# Haunt Start Up Advice



## gawgreg2448 (Nov 12, 2014)

Hi,I am currently looking into starting up my own haunt,and I've been doing research into the business end for a couple years now. I helped out with one 2 years and I am hooked on it now,lol. I wanna make sure I have a decent knowledge of what I want to undertake so every chance I get I dig into the subject more. Considering my only financial option outside of what little spare money I may have,I am gonna have to turn to crowdfunding. My question is,what is the best way to go about this? Should I consider creating a facebook page prior to a campaign to kinda get my business venture out there to gain support in my area before any campaign starts? Should I come up with a studio name to go by? And regardless of how much crowdfunding may or may not bring in,I am just looking to start and get my foot in the door,and build upon it year after year. I believe I have a shot at getting established here because the closest pros are atleast 60-70 miles away from my location and I have been listening to those in the area who are tired of not having any real attractions to visit in our area. Any advice is helpful,and I appreciate the insight from those who have been there. Thanks in advance


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## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

Speaking from experience, crowd-funding won't get you anywhere near the fan base you will need in order to start a pro haunt. I'm still a home haunter at this point, and I work during the off season helping a newer pro haunt near me. They started with an established fan base due to people in their community spreading the word and helping them to set up/build. 

Anyway, back to the crowd funding aspect. If you have the fan base, you can get them to help spread the word, thereby bringing in more money. A facebook page doesn't hurt, but it won't get you anywhere near the numbers you'd need. You could probably get a better revenue stream by puting "spare" money into a savings account for a few years. Or, you could do like many pro haunters did and start out as a home haunter, build your fan base that way, and grow from there. For the first 5 or so years, you won't really see a profit, but if you roll all money back into the haunt and grow it, you'll have the setup you need to start making at least decent money at it.

Another option is to find a church or charity that is willing to sponsor a haunt for a cut of the profits. Most want to see proof that you have built and successfully operated a haunt before, though. 

Unless you have a product that you make or build, a studio name doesn't do you much good. If you make masks or props, a studio name would help you in selling those, possibly.

I know it sounds like I'm saying you can't. I'm not, though. I'm just attempting to tell you that crowd-funding without a dedicated, established fan base is going to be very difficult, because people don't like giving money to someone or something that they don't know. We tried crowd-funding last year, and made exactly $3. With a fairly large fan base and backing from community leaders. Granted, we did have some people who dropped off building materials, but the crowd funding didn't work that well.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Bio has given you good advice. Working at a professional haunt is helpful experience, but if you haven't put together and run your own haunt as a home haunter, you probably aren't going to be ready to run a professional one. Even more so, if you aren't familiar with all aspects of running a business, which is what a professional haunt is, you're going to be in for a shock and not in a good scary kind of way

There are a number of threads here that discuss running a pro haut that would be worth reviewing as far as the types of issues that may present themselves in setting up a business. Aside from that, try doing as Bio has suggested - start small, build a reputation and fan base, and the day may come when folks start asking "When are you going to go pro?". At that point, you should be in a much better starting place for launching a business.


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## gawgreg2448 (Nov 12, 2014)

Thank you for the insight. I helped a small haunt in an old barn in the past for a couple years back several years ago,nothing big but it got me hooked. I'm trying to stay away from the notion of going in and building a haunt like Erebus in the first year. I realize the owners have had a lot of time invested to get to that point. I'm just looking to get started,and I have come up with 3 plans. A building haunt,which is the harder of the 3 as you all know. The second is a trailer haunt,which was my main focus for the longest time,considering I have a Class A CDL. And the third is a cornmaze with a tent,which I may havfarmer who may be interested in helping with land,but not for sure at this point. I was wondering if the campaign could basically have the minimum amount to start up the maze/tent as well as the maximum to start the trailers or building,and as long as I hit minimum,I'm good to go on smallest plan? I am very cautious when evaluating any project I may attempt,so rest assured I am listening to your thoughts. The area I live in is very close knit so I was hoping that would help with a campaign.


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## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

If you have the budget to build something like Erebus in the first year, you should be set. Honestly, the best way to start out would be with a trail.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I think you need to start with the resources you already have in hand and build from there. That's how most people start.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

Assuming all the legal and permitting is good to go, the best thing to do, from a money perspective, is set up a cost coding system so you an track expenditures. If labor is free, you'd be tracking material and equipment.


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