The Hookah LoungeBusiness Project Report, 2015

Prepared by:

Amro Al-Alusi

Owais Khan

Omar Siddiqui

ContentsIntroduction3Background information3Hookah Equipment3Hookah Setup3Hookah Flavors (Shisha)4ALFAKHER4Fumari4Starbuzz5Hookah Accessories5Hookah Charcoal5Wholesale5Commercial space6Premises6Parking6Furniture6Electronics7Music7Sound System7Streaming Service8Transactions8Accounting System8Payment System9Works Cited10

Introduction

The purpose of this report is to explore the various logistical, cultural and financial aspects of opening a business establishment where the patrons can smoke hookah. These establishments, commonly known as hookah lounges, require various ingredients and this report explores the viability of said business.

Background information

A Hookah, derived from the Arabic term “huqqa,” is an apparatus that is intended for smoking flavored tobacco. Although the true source of the hookah is disputed, historians claims that the idea was founded in India during the Mughal Empire. During the time smoking tobacco was gaining popularity and as a result a “purification” technique was developed to lessen the harmful effects of tobacco. Soon, the act of smoking hookah evolved from a mere pastime and became a symbol of status and prestige among the aristocracy. Over time the idea spread to various corners of the globe. The basic appeal is the inhalation of smoke of various flavors. The tobacco is placed on top with the flavor in the bowl. The smoke passes through a water-filled base to a pipe where it is inhaled.

The Sheeshah

A Hookah works as follows. The vase is filled with water after which hot coals are placed on foil. The tobacco in the bowl heats up and speeds up the transfer. When the hose is sucked on, the smoke is exerted from the pipe.

Hookah EquipmentHookah Setup

1) Fill the glass vase with water so that the metal stem is submerged about an inch into the water.

2) Wet the rubber grommet so that the stem will slide into the vase easily. With the rubber grommet between the stem and the vase, place the stem of the hookah into the glass vase so that it fits snugly and is airtight.

3) Place the metal charcoal tray on top of the hookah stem.

4) Secure the hookah bowl on top of the metal stem with the large rubber stopper.

5) Blow through all of the hoses before each smoking session to clear out any smoke residue.

6) Place the hose or hoses into the stem. Be sure the connection is airtight, use the small rubber stoppers if necessary.

7) Test that the setup is airtight by placing your hand on top of the hookah bowl then sucking in through the hose. The setup is airtight when you feel a slight pull on your hand and you see and hear bubbles inside the glass vase.

8) Loosely sprinkle some shisha into the hookah bowl. Be sure not to pack the bowl too tightly, so that the airflow is not restricted.

9) Cover the hookah bowl with a small piece of aluminum foil and perforate with a pin or similar object. Metal charcoal screens are a quick alternative. Never place hot charcoals directly on shisha.

10) For self-lighting charcoals: Outdoors, hold a charcoal disc with metal tongs and hold over a lighter. The charcoal will spark and smoke for several minutes as it heats. When the charcoal stops sparking, blow on it gently to make it red hot and then carefully place it on top of the covered hookah bowl to one side.

11) For natural charcoals: Use a heating element to get the coal red hot.

12) Gently press down on the charcoal, while sucking in through the hose. It will take several minutes for the smoke to build up inside the chamber of the glass vase.

Hookah Flavors (Shisha) ALFAKHER

Hookah comes in too many flavors to count. Founded in the United Arab Emirates, “Al Fakher” has been passionate about shisha since 1999.

-Double Apple

-Grape mint

-Lemon Mint

-Water Melon

- Orange Mint

-Gum Mint

Fumari

Founded in the United States in California, Fumari has been passionate about shisha since 1997.

-Watermelon mint

-White Gummy Bear

- Red Gummy Bear

- Limon mint

- Spice chi

- Grape Fruit

- Cherry

- White Peach

- Double Apple

Starbuzz

Founded in Jordan, the tobacco made in Jordan and packages in USA.

· Mint

· Blue Mist

· Blueberry

· Double Apple

· Grape

· Peach

· Peach ice tea

· Strawberry

· Cherry

· Orange

· Gum mint

· Limon mint

We will take a closer look at hookah and what goes into it along with where we can buy these peripherals. It is important to understand what all is needed to maintain quality in the hookahs and reputation of your lounge.

Hookah Accessories

· Hookah Bowls

· Hookah Hoses

· Hookah Ice Hose

· Hookah Charcoal Holders

· Hookah Wind Covers

Hookah Charcoal

1- Coco Nara Coals

2- Three Kings Hookah Charcoal 

3- Al Fakher Coconut Coals

4- Al Fakher Quick Lighting Coals

5- Chronic Hookah Coconut Coals

Wholesale

· Hookah Times

320 E 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) 617-0890

· Hookah Empire

Hollywood, CA 90028

(818) 217-0724

Commercial space Premises

A hookah space requires at least 2000 SQFT of commercial licensed space. A small patio area of roughly 15ft x 15ft with tiled floor is required to meet the preparation needs of the hookah. Using interior flooring such as carpet or wooden floors can permanently stain the flooring causing business to incur damage costs. Definite needs of the business are wireless connection service for customers to use their cellular phones and we should also have WIFI connectivity for the pleasure of our customers.

ParkingAnother need of the business is a large enough parking lot to meet the number of customers. Hookah businesses often use street parking, but the risk with street parking is hour restrictions for parking and convenience of parking. A customer spends an hour and a half on average in a lounge. I think as a safety concern for our customers, having the parking lot allows customers to have the assurance that their car will be safer than it would on the streets. There should be roughly 25 parking spots also leaving some room for a dumpster. I presume the location of the parking lot will be behind the building.

FurnitureFurniture needed for the business include:

· Couches: for our customers to relax and smoke hookah on. These couches can either be purchased from Craigslist (second-hand) or from Ikea off their clearance section. Each area occupied by a group should have L-shaped couches, preferably leather since leather couches are not only comfortable, but easy to clean and look good. Obviously the condition of the couches is important. They must be in very good to excellent condition. The couches should not seem to appear second-hand as this reflects the reputation of our business.

· Leather v. suede

· Leather

· Easier to clean

· Conceals stains/damage

· Hookah lounge temperatures are normally warmer and a leather couch is usually pretty cold so the temperature will be balanced

· Suede

· Feels comfortable, but most couches are pretty firm to sit on.

· Tough to clean stains the color of the couches is dependent on the theme, but they should most likely be darker color couches to hide stains or damage that is more visible on lighter couches.

· center tables:

· sturdy enough for the sheeshah

· large enough to have drinks on them.

· somewhere to put their phones, keys, drinks etc.,

· size of the table must be about 4ft x 2.5ft at the least.

· Made of glass to look appealing to our customers

· glass is also very easy to clean with some Windex or Clorox Wet Wipes

· Televisions:

· TV’s with cable service (Dish or DirectTV ) to entertain our guests.

· Not all guests will be coming with a number of friends, so the ones that come alone to smoke will need some sort of entertainment.

· Reception size table

· to have a space to put together the flavors as well as ringing up customers.

· The clear glass table should have enough room to display our flavors, various pipes, and hookahs that we have to offer.

· Shelving units: We need shelves to display the hookah as well as other merchandise that we will also offer for sale. By having a for sale area we will not only profit from the usage of our equipment but also from the sale of our equipment. There are some wholesale locations that would provide the equipment we need to sell

Electronics

Other than the actual hookahs the establishment will require various other equipment for the customers.

Music

A hookah lounge requires a certain ambiance in order to make its customers feel relaxed and truly enjoy their experience. A major part of maintaining that ambiance is music.

Sound System

The lounge will require a sound system that is suitable for size of the premises as well as the mood. But, the system should not be very visible as it would not be visually appealing. Therefore, the system that would be ideal are the Bose Virtually Invisible® 791 in-ceiling speakers. These offer superior sound quality over a vast acoustical range. This system retails for $599.95 however, due to the size of the premises, the lounge would require at least 2 systems. Gauge wire is also require in addition to the speakers for the system to work. This is used to connect all the speakers together.

Streaming Service

Apart from the required physical equipment the lounge would require a source from which to play music; a form of streaming service. There are two reasons why an online streaming service is the best option. Firstly, sound quality will be far more superior versus other mediums such as the radio. And, a streaming service allows the establishment to curate its own collection of music that best fits the business’ requirements. This plays a major role as music heavily influences customers’ moods. According to a report published by Heartbeats International the correct music at the correct time greatly determines the flow of customers in and out of the premises. Figure 1 shows the scale of this unique relationship. As a result, Spotify Business would be the best fit for the business. It provides a friendly user interface, easy playlist customization, and can be installed on a range of different devices. The cost of the service is 349 SEK which converts to roughly $42.31 per month. That monthly fee includes any licensing fees required as well.

Figure 1 Customer Flow, Heartbeats International

TransactionsAccounting System

It is important to keep track of all costs and revenues of a business. An efficient record of a firm’s finances provides a clear picture of its financial health and opportunities for further growth. That is why it is important to implement a robust accounting system that is effective and user-friendly. QuickBooks by intuit is a very powerful reporting software that is ideal for small businesses. It provides a snapshot of a firm’s finances without the need to perform any major spreadsheet calculations. The cost of the software is $21.56 per month.

Payment System

Every business requires an efficient system of charging its customers and completing transactions in a secure manner. At the same time it must be user-friendly as well as cost effective for the business to use such a system. That is why it is important to implement the correct system as it directly influences a firm’s finances and revenue-reporting ability. QuickBooks GoPayment by intuit is the ideal system for card payments for two reasons. It does not require an extensive set of hardware; all that is required is a card reader and any iPhone, iPad or Android device. And, it syncs with QuickBooks software to make accounting seamless. The cost is $19.95 per month with a transaction fee of 25 cents.

Conclusion

Hookahs are an evolving part of our culture. It came from the Middle East but has now leaked into countries like America. This culture can be seen in Davis, CA with the right permissions form the City. We as a business would like to begin this trend here in Davis as we see it as another activity the Davis student community can partake in. While it may have some health risks, the risks aren’t as troubling as illegal drugs that some people partake in.

Works Cited

"Virtually Invisible® 791 In-ceiling Speakers." Bose. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2015.

Www.hookahlounge.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2015. .

Betydelse, En Undersökning Om Musikens, and För Verksamheter I Offentlig Mi. "Myten_om_musik_besannad." MYTEN OM MUSIK BESANNAD (n.d.): n. pag. Http://www.soundslikebranding.com. Web. 10 May 2015.

"Business." Soundtrack Your Brand Business Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2015. .

"Easy Mobile Credit Card Processing - Intuit GoPayment." Easy Mobile Credit Card Processing - Intuit GoPayment. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2015. .