The purpose of your own hangout?

I was getting all fired up to start my own hangout place, then realized that since I can't charge people for food or drink in SL...How does one really make money running a hangout of anykind? Or do only people who can buy like 100 dollars worth of L run clubs and hangouts?

Would Adboards and asking for tips really get me ahead?

Thanks for any input!

I haven't tried any club or hangout ownership but I have heard that mostly they are labours of love that barely break even or actually loose money. Very few of them make a profit.

I am sure some here with direct experience will chime in soon.

Thanks Whimsey! Yeah It may end up being a labor of love, just cause a friend of mine wants someplace to hangout that isnt a club. He also wants to be able to play his music in a nice laid back setting.

I'll keep thinking about it.

Unless you have an angle that's not been done to death already - and one that people actually want - the adage "a penny saved is a penny earned" describes the best possible business plan for a hangout. Don't do it.

If you want to make money in SL, either make something that people want to buy or do something people will want to pay you for, and either make it or do it better or cheaper than the thousands of others already making or doing the same thing.

And if you do come up with a really good new idea may I wish you every success: SL is packed with jaded appetites gagging for something different and exciting.

Generally speaking, you run a club in SL for much the same reasons that you host a party in RL. Not to make money, but to gather people you feel you would like to be around, for a social occasion, even though it costs you money.

In RL, many people might try to start a club or a restaurant, thinking it would be a fun thing to do, and lacking a good business plan. Those places tend to fail pretty quickly. In SL, a similar investment in terms of real money can last a lot longer - long enough, perhaps, to be worth sustaining the loss, for many months of enjoyment of the role of "ngenial host of the venue".

Just as in real life, a club or other social venue that has a well-thought out theme, a decent business plan, good advertising, etc., can profit and even thrive. But the few that hit this magic combination are just as rare in SL as they are in the real world.

What kind of music does he play?

The forum hangout, in Allana, could stand some nice laid back live music now and then. It looks like a casual bar, on a fair-sized plot bordering a lot of Linden water. Folks from this forum sometimes congregate there, and if you call out into group chat in "The Forum Cartel" group during evening hours SLT, you may find a small group of appreciative listeners and dancers. Or you may not. Depends on the day

And yes, in general clubs are labors of love. Unless you have a ready-made group of patrons, getting one to pay off involves an egregious amount of work for a small payoff.

At least in RL I could charge people for eating and drinking-LOL I do pln on building my own building, But I will have to purchase some furniture. I have also become a tad bored and thought a new project might keep me entertained.

Thanks for the answers folks!

It's instrumental guitar, hard to explain. Ill see if he still has a stream up if you want to have a listen.

This is definitely a problem for the SL club owner. You're right, you can't charge for food and drink. Or...can you?

I once ran across a club/restaurant called, I think, "Beautiful Evenings". You had to make reservations. They offered a "fine dining experience". You had a server, and a wine steward, and they brought a multi-course meal to your table and waited on you. Of course, there were eating and drinking animations. There was a bandstand and I gathered that they had live music, or at least a good DJ. There was a dance floor.

The idea was to provide a romantic evening for you and your date. For this, you paid them $L.

I don't know if it was successful or not. It certainly would require a fair-sized staff, but then so do clubs whose "staff" is four to six strippers on poles.