Gonna put together a class going through every decision I made that helped me open a sim. Franchise vs not Location Rent vs own Nice vs fixer upper Sim comparison Built in vs cages 24/7 vs not Security Booking Marketing Operating Every issue I ran into Etc

Are you making money? Yes. No complaints so far. We’re averaging about 12.5 booked hours per day since opening. Still paying off startup costs, but cash flow has been solid and better than expected. What’s your revenue with only one simulator? Rough math: 12.5 hours per day at $30/hour puts us around $11k per month gross. Bills still apply, but the model works. Is it profitable / worth it? So far, yes. Our math said we needed 1.5 people per day to walk in the door to stay open. We’re booking about 12.5 hours per day. Marketing matters a lot, but we’ve got enough runway to stay open for at least a year even if summer slows down. What was your total startup cost? About $50k all-in. Simulator hardware was roughly $28–30k. Build-out, turf, carpet, cage, and misc were another $20–25k. Carpet was one of the biggest surprise expenses. We did a lot of DIY which saved money but cost time. What are your monthly expenses? Software and insurance are a few hundred dollars per month. Rent is around $1,200/month with a negotiated deal. Utilities and misc costs on top of that. How many bays do you have? One bay to start. We wanted to test demand before scaling. Why only one sim instead of two or three? Startup cost and market testing. We’re in a smaller town and weren’t sure demand was there. Turns out we’re booking about 12.5 hours per day. Lead times are around five weeks and spring/summer real golf slows things down, so expanding makes more sense in the fall. How big is your space? 30x60 with a separate bathroom. Plenty of room to add bays later. What kind of building do I need for a golf simulator? Minimum 10-foot ceilings and roughly 20x30 for one bay. Our space could fit three 15x15x10 cages if needed. Is the facility fully self-serve and open 24/7? Yes. It’s completely self-serve and open 24/7. How do you manage door access for after-hours bookings? Each booking automatically sends a unique door code. We also have cameras for quick check-ins and instructions posted inside.

I will be adding all of the questions from my latest video here and answering them. Ask any additional questions!

Trying to combine all the knowledge I can around running and operating a 24/7 golf simulator. If you are curious about opening, currently running, or just looking to learn this is the place for you!