefiting YOU the customer - a service we are proud to provide and strive to protect, to give you the most for your dollar. We feel however, that it is worth the sacrifice to run affordable double features. You are welcomed to purchase an additional ticket the same night for a second feature if you wish. Any guests who switch screens or attempt to view a movie without possession of the proper tickets will forfeit their right to remain on the premises."  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 04-28-2006 11:13 AM                        Gotta feed those tiny trees between the lots some fertilizer!  |  IP: Logged Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 04-28-2006 11:36 AM                        Part of those trees are getting ready to be relocated. We just bought a 20 foot Pace American "Midway" concessions trailer to use as the new "Stardust Express" satelite concessions sales. We're going to relocate about 3 of those small trees, pour a 30 foot square concrete pad in the grassy where the trees are to park the trailer, and run a 50 amp electrical service out to the pad for the trailer. On the post above about the "Twin Screen Policy", we got the wording for that from the new "Galaxy Drive-In in Ennis, Texas. I've yet to visit the place, but it sure looks like they've got their act together out there.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-28-2006 11:47 AM                        Barry--what is your booking policy? First-run? Second-run? A mix of the two? And do you charge by the person or by the carload?  |  IP: Logged Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 04-28-2006 01:21 PM                        Scott, we are first run... opening RV tonight, paired up with Benchwarmers, and holding Scary Movie 4 paired up with our second week of Silent Hill. We try to open a new movie each week. We charge "per person". $6.00 each for ages 12 & over, $3.00 each for ages 6-11, and 5 & under is free. You'd be surprised how many 11 year olds there are!! Another drive-in about a hour from us does carload pricing, and he's found that some of the studios won't give him product on the break because of it. So far this year we've broke... (one each week) Shaggy Dog The Hills Have Eyes Ice Age 2 Benchwarmers Scary Movie 4 Silent Hill R.V.  |  IP: Logged Caleb Johnstone-Cowan Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 593 From: London, UK Registered: Mar 2006 posted 04-28-2006 07:47 PM                     Are there speakers by the car then, otherwise how do you operate a twin drive-thru can't you hear both films?  |  IP: Logged

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