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The insurance policy from Cossio Insurance Agency has never had an age limit since 1997. WHAT??? That’s right, managed correctly you could increase your bottom line and increase the exposure to paintball for young kids and do it safely. We never had an injury at our fields, never had a child lift their mask. They are easier to manage than adults!

You will notice that paintball birthday parties for 10 year olds always seem to have a younger brother or sister that wants to join the party. I had my boys playing at 5 and 7 years old. No problem, you will need some extra guidelines for training purposes and how to run the games.

You will need at least 2 refs on the field, and I would recommend at least 2 parents on the field to help, the more the merrier. Why you ask? You want the parents to interact with their kids and to assist in refereeing to make sure the masks stay down and the kids have a good time. You will want your refs telling the kids where to shoot, when to shoot, when to hide and not to allow the kids to advance past the 40 yd line.

You provide chest protectors, neck protectors, two pod packs and gloves for all participants besides the mask. Kids look like they are on Star Wars which is cool! Why you ask? If the kids feel no pain during play they will want to come back sooner. It also shows that you care about the safety of the game for all players. Why the 2 pod pack? Protection for the groin area and to hold extra paint, I will get to that later. You might want to have beanie hats to purchase if the child has a real small head to assist in fitting the masks.

You tape off the field so that the kids can not go past the 40 yard line with caution tape. Why you ask? This is to provide a visual safety barrier for the kids and adults.

Ok, you do not play capture the flag with kids, you play a time limit, 10 minute games. They do not care, the just want to pull the trigger and shoot. You can have a target, 3 ft x 3 ft on a pole that you move from left side to right side of the field, one for each side and count the number of hits on the target for which team wins that game. Move the target from right side to left side to allow all the kids a chance to shoot the target. Clean the hits off the targets after each game. They still can get shot out by the opposing team so they have to stay behind the bunkers.

Do not allow them to cross the 40 yard line, this provides at least 60-90 feet of distance to allow the paintballs to lose velocity. Have the guns chronographed at 250 fps for the kids party.

Now how do you make money? Well our birthday package was $255 for 10 kids with one case of paint included. Filling up the 10 hoppers used the first case of paint. Then the kids wanted paint for the two pod packs so the parents would purchase another case of paint as all the kids would want to be equal. Now our experience was that our refs would coach the kids on when to move to another bunker, when to shoot, when to stay protected as someone was shooting at them, when to look left or right. The kids would jump from behind the bunker, shoot 5-10 shots, jump behind the bunker again and never hit anything but LOVED the experience. Of course they would ask the refs “Did I hit them?” I do not think that an opposing team was ever hit, sometimes they shot their own players in the back and sometimes the refs or netting got shot! The kids would go crazy on the trigger and empty the hopper, then the two pods and run out of paint EVERY game. So the parents would buy another case of paint! Some parties ended up with 4-5 cases of paint as the kids were having so much fun and screaming with laughter, the parents were able to see their kids having fun so the cost of the extra paint was usually covered by different parents.

Our refs received nice tips because the kids were well taken care of. The refs would clean the kids up if there was paint or splatter, clean the goggles between play, fill up the hoppers so all the kids would be ready to play in 10 minutes. Quick turnaround allowed the kids to play several games in the 1-2 hour time frame of the birthday party. Of course special attention was given to the birthday child with a t shirt and all the staff acknowledging the birthday child.

We designed a pvc netted bunker for the referees and parents to stand inside of to protect them from being hit by stray balls. Go to www.weekendwarriorsportz.com to see that product. They worked out great!

Now every party purchased at least one more case of paint. So you had at least $55 extra in paint purchases, the refs made sure that they were getting liquids, most parents purchased Gatorade or water for their kids, so figure another $10 in drinks. So your party for 10 brought in $255 + $55 + $10= $320. Your cost basis, 2 refs at $10 hr for 4 hours (includes set up and clean up) $80 + 2 cases of paintballs $35 = $70 plus Co2 $5 and a birthday tshirt with your field name on it $10 totals $165. Your net income for one birthday party with 10 kids $320 – $165 = $155 for 1-2 hours. You should be able to do a minimum of 2 per day, that brings in $620 each weekend in profit, times 30 weekends per year is $18,600 per year. Now that gives you 10 kids for your database with each party which totals 1200 players wit birthdays that you can market to……….. what if they purchase some paintball products from you???

Now there are a zillion kids 5-9 that you have not tapped into for your business, do it safely, and you will LOVE the repeat business and the increased income.

Larry Cossio has been the leader in insurance for the paintball industry for over 12 years. He has owned a paintball field and a family fun center that had paintball so he brings first hand knowledge to the table.

http://www.paintballinsurance.com/

Larry Cossio
Cossio Insurance Agency
107 Old Laurens Rd
Simpsonville, SC 29681
864-688-0121
864-688-0138 fax
larry@cossioinsurance.com

With the invention of the internet we have seen nearly all business types move to provide their customers the ability to purchase their products or services online.  With such a proliferation of online transactions most customers have come to know and expect the ability to transact with companies online.  This would seem to imply that if you did not allow customers the opportunity to book their events online that they would consider that a lack of customer service.

Most centers are reluctant to start allowing customers to book their own parties online for fear that they will lose that personal touch.  Having owned and operated an FEC that has been open for more than 10 years I can say that personal touch is critical to our centers success.  We used to have at least 5 personal interactions with a client before they even stepped inside our center.  When we went to move to allow online booking of parties we were concerned about keeping up the level of customer service our center has come to be known by.  We set out to make sure our service, whether through online booking or in person, stayed at the level we wanted.   What actually happened when we launched our online booking was an increase in customer satisfaction.

Many customers want to be able to purchase when and where they want.  Giving them the option to do it 24 hours a day puts the purchasing power into their hands.  Customers also spend more time reviewing event options and add-on’s since they don’t feel like they are being sold by one of your employees.  We have seen an increase in overall customer satisfaction in our booking process by allowing customers more options.  On top of this increased customer satisfaction is the potential for increased revenue.  We have many facilities that have seen 10, 15 and even 20% increases in revenue through the offering of events and add-on’s through online booking.

As your customers get more and more internet savvy they will come to expect more and more capabilities to interactive with your company through the internet.  Now is the perfect time to get started offering your events online.

Here is a quote from one of our customers…

“I have been involved in the Amusement Industry for over 5 years now and have multiple children centers. We purchased the Ideal Software System to handle our Point of Sale and Event Bookings, however, have been extremely disappointed with on-line party booking capabilities. We have found the system not customer friendly and we suspected that was the reason our on-line bookings were not happening. Over a 4 month time period we had only 2 customers that booked parties on-line and multiple calls from customers indicating they were having difficulty. With over 150 visitors to our website a day, we felt the number of bookings on line were way to low. After looking at several different vendors who could provide a front end solution for on line party bookings, we decided on Party Center Software. The reasons were many. We were up within two days and have seen Unbelieva-Bill results so far. We have booked over 30 parties on line in two weeks. Most importantly, the sales are coming in 7×24 and customers are finding it easy to use. As an operator, we are encouraging our bookings to go that way because of the automatic communication features the system is capable of and no need to train employees how to book parties. Also, selling upgrades is easy and we have seen a 20% increase in upgrades already from having them available for customers to chose on line. I look forward to many more bookings and features as we grow our business together.

Thanks again for an Unbelieva-Bill product.”

Bill Dubiel
President, Unbelieva-Bills

Party Center Software is pleased to announce our partnership with Logic Controls

Logic Controls is a manufacturer of Pole Displays, Receipt Printers and many other POS hardware devices that you can use with Party Center Software. As a partner Party Center Software is certified as a partner by Logic Controls to have compatible software with their hardware devices.

A little more about Logic Controls

LOGIC CONTROLS, INC., incorporated in the State of New York in 1982, is a manufacturer of best-of-breed hardware for PC-based point-of-sale (POS) peripherals, kitchen display systems, and industrial computers. Drawing on 20 years of expertise in hardware design and manufacturing, Logic Controls’ products are known in the market for their reliability, advanced functionality and value. Followings are the current Logic Controls OEM resellers, VARs and software partners. … read more at Logic Controls

To view a list of Logic Controls’ partners click here

Looking for the most durable, dependable, and playable laser tag product for your fun center or stand alone facility? Nexus Laser Tag is the best selling laser tag product in the industry since 2006

The features and capabilities offered by the Nexus brand delivers return customers to your facility, and that means increased profits for your business.
Nexus Laser Tag is one of several brands of laser tag equipment offered by Zone Laser Tag, part of the Zone Empire company of brands.  Since 1989, Zone Laser Tag has grown to be the largest laser tag manufacturer in the world.  We have sold over 600+ locations; have 50 full time staff and 24/7 emergency tech support.  We are the only laser tag manufacturer that owns multiple locations that we operate every day … read more about Zone Laser Tag

“Nexus Laser Tag is one of several brands of laser tag equipment offered by
Zone Laser Tag, part of the Zone Empire company of brands.  Since 1989, Zone
Laser Tag has grown to be the largest laser tag manufacturer in the world.
We have sold over 600+ locations; have 50 full time staff and 24/7 emergency
tech support.  We are the only laser tag manufacturer that owns multiple
locations that we operate every day.

NexusFEC laser tag is the industry’s best selling laser tag product since
2006 and continues to be the product of choice in the high-quality, customer
driven fun center.” -  Eric Guthrie VP of Marketing Zone Laser Tag

Playmeter Magazine June 2008

By Scott Drummond

It wasn’t long ago that we landed on the moon, we invented the
personal computer and we created the pet rock. So the pet rock really
has nothing to do with technology but it does represent the ingenious
ways we can market something as simple as an ordinary rock and generate
so much revenue. Now back to technology…

The personal computer has given us the ability to track, collect and
analyze data and when used in business can create a new level of
efficiency unattainable using any other method. Now with the internet
we can do the same thing from anywhere in the world using a laptop or even a cell phone.

What is Web 2.0 / SaaS

I would venture to guess that almost none of my readers have even heard of Web 2.0 or SaaS.
We’ll it’s time to listen up because this will be the way business is
done in a very short time (if not already). Many of you have shopped on
line and almost everyone has used the internet to search for a company
or product. In fact I would bet that you have your own website for your
company (It is 2008 in case you didn’t know). You already have a small
glimpse of the power and flexibility that this new world of internet business.

Web 2.0 is a concept. It revolves around harnessing all the current
functionality of the internet to create the most powerful and
commanding marketing tool that can be specifically applied to YOUR business.

SaaS
is a term that is so new most people don’t have a clue as to its
meaning or origin. Back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s there were
companies called ASP’s (Application Service Providers) and they would
provide an “application” or software that could be used via the
internet. We’ll with such drastic changes in the world of technology the powers that be decided we needed a new name to express exactly what was happening. This new name is SaaS (Software as a Service).
Did you know that you can use Microsoft Word, the world’s leading
document editing software, online. The software looks and acts exactly
like the version that you load on your personal computer except you can
be anywhere in the world and on any computer and can access and edit your documents.

So how does this SaaS help my business?

SaaS is already revolutionizing the world of fun.
Customers are booking parties online, parents are registering their
children for classes online, adults sign up for league sports online.
Now image a world
where your customer can buy your product online, from their cell phone
or anywhere they have internet access. You now can access this data
from anywhere you have internet. Now realize that I am writing this
article with my cell phone plugged into my computer connecting me to
the internet AND I’m talking on it at the same time. Did you get that…
I can be anywhere in the world that I get cellular service and it’s as if I have never left the office.

While attending a recent trade show a potential client called and
wanted to get started using our software. As a general rule when a
customer is ready to buy we don’t make them wait (I know you all will
agree with me there) So I hoped on my laptop, plugged in my cell phone
(while I was still talking with her) and was able to complete the
entire transaction while sitting at my booth on the trade show floor.
She didn’t even realize I wasn’t in the office until I mentioned it.
This is global business with a personal touch.

While online sales are a big part of SaaS
the real benefits are the fact that you now can have all your
management tools at your fingers wherever you are. In effect you don’t
even need to be at your center, if one of your employees needs
assistance they can call you and through the internet and your SaaS application you can do everything as if you were standing right next to them.

Why would I want to use a SaaS service?

While I’d love to tell you that every single business in the world MUST have SaaS, you and I know this would just be a frivolous sales pitch with no substance. There are a few companies out there that may not be ready or understand the true values of SaaS as they move their business into a new era of cell phones, text messaging and internet shopping.

Are Customers really ready for SaaS?

I feel like I’m beating a dead horse with this comment but what about those gas prices? Recently on a sales trip to Orange Country California I saw prices well over $5 a gallon. I turned and said to my VP of Sales,
“How can the customers afford to do anything with these prices?” After
a few minutes of dialog he made a comment that made perfect sense.
“Internet shopping will sky rocket as the preferred method of shopping
because it cost more to drive to the store than it does to actually buy
that pair of jeans.” That was a simple but all too scary revelation. It
got me thinking on how we can get the consumer to seek out, research
and ultimately commit to buy our products and services at our fun centers.

SaaS is the answer. By using a comprehensive and powerful internet based sales
tool we can inform and persuade our customers to commit to our products
without having them physically enter our building. At my fun
center we have seen a number of people book their event online having
never been to our location. Granted most of them have had friends or
family that have been so good customer referrals are important.

Online Sales verses SaaS

Most everyone I know has bought something online, whether is be air
travel, car rental or hotel reservation. While one of the most vital
parts of a good SaaS service is the online sales tool, SaaS is so much more. It can been a full management, Point-Of-Sale, Customer Relationship Management, E-mail Marketing,
Class Scheduling, Event Planning, Employee Management, Vendor
Management… I guess I could keep going on and on but I think you get my
point… SaaS is whatever you want or need it to be. All you need to do is find the right SaaS company and product that will bring you into this new business era.

PET ROCK…

So how will the use of a SaaS service help you with marketing and revenue generation? Well if you pick the right SaaS it will do everything from, management, marketing to revenue generation. PartyCenterSoftware.com
has many facets to it that help you. Just like the pet rock was a
simple idea, we can take many simple ideas and even simple products or
services from your business process and propel them through great marketing to be one of your premier revenue streams. The SaaS ca then help you completely manage that revenue stream.

The Verdict

Is SaaS
right for your company? That is a questions that only you can answer
but I would say that every company should look into using a SaaS service to help improve their business process. Ultimately SaaS can be whatever you need it to be.

PartyCenterSoftware.com is at it again. Adding more features to improve the way we do business. Below is a list of all the features added over the last month or two. If you would like help implementing or need further instruction please call us and we would be glad to walk you through the process.

Invoice Balance Report

BRAND NEW REPORT JUST OUT LAST WEEK! We launched an Invoice Balance Report that many of you have requested. This report will show you (based on the date range selected); Customer name, invoice number, status, order total, tips paid, payment made and balance due. This report also highlights any NON payments or zero payments in red. You can search by order date or by event date.

Batch Invoice Printing

From the order search page you can now print multiple invoices at once. Just check the box next to the open invoices you wish to print and off you go. This is great for centers with large batches of invoices they need to print out.

Print Notes on invoice

Many of you have been asking for a way to write and attach notes to an invoice. Well we have added that feature to allow you to effectively communicate with your customers via invoice. Now when you are updating the notes on an invoice you will see “Print Notes on Invoice” and a check box. If you check the box those notes will be included on the invoice that is printed and one that is sent to the customer via email. This is a great feature when you need to offer instructions for a group event or party that may have specific needs or instructions……….

Guest Counts Added

Now you can see the guest counts (or Adult/child count) on the Schedule at a glance page or the order search page. Many of you have requested the ability to see how many people are attending a party. Now you can see those details instantly.

Online Booking Process Optimized

We have made some changes to the process and steps in the online booking process. Now after you select your party type we then require you to enter in your guest counts. This helps streamline the process and allows us now to instantly show the party costs when dealing with a Per Person party type.

Improved IP Based Security

We made some updates to the IP based security that locks down your subscription for use outside your facility. If you would like more information on how to implement this security setting just let us know.

Larger Notes fields When Adding Products

We have increased field size for the notes placed on individual items on an order invoice.

Updated Accrual Report

We have updated the Accrual Product Sales report. You can now search for and see all the products you have invoiced in a certain time frame. Be aware that accrual accounting method does not take into consideration anything about payments but only cares about the items and the amount that is added to the invoice.

Tax Exempt Status

When dealing with customers such as non-profit or military you can now specify them as “TAX EXEMPT”. This will make both the party invoicing and pos system bypass the tax column when calculating the invoice total. For POS orders you must assign the customer before the tax exempt status will apply. To make a customer tax exempt you will go inside of the customer profile and check the tax exempt box near the bottom.

Online Booking Module Skinning

Did you know that we can now skin your online booking to look just like your website? We can also use your own domain name so that your online booking will come directly from your actual domain name.

Google Analytics Support for OBM

You can now add your Google Analytics to your online booking. Google Analytics can help you track everything about the online booking process, how they found you, where they stopped in the process, how long they took, what key words were used to find you and what search terms are most common for people who complete a party booking.

Guest Blogger: Mike Ewald, from LaserBlast

Existing FEC’s across the country are learning that adding a LaserBlast attraction is the best way to increase profits without using too much floor space! LaserBlast has options to meet any budget, floor space, or other constraint. Whether it’s the no-installation-required FunBlast, or the fully-loaded HyperBlast, LaserBlast will craft a great laser tag attraction for your center.

With the help of Party Center Software’s easy to use and understand Point of Sale solutions, the LaserBlast difference is even more apparent. Party Center Software is the best product available to completely integrate any FEC attraction into a tool that not only allows you to see your performance, it allows you to manage the performance of your FEC simply and securely. On top of the phenomenal reliability of Party Center Software, the laser tag area of their POS was even designed with input and feedback from real laser tag operators!

Combining the power of Party Center Software and the revenue generating power of a LaserBlast laser tag attraction is your only choice if you are considering POS or laser tag for your project! With typical ROI of less than a year, you won’t regret the decision.

I was talking with a friend of mine whom has a very successful photography business (Travis Hoehne Photography).  Some of the marketing techniques he has in place are great at keeping his business at the top of his clients minds. This led me to think “what can we do as owners of fun centers or rental companies to keep our business at the top of our customers minds…  This is just one of the ideas I came up with.

WARNING: This is a concept… and as with all concepts the goal is to provoke thought and potentially a working idea.  As you read through this think of ways you can make this concept work in your business and what aspects of the concept can me modified to be more successful when dealing with your specific business.

Most businesses have a character or icon that represents their business. My indoor center (www.Bounceopolis.com) uses a character called “Bouncey” and he is a blue ball character with a personality.

If you don’t already have a branded character create for your business… for this instance let us say a teddy bear. Find a company that can manufacture about 500 stuffed teddy bears made that closely resemble your character with your company logo/name and website on them…  Most likely the logo and contact information would be on the t-shirt the bear is wearing.

Now send them to the customers (aka: kids) one or two month prior to their birthday.  We can call it an early birthday bear! Send some candy and a short note with it explaining that you are just hoping that that child will have an extra special birthday and that the bear you are giving them is to be their good luck bear.

Make up a story about the bear…Tell about how the bear was born, where it grew up (in the city park) and talk about how everyone who hugs the bear has good luck.  Make up stories about how the bear brought good luck to other kids.  This only needs to be a few paragraphs long.  You can also create a “birth certificate” with the bear.  (obviously this concept is already out there but you can twist it to make the bear extra special)

You should also include a note to the parents thanking them for their business last year and offering them some deal add something extra…  like a cotton candy rental or even just come goody bags to sweeten the deal.  The parents will obviously open it first and will be so blown away by the gift that you will be the talk of the town for at least the next two weeks.

NOTE: Every person knows about 120 people. If only the mom talks to 50 people she knows and then those people talk to the 50 they know… you will have effectively been the topic of a VERY positive conversation with 2500 people. 1 bear, 1 mom, 2500 potential customers talking about your business and how awesome you are.

This bear along with a note from you will bring back the memories that they had at their last party. How much fun it was to have the products and services your business provides…etc.  They will be thinking of your company and associating it with great memories. Wanting to make more great memories they call you and reserve another party date.

We don’t sell parties or rent equipment… we sell memories and fun. Once you realize that people are willing to pay more to have a great experience and have great memories you will quickly learn that your equipment or party location is NOT what people buy and not what motivates them to reserve a party time.

So… One bear that cost you with shipping maybe $10. One Mom who can’t stop talking about the bear… books an event and doesn’t even call around to check prices. 2500 other moms who are talking about how awesome your company is for sending a teddy bear to their friends child. How many of those 2500 people will book an event. Statistically 208 of those people will have a child with a birthday next month…and then another 208 the next month… If only 1% of them book an event you will book 3 new events per month from one $10 Teddy bear…

I know that this won’t just happen magically with one teddy bear but the concept and idea is to give away a product of value that will cause people to remember your company and talk about it (TOMA… Top Of Mind Awareness)… When someone ask “what business would you use for…?” They should instantly think of your company.

Now here is my question for you…

What do you use to bring back customers year after year?