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  Q1: How can we allow patrons under 18/19 to use our products/services through tabacco less hookah smoking? (3 pieces of advice)

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  by mountainmann 

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  11.21.08 | 09:21 PM

  This might depend on local laws and regulations. Any hookah bar I have ever been to has been 18 and up. You could have a separate area for those over 18 and those not. Or certain times of the day, college kids will be out later.

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  by tommyboy556 

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  11.13.08 | 04:15 PM

  I really don't think that the law will budge on something like this. Even if your products were tobacco free I still doubt you could get a license in place that would allow people to use or smoke the product. However, you could enforce a strict carding policy for people that are under 18 who what to come into the bar to eat.
  However, then there is always the conflict of interest if they are with another party or a mix party of people and sit at a table with older patrons to smoke.
  
  However, I really don't see how that could become a problem seeing how your place of business is in a college town. Most of the expected cliental would be 18+ anyway. So I really doubt there is much room for worry.
  
  related article on minor use of hookah
  http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=118549561309981100
  

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  by colbron1 

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  11.10.08 | 05:09 PM

  As far as I understand it, you have to be at least 18 years old to smoke tobacco in all 50 states, there are a few states that you have to be 19 years old. This even goes for tobacco-less products. It is just like non-alcoholic beer, you still have to be 21 years old to buy it. This is because there is still a really small percentage of alcohol in it. Though I don't believe tobacco-less cigarettes or shisha have any tobacco in them, they are still harmful to inhale. Thus making them still only available to those 18 and older.
  http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080706171148AAKG7N3
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette

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• Advise

  What advice do you have to help me grow my idea?
       (7 pieces of advice)

   

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  by yankeenation08 

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  11.24.08 | 08:38 PM

  I think that the idea that college students have changed their perceptions about binge drinking is wrong. People grow up, but there are always new college students to take their place. I think that you should sell beer at your hookah bar, but you should sell high quality, imported beer from the countries where the hookah comes from. Make it like a cultural experience. Now the only reason that you might not want to do this is if it means that you have to have age restrictions on who you let in.
  The reason for having higher quality beer is because it will cost more. You will sell it to the person who wants a beer to have A beer, people wont binge drink on more expensive beer.
  Here is a link to a message board that talks about Indian beer
  http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/354219
  Try to make your place a cultural experience and you will get both college kids who want to hang out and other people who want to experience the culture.

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  by americanmade09 

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  11.13.08 | 08:55 PM

  If you do get this business off the ground, I would use caution in your hiring process. You mentioned having "authentic-looking" servers. Remember, it is against the law to hire or manage employees based on race or nationality.

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  by tommyboy556 

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  11.13.08 | 04:21 PM

  Discarding your question about minors, what are some other ways that you could start to spread the operation of your business, assuming that you have already got this idea in motion. There are some different ways to market your business lcoally.
  This site provides some different general guidelines that could help you while marketing your business. This includeswhere you can grasp the pattern of business unfolding as it should,where you can learn from those you meet,
  where you can be more flexible and finally, where can celebrate your success and move onto a new playing field?
  http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol131/frodo.htm
  
  However in general I would guess alot of your advertising and promotion would come from word of mouth primarily just b/c you are in a college town and word is always getting around. You may want to include different marketing strategies like handout and flyers as well as different promotional campaigns in and around campus. Good luck

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  by rawlsevent 

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  11.11.08 | 04:13 PM

  well a hookah bar would be very expensive, perhaps you might look into selling shares or partnering with other companies or websites to get free advertising and/or funding. one great thing thats unique about a hookah bar near my house is that it has live bands, board games, a hookah shop on the second floor where you can buy hookah supplies, also it is conveniently placed by a bus depot for the clloege kids who cant walk.
  
  so a few things to keep in mind:
  
  a convenient location with complementing stores around it
  
  decide on a market age or group and try your best to cater to them
  
  you are probably saying "I know all this!" but i just wanted to make sure, good luck!

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  by ladd024 

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  11.11.08 | 02:00 AM

  You're going to have to be very mindful of the continually and rapidly changing laws, research, and culture surrounding smoking in restaurants and bars.
  
  Most cities and states have or are in the process of passing smoking bans. Because of this, there are many new rules and regulations regarding smoking of any kind in a business. Do some internet research into this. b|net has a good article about a specific case of a hookah bar in Oklahoma. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4182/is_20060301/ai_n16204862
  
  Additionally, hookah smoking may not be the safe alternative to tobacco smoking as once thought. Again, some internet research into health studies on hookah smoking would be beneficial.
  
  Essentially, it would be a shame to invest in a business based almost entirely around hookah smoking and then have to bend over backwards to comply with laws and regulations, or lose a significant market due to new findings on health risks. Unlike big tobacco, you can't rely on addiction to maintain a staple base ; )

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  by colbron1 

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  11.10.08 | 05:23 PM

  You are right about the college town night life. It can get a little out of hand and annoying when drunk people roam the strip. So anything to help people of that age and demographic to have fun without getting wasted would be great.
  
  One problem is that there are already hookah bars around college towns as you stated earlier, so you would be just another hookah bar. But if there was a way that you could stand out, that would help you a lot.
  Here is a website that has all of the hookah bars listed through out the U.S.
  http://www.hookah-bars.com/
  
  Once you have found a city with a decent college crowd that isn't already overpopulated with hookah bars, then you should go and set up shop in that city. The next thing that you would need to do is figure out where strip of bars is and put your hookah bar right in the middle of it. Location is huge!
  Once you are there, you are bound to have a good amount of customers.
  Here is a sight that has descriptions of most of the night life scenes surrounding college campuses through out the U.S. Thi…mores should help you get a better idea of exactly where you need to be.
  http://collegeprowler.com/colleges/rankings/nightlife/
  
  The only problem is that even though you aren't serving alcohol, you are guaranteed to have drunk customers stumble in from the bars, so I am not sure if that really solves your dilemma.

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  by greenlawn86 

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  11.10.08 | 12:06 AM

  First of all, this is a great idea if it is truly filling a market in your college town. I agree that there must be more casual places for young adults to congregate other than bars and clubs. I think you should ask yourself a few questions.
  
  1.) What are the qualities of successful hookah bars that make them profitable?
  
  2.) Is there already a market for your idea? There may not be a hookah bar specifically, but there may be other mediterranean cuisine near you. In this case, you should probably find a way to differentiate.
  
  3.) What makes you passionate about smoking, especially hookah. Can you see yourself sticking with this venture for the next ten years? These are some questions that you should consider.
  
  Also, I would consider having alcohol at your establishment. Alcohol is sometimes the most profitable aspect of a restaurant, so to ignore it may not be in your best interest. Instead, I would concentrate on creating an environment that is not conducive to drunkenness or obnoxious behavior. I think then you would have a much higher cha…morence of success.

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