Thread: to do or not to do? that is the question

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Hello all here is my dilemma, I'm a home haunter that was approached by a pro haunt. They have gone through my home haunt and liked it. they have offered to let me set up a haunt in the same building as theirs. they have a 10,000 sq. ft. haunt. They would rent the space to me. i would put up my haunt i would expand on mine to the size of around 3500 sq. ft. i would have to get my own insurance, LLC and actors. basically run it as as a separate haunt from theirs. since it would be a small haunt and price would be small enough that people would want to pay for it after paying 15 to 17 bucks for the main haunt. Do you think this is doable and still make a small profit . They have mentioned 50 cents to a dollar per ticket for the rent. they would include my haunt in their advertising, that would be a bonus i guess. They got just over 8000 patrons this year. i was thinking of 3 to 5 bucks as an admission. what do you think? I was also thinking of a charity haunt to help with the actors i could get volunteers from the charity so that cost would go down. Please what do you all think??

Thanks Joe

It's a gamble with the insurance depending on the cost I would think. You might break even, or there may be an incident and then you would be out of pocket for a deductible?

Then there is the actors. They would be working for free as you are getting paid? What incentive do they have to show as you need them?

Hate to be doom and gloom on it, and it sounds cool as hell that you got the invite. In the least they think they can make a buck from your efforts.

Sounds like you are motivated and want this so it should be successful. I feel a bit hinky ('cause it's an offer out of the blue) so perhaps spend the money to have a business lawyer look over the deal to make sure it's on the up and up.

If it all pans out...congrats on your promotion to the big leagues!

What's it going to cost you to put together a haunt? Walls? Electrical? Meeting building/fire codes? New Props? Costumes for Actors?

If you do a charity haunt, what's their cut?

Volunteers will want to get paid eventually as many haunts have an end of season bonus for the volunteers...

Do you have the time? The patience? Who's going to build the sets?

wow, congrats on the invite to turn pro! great ego boost, for sure!

having said that, i'd question their motives. why are they renting out this space? was it not used this year? ... there are a bunch of questions that need answering before a commitment should be made.

... but i'm skeptical by nature ...

please, let us know your decision.

Congratulations! That a big "pat on the back."

But... what's in it for them? Are you sure they are covered by insurance? What is there is a fire and you lose your stuff? Will they have access to the site and your things when you are not around? Will their actors have access? Who owns the building? Are you being forced to pay more for rent then they are or are they low on funds and are hoping to earn a little money by charging you rent? Are you also paying for utilities?

I know, a Debbie Downer. Just some things to think about. I would hate to hear you got ripped off next year or worse.

Congrats!! Just looked at your pics... awesome...can understand why they asked you if you wanted to rent space. Don't sell yourself short. Just because you only have 1/3 the space doesn't mean you should charge only 1/3 the price.
Sorry, that's all the wise words of wisdom I have this morning. Everybody else said it all. LOL

Have they done this before with other haunters? Are they still around to interview? If not why did they leave? Is this a "pilot" project? What is their business plan? How is their reputation - had you even heard of them? They had 8000 this year, what about last year? Tax records from previous years?

I am suspicious by nature, are they "subletting" because they are losing money? Why arent they expanding theirs?

A fantastic "atta-boy"- and take it as such. But dig deap for information before you jump in!

http://leonardpickel.com/


Seriously. Look long and hard at it. And any other educational material on the subject you can if you're still interested after reading that.

more reading material. :

http://www.hauntedhousestartup.com/h...raycliff-manor