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OPENING
AN
OXYGEN PARTY BAR BUSINESS
If you have been
to Las Vegas in the last 10 years, you have probably noticed the influx of
oxygen bars. An oxygen bar
takes the ambient air and absorbs all of the nitrogen out and feeds you a
flow of 85 percent to 95 percent oxygen.
They also bubble the oxygen through a flavored liquid to provide an
aroma, which is the same as aromatherapy.
Oxygen
bars seem like a natural addition to many businesses, or a kiosk in a
mall. They have been added
to; chiropractic offices, spas, nightclubs, airports, tanning salons,
fitness centers and casinos. If
you have ever been in the Real Estate Business, you would know that
location, location, location, is everything, and that applies to oxygen
bars as well.
The
problem is that the first month, business is good and everyone is excited
about having an oxygen bar. However
as time goes on, the novelty wears off and sales decline and the business
closes the doors in 6 months. The
secret to location with an oxygen bar is not having a lot of traffic, but
having a lot of new traffic, such as a tourist center like Las Vegas, or
an airport. Most oxygen bars
in Las Vegas are successful because of the number of tourists visiting,
both in casinos and at the airport. There
are some successful oxygen bars at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Universal
Studios. This suggests that
Disneyland would be a great location, however Disneyland is a little too
conservative to allow an oxygen bar so far.
Besides
catering to tourists, oxygen bars have been noted for reducing headaches,
hangovers, fatigue, stress, jet-lag, altitude sickness, cramps, and minor
aches and pains. Oxygen is
also noted to flush impurities and toxins out of ones blood, preventing
cancer from gaining a foothold. In
addition oxygen can improve memory, alertness and mental clarity for short
periods of time. Today the
biggest growth area is for sports oxygen to oxygenate ones blood before
competition and eliminating fatigue after competing.
With an oxygen session before competition, the athlete will have a
longer performance period before fatigue sets in and reduces performance.
My
recommendation to opening an oxygen bar is to combine it with a second or
third product line. Most
Oxygen bars by their selves do not generate enough business to live off,
however when you combine it with a different product line, it is an
additional profit center for the existing business.
Second,
be flexible. Don’t sign any
long-term leases and be ready to change directions when you see a better
opportunity. For example we
were doing street fairs and had paid $200 to be a vendor in the Encinitas
Street Fair. We got a call to
do a private party in Palm Springs and I told them I was committed to
Encinitas. They said that was
too bad because this gig paid $1200. I
immediately asked them what time they wanted me to show up.
We forfeited $200 rent for the street fair and earned $1200 in 4
hours of work compared to 24 hours at the street fair and probably only
$600 in revenue.
Nowadays
we make more money at private parties than we do at fairs and festivals,
basically because of the poor economy.
We have concluded with fairs, it is a game of staying in business
until the economy improves, and if we break even at a fair we are happy
but exhausted. We spend a lot
less time at a party or trade show than required by fairs and festivals.
However we still do the street fairs to promote the oxygen bar.
Oxygen
Bars should also sell additional related products, like head massagers,
electric muscle stimulation systems, and canned oxygen to increase the
revenue. There are dozens of
products that can be sold at an oxygen bar.
I frequently joke that the customer is tied to the oxygen bar via
the oxygen line and we have enough time to sell them a time-share in
Antarctica.
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