The 4 main streams of income when starting a paintball field
A successful Paintball Field will have 4 main streams of income:
Entry fee
Paintballs
Air
Rental Gear ( Mask, Tank, Marker)
You want to price them high individually and then offer a discount for a package.
Example:
Entry fee $25
Paintballs $15 for 500 rounds
Air $10 all day
Rental Gear- mask,tank, marker $25
Then offer a Gold Package that includes: Entry fee, 500 rds. of Paintballs, Air ,Rentals for $55
or a Silver Package that includes : 1/2 day Entry fee, 200 rds Paintballs, Air , Rentals for $45
Why? Well for one thing the customer can see in black and white that he is getting a great deal with the package. Keep in mind most of the profits are made from players renting equipment, these are the areas to focus on , private groups like: Birthday Parties, Church Groups, Bachelor Parties, Bachelorette Parties and Corporate Groups are the Big 6 that will give you 85% 95% of your profits. Focus on these areas.
Then next question most people ask that are looking to start a paintball field is, how much should I charge for each stream ( paint, air, rental gear & entry)?
Should my entry be high and paint prices low? or the other way around?
Also you may be wondering about Walk on Players or Tournament players that both have their own gear.
Don’t panic, I will cover these questions quickly and simply:
Regarding what your pricing should be for each stream ( paint, air, rental gear & entry) The simple answer is, it doesn’t matter. As long as they equal a MUCH HIGHER PRICE than your packages.
Plus, you can always change them. That’s what’s so great about the paintball business and starting a paintball field, it’s flexible. Try the prices listed above for a month or two and then change them and see what happens. Each paintball field has it own unique success formula with in the formula. Meaning, that in some parts of the country a high entry fee and low paintball price works really well. For other fields just the opposite is true.
Now the question arises about field paint or bring your own paint. The best solution that I have seen in 16 years and what we use on our Franchise Fields that run 200 to 500 players a day is…. If you rent our gear you have to use our paint. Simple!
Finally let’s touch on Walk on Players and Tournament Players, these are key areas when starting a paintball business or paintball field. Keep in mind 85% to 95% of your profit comes from the rental player! This is your main course, so focus on that, Walk on players are like your gravy. If you get a big group one week , excellent, if not, no big deal. Walk on players will find you and you don’t have to market to them. Just supply them with great reffs and great fields and they will come again and again and bring friends with them.
DO NOT EVER let your WALK ON’S play with your rental parties. Keep them separated at all times. Also as your walk ons grow you want to have two groups, beginners and advanced. This keeps new players from getting shot up by the experienced players with the high end guns.
For Tournament players, this will require a separate blog, so keep reading to find out more about how to start a paintball field successfully.
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