Private-room karaoke venue

Friend groups, birthday and hens or bucks parties, work teams and students.

Room hire per hour or per person, plus food and drink sales. Weekends and evenings are busiest, so quiet weekday slots can be discounted or sold to groups.

• Customer service and hosting
• Managing staff rosters
• Basic AV and tech troubleshooting
• Local marketing and bookings

• Liquor licence requirements and responsible service of alcohol training, which differ by state and territory
• Council planning approval, noise limits, fire safety and maximum occupancy rules for your premises
• Music and video licensing for public performance, check what you need from the licensing bodies and your song library supplier
• Public liability insurance, and workers compensation once you hire staff
• Lease commitments and fit-out costs before you know how busy you will be

As an estimate, startup costs are typically around $80,000 to $300,000, depending on the premises, how many soundproofed rooms you fit out, and the equipment and song library you choose.

Estimated monthly revenue is typically around $12,000 to $50,000, depending on how many rooms you run, how often they are booked and what customers spend on drinks and snacks. Rent and staff costs come out of that.

Check liquor licence requirements and responsible service of alcohol training in your state or territory. Also check council planning approval, noise limits, fire safety and occupancy rules, plus music and video licensing for public performance.