What you need to open a hookah from scratch: equipment and necessary documents

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Initially, hookahs appeared in Turkey several centuries ago, but today they are very popular all over the world. There is even a whole culture of their smoking. Many restaurants, bars and other places of entertainment provide an opportunity to smoke a hookah with friends and have fun. From the side of consumers, there is also a high demand for it, so many entrepreneurs are thinking about acquiring their own smoking establishment.

However, this type of activity is quite specific and has many nuances that stop many newcomers to the business world. As a result of this, they lose a good opportunity to make decent money, since there is nothing difficult about it. Let's look at what you need to know when opening a hookah bar so that the investment fully pays off and creates a stable source of income.

Business Benefits

Let's take a closer look at this. Any niche has certain pros and cons that should be considered when planning and implementing a project. Therefore, before we talk about what it takes to open a hookah, let's first understand the benefits of a business.

Among the main ones are the following:

• good scope for scaling;
• relatively small initial investment;
• stable demand, independent of seasonality;
• availability.

Hookahs are very popular among representatives of various walks of life, which makes them very promising for investing money. Therefore, it is not surprising that many beginners and experienced businessmen choose this direction for their activities.

Business Disadvantages

Despite the large number of pluses, unfortunately, there were also some minuses. The main ones are:

• hard activity restrictions;
• high level of competition;
• necessity for expensive room decoration;
• limited clientele.

The last drawback is one of the most significant. Not all people want to harm their he alth, so they do not use tobacco products, which include hookah. And yet there are enough smokers, so, despite the narrow focus of the business, you can consistently earn and receive a high income.

Business prospects

So, what do you need to open a hookah bar? First of all, it is necessary to conduct a marketing research of the market, which will allow assessing the level of competition and the feasibility of investing funds for the project. However, this is not enough for a successful business. If you want it to bring a constant and stable income, you need to carefully consider the marketing campaign. To attract visitors, you can use the following tools:

• interesting promotions;
• draw prizes;
• discount system;
• discounts on taxis and food delivery;
• free internet access.

In addition to all of the above, you can hang a large TV in the establishment and broadcast movies or interesting programs on it. It would also be a good idea to create a recreation area where guests can play a game console or sing karaoke.

Legislative aspects

The government is making great efforts to combat smoking, with the aim of passing various bills and introducing restrictions. To date, smoking is prohibited in public places, including catering establishments, so many entrepreneurs have a question about whether a license is needed to open a hookah bar. The answer is clear: it is necessary. If you work illegally, then sooner or later law enforcement agencies will come to you, which is fraught with paying an impressive fine or even closing the establishment. You should be especially careful if you want to open a hookah bar, for example, ina restaurant where not only smokers come, but also ardent opponents of this hobby.

If you have firmly decided to provide such a service in your cafe, then you need to decide in advance on the format of doing business. Two options are available today:

1. Establish a special room with a separate entrance. However, in this case, you can only sell tea and coffee along the way. The sale of food and alcoholic beverages is prohibited by law.
2. Provision of service directly in the premises of the restaurant. What is needed to open a hookah bar in this case? Nothing special, except that they will have to be filled with special herbal mixtures that do not contain substances harmful to he alth. But this format does not suit everyone, so the first option is more preferable.

But when choosing a format for doing business, one should also take into account not only the preferences of consumers, but also many other nuances. If you do not take them into account, then you will not be able to earn good money. What you need to open a hookah from scratch, so that it consistently brings high income, will be described in detail below.

First steps

Any business, regardless of the type of activity, begins with registration with the tax office. Unlike other types of activities, opening an individual entrepreneur will not be the best option, since you will have to purchase equipment, consumables and raw materials, and it is better to do this by bank transfer. Therefore, immediately register an LLC in order to avoid many in the future.problems. You should also immediately think about obtaining a license to sell alcohol, and it is issued only to legal entities, which should also be taken into account at the project planning stage.

What do you need to open a hookah bar from scratch? Also, you must immediately decide on the taxation system. To do this, you need to choose the appropriate OKVED. If you want to open a smoking room in the restaurant itself, then you need to specify the code 56.10.11 and 93.29. If it is located in a separate room, then you can limit yourself to the last one.

Legal formalities

What do you need to open a hookah bar? Documents are the next important stage, which should be given special attention. The thing is that such establishments are classified as public, so you will be checked by many different authorities.

In order not to have any problems with them, prepare the following documents in advance:

• certificate of registration of an individual entrepreneur or LLC;
• receipt of payment of the state fee;
• document from the fire and sanitary and epidemiological service, certifying the compliance of the premises with all requirements;
• license to sell tobacco products and alcohol, if necessary;
• contract for the lease of premises;
• conclusion for the removal and disposal of garbage;
• contract for disinfection of the institution from insects and rodents.

Now you know what documents are needed to open a hookah bar. But you must understand that collecting all the certificates will take a lot of time, so you should start doing it.in advance.

Requirements for the premises

This aspect should be given special attention. This is the most difficult stage in opening a hookah bar, since it is very problematic to find a building that perfectly meets all the requirements. And we are talking not only about the area, the availability of a good access for vehicles, as well as a powerful ventilation system, but also about compliance with all legislative norms and requirements. At the first stages of work, you will not have too much influx of visitors, so a room of about 80-100 square meters is enough for you. It is best that the institution is located in the city center or in a place with high traffic of people. This will significantly reduce advertising costs.

For a comfortable stay, guests will need at least 4-5 zones separated from each other. Each of them should be about 10 squares so that a company of several people can fit in the room. Also, the building must have a bathroom, utility rooms, a warehouse and a bar if you plan to sell alcohol along the way.

Materials

Let's take a closer look at this. Many people, having completed all the necessary documents and rented a suitable room, are wondering what is needed to open a hookah bar. Equipment is a very important aspect in the functioning of any business, so its purchase should be approached with all seriousness.

For normal operation you will need the following:

• hookahs;
• related tools and accessories;
• smoking blends and tobacco;
• coals;
• various fillers;
• furniture;
• decoration elements.

In addition, it is recommended to purchase tea and coffee so that visitors can not only smoke, but also drink hot drinks. If you sell alcoholic drinks along the way, you will need to buy them, as well as dishes for a presentable presentation. All of the above answers the question of what is needed to open a hookah bar without a kitchen. However, some entrepreneurs open a restaurant together with the smokehouse. In this case, you will need kitchen appliances and furniture for cooking. These are very high costs, so it is better to start with a small establishment, and then gradually expand.

A few words about the interior

So what do you need to know about this? When answering the question about what you need to open a hookah bar, you need to pay a little attention to the design of the room. For a comfortable stay, an appropriate environment should be created in it, so you should not save on the interior. There are many options for its design, so you have complete freedom of action.

But in order for everything to work out as it should, it is recommended to adhere to the following tips:

• Furniture should be soft and promote relaxation as much as possible. It is also advisable to spread pillows on sofas and armchairs.
• In the center of the recreation area should be a wooden table, decorated with beautifulcarved elements.
• To create an oriental atmosphere, the floor in the room can be covered with chic carpets.
• Lighting should not be too bright. Soft dimmed light is ideal.
• There must be musical accompaniment in the institution, so the presence of a speaker system is one of the key requirements.

If you fulfill all of the above requirements, then your hookah business will flourish and all competitors will be left behind.

Search for staff

What kind of specialists will be needed for normal work depends on the format of doing business you choose. As a rule, the staff of most establishments of this type consists of:

• administrator;
• 1-2 hookahs;
• 2-3 waiters;
• bartender;
• cashier;
• cleaning ladies;
• guard.

These employees will be quite enough at the first stages of work to cope with the influx and provide quality service to visitors.

Financial investments

So what do you need to know about this? Many businessmen, especially beginners, are interested in what budget is needed to open a hookah bar. It should be noted right away that this type of activity cannot be called one of the most affordable, since the initial investment is quite high. The main items of expenditure are:

• paperwork and business registration - 100,000 rubles;
• room rental - 40,000 rubles;
• design designinterior - 300,000 rubles;
• purchase of equipment and furniture - 350,000 rubles;
• marketing - RUB 50,000

Thus, to start you will need at least 850 thousand rubles. But you should understand that this amount is approximate. It all depends on the specific region.

Profitability

Despite the impressive investment, the hookah business is very attractive. The demand for such establishments is quite high, therefore, even with fierce competition, reaching the break-even level is from 6 months to one year. As statistics show, one smoking establishment is able to generate monthly income at the level of 200-250 thousand rubles.

Conclusion

Perhaps, for beginners who have absolutely no experience in business, it is better to abandon the idea of \u200b\u200bopening a smoking establishment, since this direction has many pitfalls. However, experienced entrepreneurs who understand all legislative aspects will be able to make good money on this. Therefore, if you already have your own business, but you are looking for where else you can profitably invest your money, look into this niche - a hookah bar is great for this. Try it and see for yourself.