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Luke, you bring up good points, and sometimes haunts, just like anything else can luck out. It reminds me of those impressive weight loss commercials where in the fine print reads "results not typical". 
@ the original poster: If it were me in your shoes and this is something you really want to do, I would consider a yard haunt for your first year. Yard haunts are great at getting your feet wet in the management side of the haunt industry. You can still make up a business plan, can avoid lots of the operational costs involved and focus on props and the "fun stuff" like acting and set design. Minimal creative advertising can draw people to your door, and a small fee can recoup some of your costs. If you invest this way in props, lighting, etc. and keep it small, you can take all that with you to a more permanent haunt if you do well, so no loss in $$ that way. It will allow you a peek at your customer base as well. If you draw in huge numbers then you can feel fairly confident that a larger haunt will do well. It will give you a taste at managing a haunt...you might get into that "hat" and realize that it's not for you.
If starting a haunt is what you want to do, then start researching what your area needs for safety, ADA, fire safety, codes, etc. It will take a few months to weed through that if it's anything like where I'm at. There's classes to attend only offered at certain times of the year, etc. I would get that info under your belt and decide then whether or not you feel it's worthwhile. Then decide on where the haunt should be located, choosing somewhere that keeps the demographic we cater to in mind. Talk to other haunts in the area, they might be a valuable resource for you. Attend some tradeshows as well if you haven't already...if not for prop purchasing, at least for the networking alone. There are some great people out there willing to help get you through the starting up process, point you in the right direction, even something as simple as ordering buckies in bulk to save $$. Some of them even offer classes to help you get started or how to save money by making props, etc. And the tours are awesome. I learned so much talking to the owners and seeing just how others operated behind the scenes...it was money well spent to see how problems we were facing with the haunt I was with at the time were solved in another haunt.
@ the original poster: If it were me in your shoes and this is something you really want to do, I would consider a yard haunt for your first year. Yard haunts are great at getting your feet wet in the management side of the haunt industry. You can still make up a business plan, can avoid lots of the operational costs involved and focus on props and the "fun stuff" like acting and set design. Minimal creative advertising can draw people to your door, and a small fee can recoup some of your costs. If you invest this way in props, lighting, etc. and keep it small, you can take all that with you to a more permanent haunt if you do well, so no loss in $$ that way. It will allow you a peek at your customer base as well. If you draw in huge numbers then you can feel fairly confident that a larger haunt will do well. It will give you a taste at managing a haunt...you might get into that "hat" and realize that it's not for you.
If starting a haunt is what you want to do, then start researching what your area needs for safety, ADA, fire safety, codes, etc. It will take a few months to weed through that if it's anything like where I'm at. There's classes to attend only offered at certain times of the year, etc. I would get that info under your belt and decide then whether or not you feel it's worthwhile. Then decide on where the haunt should be located, choosing somewhere that keeps the demographic we cater to in mind. Talk to other haunts in the area, they might be a valuable resource for you. Attend some tradeshows as well if you haven't already...if not for prop purchasing, at least for the networking alone. There are some great people out there willing to help get you through the starting up process, point you in the right direction, even something as simple as ordering buckies in bulk to save $$. Some of them even offer classes to help you get started or how to save money by making props, etc. And the tours are awesome. I learned so much talking to the owners and seeing just how others operated behind the scenes...it was money well spent to see how problems we were facing with the haunt I was with at the time were solved in another haunt.
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