Strategic Plan
Pride’s overarching strategic priorities: capital raise, venue stabilisation, and multi-location expansion.
Primary Priority: Capital Raise
Immediate need: Bring capital into the business via share sale to stabilise and transform the current venue and fund expansion to underperforming neighbourhoods (Fitzroy and Frankston).
Rationale for multi-venue expansion:
- Mitigates single-venue dependency in struggling economic context
- Shares company overheads across three venues, improving unit economics
- Increases supplier bargaining power
- Tests brand and model in different market contexts
Secondary Priority: Licence Recalibration (Enabled by Kitchen)
Current constraint: Nightclub licence imposes severe security costs even at low-customer-count events ($616 minimum security for karaoke with one customer).
Strategy: Reclassify to Restaurant & Cafe Licence (preferred) or On-Premises Live Music Venue Licence (alternative) once kitchen is operational.
Timeline: 8–12 weeks from application; kitchen registration with Maribyrnong Council is prerequisite.
Financial impact: $30k–60k/year saving (Restaurant & Cafe) or $15k–30k/year (Live Music Venue).
Operational impact: Late opening (3am) once/week regularly (Saturdays). Most other nights: food-primary service with entertainment, no mandatory crowd controllers.
Enabling Initiatives: Kitchen and Licence Reclassification
Sunday morning market: Coffee, tea, hot chocolate for non-drinkers; jaffles and light food; alcoholic brunch options available midday and beyond.
Weekday afternoon opening (4pm): Target affordable after-work casual dining and socialising. Food-focused (jaffles, margaritas — cheap and simple). No entertainment or security required.
Expansion Readiness
Systems Ready for Multi-Site
- Square POS: Easily configurable for different locations
- Xero: Centralised accounting portable across sites
- Google Workspace: Supports distributed operations
- Marketing and programming strategies: Core approach (inclusive, community-focused) transferable
- Staff training and ticketing: Processes replicable
Development Needed Before Scaling
- Systems documentation: Currently ad hoc; need centralised, documented workflows
- Brand guidelines: Not yet written down; critical for consistency across venues
- Reporting: Need development to support multi-site visibility
Proposed Organisational Structure
Centralised:
- CEO
- Head of Programming & Promotion
- Bookkeeper
Venue-level:
- Venue Manager (one per location)
Location-Specific Considerations
Footscray’s brand fit: The venue’s randomness and grittiness are core to its identity in that neighbourhood. May not be appropriate or effective in Fitzroy or Frankston.
Expansion principles:
- Each location requires genuine local involvement and local people
- Cannot be carbon copy of Footscray
- Fitzroy question: 10+ other queer venues already operate there. Would Fitzroy customers care?
- Frankston question: Would Frankston be as welcoming to the brand and model?
These require research and community consultation before committing.
External Context
Economic headwinds: Broader economy weak; neighbourhood low socioeconomic and struggling. Since COVID, people socialising and drinking less overall.
Cost control: Easy cost-cutting measures already taken (lowest-price spirits). Current focus is structural transformation, not further cost reduction.
Related Pages
- Revenue Diversification — revenue streams and growth opportunities
- Kitchen Expansion — kitchen opening timeline and operational details
- Multi-Venue Expansion — expansion location analysis and community fit
- Capital Raise Strategy — fundraising approach and shareholder communication