Editor’s note: This article was first published in April 2011, a few months after Spain’s ban on smoking in bars and restaurants took effect. Its claim that smokers’ clubs were operating in several provinces without problems reflects that moment.
The best business ideas tend to be the ones that emerge from unforeseen circumstances and meet a demand. The anti-smoking law (which bans smoking in bars and cafés) creates two kinds of demand: on the one hand, people who want to quit smoking, and on the other, people who want to smoke. Let’s start by meeting the needs of people who want to smoke in a bar or café and can’t.
We’ve all heard that one option is to set up a smokers’ club; in fact, the first smokers’ clubs have already been created. But how do you turn this kind of club into a profitable business when all you can charge is a membership fee and you can’t sell anything inside the club?
Although people talk about a smokers’ club, the truth is that, as I understand it, it could just as well be a poker, mountaineering or aeronautics club. The mere fact of being a private club gives you the freedom to allow smoking and drinking in that private space without the anti-smoking law affecting you (something to check with an adviser who specialises in these matters).
Now, the way to make the club pay is both very simple and complex at the same time. If you own a café or restaurant, you’ll need to create a completely separate space that meets whatever requirements apply. The private club will be a “business” separate from the café, so legally you need to have two companies.
You can’t sell coffee, drinks or food in the club, but people can consume them as long as they are brought in from outside. Where would they come from? From your café or restaurant, which operates as a normal business. That’s where drinks are paid for, and the customer or club member carries them over to the other premises (the smokers’ club).
Clearly, for this to work you need enough space or a separate room. If you have that option, you won’t be short of customers. This business idea is already up and running in several Spanish provinces without any problems, since it’s within the law. With this idea you meet a need, and if you’re the first in your town, I’m sure smokers will come to your place to enjoy what has been taken away from them.
A business for people who want to quit smoking
There are franchises that promise to help you kick the habit more easily; perhaps the best known is the one that specialises in laser sessions (I can’t remember its name).
Retreats for breaking bad habits are also doing very well. These retreats bring together isolated groups of people who want to give up alcohol, drugs or tobacco. When it’s only tobacco, you don’t need much. With drug addiction or alcoholism, however, a specialist therapist and a psychologist will need to be present throughout the stay. Even so, if you think big, this business can be very profitable, because more and more people want to give up their bad habits.
The “difficulty” with this business idea is that you’ll need a house or a place far from civilisation, with a harmonious atmosphere, because your guests are going to need it.
And finally, since coaches are all the rage, both in companies and in sport, they were bound to show up in the process of breaking bad habits too. One of the few requirements for becoming a coach in this field is that you used to smoke and managed to quit. Who better than you to guide someone through what you’ve already been through?
These are the business ideas that can be built around the anti-smoking law, since selling electronic cigarettes isn’t viable when you have to compete with pharmacies and tobacconists.
Further reading
- Business ideas for 2011: a summary
- Business ideas in leisure and tourism
- Business ideas you can start with less than 1,000 euros
- How to attract your first customers to your business
- 5 ways to grow your business
Featured image: Dejan Krsmanovic, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
.jpg){kind=link}