If you have ever dreamed of opening your own trampoline park business, right now might be the best time to make it a reality given its increasing popularity. It is a perfect combination of exercise and entertainment. If you operate in an organized and professional way, your trampoline park can reach the pinnacles of success! Here is what you will need to get started:
Create a Business Plan
Before starting any business, it is essential to have an organized business plan. Begin by brainstorming how you will operate the business, and draft an effective marketing strategy. Consider short term and long term objectives, and take into account all important financial and operational factors to help ensure success for your business. Conducting proper due diligence and research in this stage is key!
Acquire Financing
If you are planning to obtain a bank loan, then you should start as soon as possible. Funding can be a lengthy process, and you must acquire the loan before the construction and installation begins. You will need to have all the required documents in order (hint: consult financial experts to speed up the process). If a bank loan isn’t right for your business plan, seeking out investors or partnerships is another great way to raise capital. Consider all your options wisely; form a sound financial game plan, and stick to it!
Find a Building Contractor
Finding a qualified contractor is an extremely important part of the process and can save you many headaches along the way. Once you have a proper business plan in order (and enough financial backing), begin to look for contractors with a solid track record of building trampoline parks (or other closely related Family Entertainment Centers). A branded trampoline park franchise should be able to provide you a list of vetted and approved contractors to help speed up the selection process and help get the job done correctly. Additionally, franchises can help you collect all the necessary information, help you with financing and location selection, and include training on park operations if needed. Flexibility and adaptability counts a lot in this field, and contractors must be able to adapt according to your needs.
Location
Location is an extremely important factor that will heavily determine the success (or failure) of your business. Your location must be visible to the public and easy for potential customers to find and access. If you are purchasing a pre-existing building, make sure the building is up to local, state and federal code, is spacious enough (and tall enough) for your floor plan needs, and does not break your budget. We would recommend picking a few great places for consideration, and not getting your heart set on any one location (flexibility is important in this stage).
Engineering Renderings
Once you’ve decided on where to build the trampoline park, contractors will utilize the latest technology and engineering techniques to create digital mocks of your facility. Your contractor should be familiar with the equipment manufacturing team, and must have all the necessary expertise and resources to create reliable designs of your trampoline park inventory. Review the contractor’s conceptual renderings and make assessments. Once you are satisfied with the final design, it’s time to construct!
Manufacturing
Manufacturing your park’s equipment inventory is the next major task in starting your business (hint: asking other trampoline park owners about qualified manufacturing vendors is a great way to speed up the vetting process). Steel frames, jumping surfaces, safety pads, foam cubes, climbing walls and many other required pieces of equipment will need to be considered in the process. If you choose an experienced and highly rated vendor, you can rely on them to keep all the necessary safety measures and precautions in mind.
Installation
This is the final step in the construction process before opening! Once your equipment is manufactured, the equipment will need to be shipped to the primary location you have selected to open your business. The contractor’s installation crew will assemble all the trampolining equipment and ensure everything meets safety regulation. It’s always a good idea to test the equipment yourself before allowing customers to jump.
Signoff and Staffing
After installation is complete, you will need to get the proper paperwork signed off by local and state inspectors, and hire enough staff to safely manage and operate your park. Make sure your staff is well trained in order to avoid potential injuries. Your job from here on out will be to market your park appropriately, keep your customers happy, and ensure your park is up-to-date with all required safety measures. Have fun watching your customers enjoy the bouncing arena to the fullest of their ability!
