I have read and heard a lot of stories regarding former "successful" haunted houses that were going great for a few years and then something happened and they closed, sold their equipment, and disappeared or joined someone else's haunt.
Yes, most small business ventures fail. But knowing WHY our industry startups failed could be invaluable for the rest of us. Couldn't it? You might be safe now but I've seen other industries where business was going great for 15 years and then small cracks emerged. Little things that had they been addressed earlier wouldn't have been a big deal. Like a crack in a windsheild, over time these small cracks grew into big ones.
Some of the reasons I've seen are:
* There is more to the business than just setting up cool props and scares.
* The main operator just got tired of the effort or bored.
* The haunt management didn't rely enough on hiring help and delegation, leading to being way to involved in the nightly action itself. They litterally wore themselves out acting in the haunt itself so when operational or customer issues came up, they were overloaded. Over time the stress took them out.
What have you heard or been through? And how do you keep them from happening to you?
Yes, most small business ventures fail. But knowing WHY our industry startups failed could be invaluable for the rest of us. Couldn't it? You might be safe now but I've seen other industries where business was going great for 15 years and then small cracks emerged. Little things that had they been addressed earlier wouldn't have been a big deal. Like a crack in a windsheild, over time these small cracks grew into big ones.
Some of the reasons I've seen are:
* There is more to the business than just setting up cool props and scares.
* The main operator just got tired of the effort or bored.
* The haunt management didn't rely enough on hiring help and delegation, leading to being way to involved in the nightly action itself. They litterally wore themselves out acting in the haunt itself so when operational or customer issues came up, they were overloaded. Over time the stress took them out.
What have you heard or been through? And how do you keep them from happening to you?
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