Are you about starting a mobile bartending business? If YES, here is a complete sample mobile bartending business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE.
Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a mobile bartending business. We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample mobile bartending business marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for mobile bartending businesses. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.
Mobile bartenders carry out the same tasks as traditional bartenders; the only difference is that unlike traditional bartenders, mobile bartenders do not work in a particular venue.
As a mobile bartender, you can provide service at several events throughout the year from small parties to very large events as much as you are able to handle.
However, one of the skills you would require is to be able to mix up great drinks from classic drinks to signature blends. You would need wide knowledge on a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks depending on the preferences of your guests.
Starting this business would require you to get licenses and permits and in some states trainings if you intend serving alcohol, so you would need to make findings from your state departments before starting this business. Even though this might look like a simple business to start up, you would need a business plan.
While writing a business plan might look intimidating, there are several options available for you such as hiring a business plan writer to help you write out a comprehensive business plan or going online to get a sample mobile bartending business plan to aid you in writing your own business plan. Below is a sample business plan for you;
A Sample Mobile Bartending Business Plan Template
1. Industry Overview
This industry which is regarded as the service industry is not an easy one, this is because as a mobile bartender, you always have to be in the thick of the events as you will be one of the most talked to person in the event where you will be serving.
The profession is one that is in a state of evolution where there is always the need to keep improving by learning about tools and ingredients that are trending as well as the skills.
According to employers in this industry, being able to mix drinks is just achieving 50% of the task, the other half is also being able to entertain people. Those who know this are able to easily retain their customers.
The industry is one that has changed over the last five years as craft cocktails are becoming more common than it was years before. The industry has turned towards creativity and invention which has seen many bartenders who didn’t attend Bartending School to start taking training courses.
The industry has become a competitive one and so bartenders are compelled to know all about the existing liquors and thousands of combinations in existence. This means training is important for bartenders as most find it difficult to stay ahead of their customers without the benefit of the training.
Creative blends that have lower calories have also been created to cater to those that are interested in what they consume health wise.
2. Executive Summary
S&L Mobile Bartenders Inc is a popular and standard mobile bartending business that is located in Los Angeles – California here in the United States of America and will offer bartending services to private and corporate clients in the best way we can.
We are in the mobile bartending business to serve our clients both traditional and nontraditional drinks in whichever way they might want it served at their events. This means we will serve alcoholic drinks and non alcoholic drinks, in traditional mixes or creating new blends or our customers.
Our aim of starting this business is not only to generate revenue and make profit, we intend to be able to compete favorably against our competitors – new or already existing here in California. Our vision is to be amongst the top three mobile bartenders for our target market here in Los Angeles and also to offer our various clients a high sense of professionalism infused with fun in our mobile bartending work.
In order to achieve our corporate vision and goals, we intend to invest in getting the right equipment as well as the right professionals who understand the business thoroughly. This will allow us to be able to achieve our corporate vision and goals with as less hitches as possible.
We have a customized van that has a lot of our equipment in place, this means that we will able to cater to our customers even in the most crazy circumstances. This shows just how prepared we are when it comes to starting and running our kind of business.
We also sought licenses and permits from the relevant departments here in California so that we would be able to work without running afoul of the law.
We are a business that understands the value of our customers, which is why we have incorporated excellent customer goals into our corporate philosophies. Our employees are aware of the fact that without our customers, not only will we not be able to generate revenue, we will also fail within one year of starting up and so everyone is conscious in ensuring that our customers are treated right.
Because we intend to build a solid business structure, we sourced for and recruited only the best to come and work for us. Our employees are not only professional and experienced, they understand what it means to be able to work with a start-up company and build it to attain a national prominence.
Also, we incorporate fun into our work ethics, which means we want employees who do not see this as a dreary job but as one that will allow them be in different places and meet different people.
We understand that for employees to remain happy and motivated, they need to be well paid, and so therefore we have put structures in place to ensure that our employees are not only well paid but have great other welfare and incentive packages in place that is better than that of their counterparts in similar startups such as ours.
We also will ensure that our employees receive trainings that will allow them have skills that are with the in-trend in the industry.
Finally, our owners Sally and Larry are well experienced in this business and while Larry has been a professional but traditional bartender with few experiences in mobile bartending, sally has an MBA from Harvard and is an experienced businesswoman.
Both will bring their experiences to bear in the business and help it achieve its intended corporate set goals and objectives.
3. Our Products and Services
S&L Mobile Bartenders have taken mobile bartending to another level and so intends to ensure that we maximize profit from our core service.
However, because we intend to create multiple sources of income, we will offer other services in addition to our core service. Our intention is to ensure that we make as much profit as possible in order to boost our bottom line and sustain our business.
We however intend to make sure that all the services we will offer will be in accordance to our ambition and permissible under the laws of the united states of America. Therefore some of the services we intend to offer are;
- Mobile bartending services where we will serve both alcoholic and non alcoholic traditional and signature blends to the guests of our clients
- Ushering service
- Consultancy Service
- Trainings
4. Our Mission and Vision Statement
- To be amongst the top three mobile bartenders for our target market here in Los Angeles. To offer our various clients a high sense of professionalism infused with fun in our mobile bartending work.
- In order for us to achieve our mission, we will hire competent and capable professionals to carry out their duties with minimal supervision. We also will ensure that we stay abreast of current industry trends so that we would be able to give our customers the best always.
Our Business Structure
Building the right business structure is very important to us as our intention is to start our business with as few hitches as possible. Therefore, we are willing to go the extra mile to ensure that we get hardworking professionals who are committed and know their responsibilities well with little supervision to be able to handle all the tasks that we will assign them.
The management staff for instance that we will hire to be in charge of various departments are those that have had a long experience in the industry and therefore understand how to take our business from the unknown start-up that we are to one of reputable standard that will be a force to be reckoned with here in Las Angeles – California.
Our management staff are also in tune with our corporate goals and objectives and will therefore do all they can to ensure that our decisions and strategies are fully implemented.
Due to the fact however that we do not intend to run our mobile bartending business conventionally like other businesses, we will hire more hands than is the usual to help us attain all our goals and objectives and handle the different responsibilities that the new role will afford them.
Therefore the business structure that we intend to build at S&L Mobile Bartenders Inc is;
- Chief Executive Officer
- Human Resources and Admin Manager
- Accountant/Cashier
- Marketing Team
- Customer Service Executives
- Drink/Bartending Supervisor
- Purchasing & Logistics Manager
- Driver
- Cleaner
5. Job Roles and Responsibilities
Chief Executive Officer
- Creates strategies, policies and vision for the overall direction of the organization and communicates these policies to management staff for effective implementation
- Creates the overall budget for the organization and engages in fixing prices that will ensure the sustainability of the organization
- Reviews strategies and policies and modifies them so as to be able to get only effective strategies and policies for the organization
Human Resources and Admin Manager
- Sources for and recruits only the best hands. Also carries out orientation and induction for new employees on behalf of the organization
- In charge of creating staff welfare and incentive packages and ensures that the organization adheres to this
- Ensures the administrative section of the organization functions smoothly
- Drafts and reviews the contract document that will be used when negotiating with clients
Accountant/Cashier
- Responsible for creating financial statements and budgets as well as financial accounts on behalf of the organization
- In charge of cash inflow and outflow and also administers payroll on behalf of the organization
- Ensures that organization is tax compliant by preparing tax documents and submitting same to the appropriate tax authorities
- Ensures that the organizational budget is implemented and that measures are put in place for the organization to be able to pay back its loan within the stipulated period
Marketing Team
- Conducts market research in order to determine new target markets on behalf of the organization
- Creates effective marketing strategies for the organization
- Meets and negotiates with clients in order to generate more revenue for the organization
Customer Service Executives
- Responsible for attending to customers’ enquiries, orders, and feedbacks on behalf of the organization
- Ensures that customers’ complaints if any are promptly attended to
- Stays abreast of industry trends as well as company policies in order to give accurate information to customers’ enquiries
- Keeps an updated and accurate customer database on behalf of the organization
Drink/Bartending Supervisor
- In charge of trying out new recipes and blends to promote the company’s image
- Supervises the mobile bartenders whenever they are out on fieldwork
- Responsible for ensuring that all equipment are in place and are working in readiness for any field work
Purchasing & Logistics Manager
- In charge of purchasing the necessary equipment to be used by the organization
- Sources for reliable vendors on behalf of the organization and have back-up vendors in place so that at no time will the organization be stranded
- Drafts and reviews contract documents to be used by the organization during negotiations
Driver
- Responsible for ensuring that equipment and employees get to the accurate destination for carrying out their tasks on time
- Ensures that equipment are properly loaded and offloaded from the van
- Obeys traffic rules at all times and ensures that a logbook is maintained of distance travelled and routes taken
Cleaner
- Ensures that the premises remains clean at all times
- Ensures that cleaning supplies are always in stock
- Carries out any duty as determined by the Human Resources and Administrative Manager
6. SWOT Analysis
Due to our desire to run a standard mobile bartending business, we have engaged the services of a reputable business consultant who thoroughly understands the business and industry to look through our business concept and not only examine the prospect of the business but use certain attributes to determine if we are likely to make it in the industry and favorably compete against our competitors here in Los Angeles – California.
In view of this, the business consultant was able to take stock of our strengths weaknesses, opportunities and threats and use that to determine not only how we were likely to survive but also what we were likely to be exposed to here in Los Angeles – California.
The analysis used is one of the in-depth but critical one that will allow us know if the venture will be worthwhile or not. Below therefore is a of the SWOT analysis that was conducted by the business consultant on behalf of S&L Bartenders Inc;
- Strengths
Our strength lies in the fact that we are going to hire enough professionals to be able to serve all our various customers. Our employees are not only competent but experienced as well and know how well to handle an event no matter how small or large the event might be.
Also, we will be serving both alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks in traditional and customized blends order to be able to cater to all the preferences of our customers. We have the experience necessary to handle any events and so regardless of how big the event is, we have the necessary equipment that will allow us handle the event without and slips.
Our owners Sally and Larry are well experienced in this business and while Larry has been a professional but traditional bartender with few experiences in mobile bartending, sally has an MBA from Harvard and is an experienced businesswoman.
Both will bring their experiences to bear in the business and help it achieve its intended corporate set goals and objectives.
- Weaknesses
We are relatively a new business and as such do not have the necessary finance to be able to compete with already established large scale mobile bartending businesses. Also, in the event of a very huge occasion, we might not have the necessary staff that will cover such events. However, we have strategies set aside to be able to handle this weakness and will do all we can to thrive in this business.
- Opportunities
There are always occasions every now and then taking place which means that we have to be proactive as a business to seize the several opportunities that are likely to crop up. We will also conduct market research that will show us new opportunities.
- Threats
Every business faces threats every now and then and our business is no different. We are likely to face the threat of having a new competitor arrive in the location where we intend to run our business from, thereby striving for a share of our target market.
Also, we are likely to face the threats of stringent government policies that will create difficulty for our business to grow. Facing threats is of no big concern to us as we have the right measures in place that will cause us to be proactive in combating any threats that might crop up during the course of running our business.
7. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Market Trends
The mobile bartending business isn’t too different from the traditional bartending business as they perform the same tasks, the only difference being that do not unlike the traditional bartenders operate from just one venue.
Mobile bartenders usually work at weddings, galas, fundraisers, grand opening and other such events. They are often required to serve classic drinks and also signature blends as well. Most mobile bartenders do not attend Bartending School and usually either learn by experience or study on their own.
Depending on the state where one will likely be operating this business from, permits and licenses especially to be able to serve alcohol are needed. Some states usually require a training course in addition to possessing a license.
8. Our Target Market
Mobile bartending has come to be one key feature at events and occasions and so is in high demands by most guests who host parties and events.
However, while it may seem like traditional bartending is restricted to bars; this isn’t entirely true as they are still used in events. In order not to make up assumptions and stick purely on facts, we have decided to conduct market research on our target market.
The market research we intend to conduct is so that we could understand what it is to expect from the market and to draft strategies that would be effective in gaining a large share of the target market. Therefore, we are in business to offer our services to the following groups of people;
- Event planners
- Caterers
- Celebrities
- Government officials
- Corporate executives
Our competitive advantage
S&L Mobile Bartenders Inc is a mobile bartending business that has the intention of creating a standard in this sector of the industry, by being amongst the top three mobile bartenders here in Los Angeles – California within five years of starting the business.
In order for us to be able to achieve the stated objective, we have laid down strategies that will allow us to compete favorably against our competitors in this sector of the industry.
Firstly, we understand that to retain our customer we have to put in our very best efforts and that is why we intend to offer professional services mixed with fun. Our employees will be trained to read the mood of every event and adapt accordingly.
We intend to ensure that our customers receive excellent attention from us whenever we are catering to their event. We will not only ensure that we meet with the expectations of our customers but that we exceed it as well and due to this we will continue to try out and perfect our signature drinks so as to ensure that our customers remain satisfied.
We will ensure that we give our loyal customers a discount when they constantly call us to cater to their events. We will also give those who refer us to others an incentive so that they will not only remain loyal to us but seek to bring in more customers to patronize our business.
Our employees are ones that are not only competent but professionals as well and as such understand the business thoroughly and how best to help us achieve our goals. We intend to ensure that our employees not only work in a conducive environment but are also well paid and have other welfare and incentive packages that are better than that of their counterparts in similar setups such as ours.
Also, we will ensure that we carry out continuous trainings for our employees to enable them enhance their skills and improve productivity for our company.
9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
- Sources of Income
Our aim of establishing S&L Mobile Bartenders Inc is to ensure that we boost our business and maximize profit by offering our services to a wide range of clients. We therefore will generate revenue for S&L Mobile Bartenders Inc by offering the following services to our various customers.
- Mobile bartending services where we will serve both alcoholic and non alcoholic traditional and signature blends to the guests of our clients
- Ushering service
- Consultancy Service
- Trainings
10. Sales Forecast
There will always be occasions and events where party hosts will require mobile bartenders that will serve their guests well by circulating round the room, his means therefore that there will always be a demand for mobile bartenders.
Our location here in Los Angeles – California is very strategic due to the fact that there are a lot of parties always thrown here that require mobile bartenders and this has led us to be optimistic in not only generating enough revenue to sustain our business, but we are sure of making profits as well.
However, we have in order to fairly analyze our chances have come up with the following sales forecast using several data and assumptions that are peculiar to start-ups such as ours here in Los Angeles – California. Below are the sales projections for S&L Mobile Bartending Inc after using accurate data and assumptions;
- First Fiscal Year-: $300,000
- Second Fiscal Year-: $550,000
- Third Fiscal Year-: $900,000
N.B: It should be noted that the above projections were done based on what was obtainable in the industry and on the assumptions that we won’t have any major competitor in our same location during the stated period. Should any of the assumptions change, it will have an impact either negative or positive on our sales projections.
- Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy
Marketing is a very important part of any business because it is the primary avenue by which revenue can be generated for a business. Marketing not only generates revenue but also ensures that awareness about the business is created in order to effectively gain a huge share of the market.
We are therefore going to conduct a market research that will allow us effectively identify our target market so as to allow us know what strategies we would create that would work effectively and allow us gain a huge part of the target market.
We have engaged the services of a marketing consultant that understands our business concept and the industry perfectly to help us draft effective marketing strategies that would allow us stand out and also be able to compete with our competitors.
We have also empowered our marketing team to review and modify our marketing strategies and ensure that they are in line with our corporate sales and marketing goals. Below therefore are the marketing strategies that will be adopted for S&L Mobile Bartending Inc;
- Introduce your mobile bartending business formally to the local event planners, caterers and also other stakeholders in the industry
- Place adverts on local newspapers and magazines as well as on radio and television stations
- Distribute handbills and fliers in several strategic locations in your target area
- Engage in direct marketing to clients
- Throw a grand opening party so as to create awareness and generate interest amongst our target market
- Use social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to market our mobile bartending services
11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy
No matter how established a business is, it is important that they engage in publicity so as to maintain visibility in the eyes of the target market. Having the right publicity as a new business is very important to us because we know that creating awareness not only allows one’s business to be more visible but it also generates revenue that will boost and sustain the business.
In view of this, we intend to engage the services of a brand consultant who would help us draft effective publicity strategies that will increase our visibility and allow us not only communicate our brand positively but also to get a large share of the target and compete favorably against our competitors.
Below are some of the publicity and advertising strategies we intend to use in promoting S7L Mobile Bartenders Inc;
- Ensure that your mobile bartending business is listed in party guides and directories
- Ensure that you partner with small catering businesses and also caterers so as to be able to get clients
- Launch an interactive website and use this to promote your mobile bartending business
- Attend local bridal fairs and event planning conventions so as to be able to network with clients
- Place adverts on local newspapers and specific magazines as well as on radio and television stations
- Use social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to vigorously promote your mobile bartending business
12. Our Pricing Strategy
There are several factors that we would look into when setting the prices for our mobile bartending services. We will create various options for our clients such as whether they will pay per head for standard and premium drinks, or if they will make a deposit.
Another factor likely to determine how we will charge our customers are if the client will provide the alcohol themselves or if that will be our responsibility.
However, no matter the scenario; for the first two months of our business, we intend to offer a discount on several of our services to our various customers, in a bid to attract as much customers as we can to our business. While this might lower our margins, we are fully assured that we will not be running at a loss during the stated period.
- Payment Options
Because we would be attending to a whole lot of clients who have different tastes and preferences, we have decided to ensure that there are different payment options that we will open up to our customers for ease and convenience. The different payment options we would therefore be offering are;
- Payment via cash
- Payment via check
- Payment via Credit Card
- Payment via online payment portal
- Payment via Point of Sale (POS) Machine
It should be noted that we deliberately chose the above payment options so that we will be able to have our clients comfortably patronize our services. The above payment options are intended to run without any form of hitches.
13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)
When starting a business like mobile bartending, getting the right equipment as well as procuring a van is very important and is expected to take a chunk of the start-up capital. Also, part of the generated capital is expected to be spent on the salaries of employees and utility bills for at least a defined period of time. The key areas where we will therefore spend our start-up capital on are;
- Total fee for registering our mobile bartending business in the United States of America – $750
- Obtaining of licenses to serve alcohol, zoning permits, accounting software and other legal expenses – $1,250
- Insurance coverage (general liability, workers’ compensation, equipment insurance) – $2,000
- Costs of hiring business consultants – $5,000
- Operation expenses for the first 6 months (employee salaries and utility bill payment) – $110,000
- Purchase of official work van (fairly used) – $28,000
- Purchase of necessary equipment for use – $5,000
- General marketing expenses as well as promotion expenses for grand opening event – $5,000
- Other administrative start-up expenses (phones, furniture, uniform, computers and printers) – $6,000
- Cost of storage equipment (lockers, bins and shelves) – $5,000
- Cost of start-up inventory (beverages) – $20,000
- Cost of launching an official website – $1,000
- Cost of throwing a grand launching party – $3,000
- Miscellaneous – $8,000
From the above analysis, it is obvious that we would need the sum of $200,000 if we intend to start and run a mobile bartending business that is not only of standard but successful as well here in Los Angeles – California. It should be noted that the above amount has bulk of it going towards paying the salaries of employees and utility bills for at least 6 months. The amount will also be used to procure a standard van as well as equipment for use.
Generating Funding / Startup Capital for S&L Mobile Bartenders Business
S&L Mobile Bartenders Inc is a business that is run by two friends Sally McGuire and Larry Peterson, who have decided to pool their experiences together and run a business that will be up to standard. They have decided not to bring in any external partners and have therefore decided to restrict the source of their capital to three major sources.
The areas where we therefore intend to generate our start-up capital are;
- Generate part of the start-up capital from personal savings
- Source for soft loans from family members
- Apply for loan from commercial bank
N.B: We have been able to generate the sum of $60,000 from our personal savings. We got the sum of $40,000 from various family members. We are in the final stages of obtaining $100,000 from our bank to be repaid in 5 years at the rate of 1.5% per annum.
All the papers and documents have been duly signed and approved by the bank and we are expecting the amount to hit our business account by the end of the week.
14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy
The future of our business lies in how well we use certain factors in order to sustain and expand our business. Such factors for us include the competence of our employees, our publicity strategies as well as the re-investment strategy that we will engage in. These and more factors are what will not allow us to close up shop, thereby failing before we even start.
One major factor for us when starting this business is to ensure that we build a business structure that will allow us operate our business with as few hitches as possible. In this regard, we intend to hire only competent and professional employees that have the experience and expertise needed to be able to take our business from where we are to where we ought to be.
This means that we will hire employees that are attuned to the way we run our business and not only identify with our core values but are also committed to ensuring that we achieve our core goals and objectives. We will ensure that our employees work in an environment that is not only conducive but easily accessible as well.
We will ensure that our employees are well paid and have great welfare and incentive packages better than that of their counterparts in similar start-ups here in California. We will also ensure that our employees are well trained and receive continuous training that will upgrade their skills and enhance their productivity.
Having the right publicity strategies is very important because this means that we will be able to make more people in our target market to be aware of our services. When more people become aware of our services, they are likely to want to patronize our services which will lead to more revenue that will boost our business.
In order to boost our bottom line and increase the sustainability of our business, we intend to ensure that we re-invest a part of earnings back into the business.
This way it would allow us not to go outside to seek for loan in order to grow and expand our business or merely run our operations. We have our experienced accountant who is in charge of ensuring that a certain percentage is injected back into the company
Check List / Milestone
- Business Name Availability Check: Completed
- Business Registration: Completed
- Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
- Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
- Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
- Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
- Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
- Application for business license and permit: Completed
- Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
- Conducting feasibility studies: Completed
- Generating capital from family members: Completed
- Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
- Writing of Business Plan: Completed
- Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
- Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
- Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
- Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
- Recruitment of employees: In Progress
- Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
- Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
- Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
- Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress
- Establishing business relationship with vendors – wholesale suppliers / merchants: In Progress
- Purchase of trucks: Completed