Strategy - Strategic Plan
Overview of Pride’s primary and secondary strategic priorities, expansion readiness assessment, and multi-venue organisational model.
Primary Strategic Priority: Capital Raise
Immediate need: Bring capital into the business via share sale
Purpose:
- Stabilise and transform the current venue (Pride of Our Footscray)
- Expand to areas not experiencing the same economic strain (Fitzroy and Frankston)
Rationale for multi-venue expansion:
- Mitigates risk of single-venue dependency in a struggling neighbourhood
- Shares company overheads across three venues, improving unit economics
- Increases supplier bargaining power
- Allows brand testing in different contexts
Secondary Strategic Priority: Liquor Licence Recalibration
Current problem: Existing nightclub licence imposes severe security burdens costing money even at low-customer-count events (example: $616 minimum security for karaoke with one customer)
Licence reclassification path (triggered by kitchen opening):
- Preferred target: Restaurant & Cafe Licence (no “theatre cafe” category exists in VIC)
- Alternative: On-Premises Live Music Venue Licence (lower bar, less security savings)
- Estimated annual saving: $30k–60k/year (Restaurant & Cafe) or $15k–30k/year (Live Music Venue)
- Timeline: 8–12 weeks from application
- Prerequisite: Kitchen registration with Maribyrnong Council
- Operational impact: Most nights food-primary service with entertainment, no mandatory crowd controllers. Late opening (3am) once/week regularly (Saturdays)
Secondary Initiatives Enabled by Kitchen & Licence Reclassification
Sunday morning market (non-licensed hours):
- Coffee, tea, hot chocolate for non-drinkers
- Jaffles and light food
- Alcoholic brunch options (Bloody Marys, Espresso Martinis) available midday and beyond
Weekday afternoon opening (4pm):
- Target: affordable after-work casual dining and socialising
- Food: jaffles, margaritas (cheap and simple, no premium positioning)
- No entertainment or security needed — seats and food, not dance floor
- Opens currently closed revenue window
Expansion Readiness Assessment
Systems Ready for Multi-Site Operation
- Square: Easily configurable for different locations
- Xero: Centralised accounting portable across locations
- Google Workspace: Supports distributed operations
- Marketing and programming strategies: Core approach (inclusive programming, community focus) is transferable
- Staff training and ticketing systems: Processes can be replicated
Development Needed Before Scaling
- Systems documentation: Current ad hoc staff reliance; need centralised, documented workflows
- Brand guidelines and values: Not yet written down; critical for consistency across venues
- Reporting: Current systems need development to support multi-site visibility
Proposed Organisational Structure for Multi-Site Operation
Centralised roles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Head of Programming and Promotion
- Bookkeeper
Venue-level roles:
- Venue Manager (one per location)
Location-Specific Risks
Footscray’s brand fit: The venue’s randomness and grittiness are core to its identity and authenticity in that neighbourhood. This may not be appropriate or effective in Fitzroy or Frankston.
Expansion principles:
- Each new location requires genuine local involvement and local people
- Cannot be carbon copy of Footscray model
- Fitzroy context: 10+ other queer venues already operate there. Would Fitzroy customers care?
- Frankston context: Would Frankston be as welcoming to the brand and model?
Key question: These require research and community consultation before committing to either location.
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 gin and vodka). Current focus is structural change, not further cost reduction.
Related Pages
- Strategic Plan — strategy concept page
- Revenue Diversification — revenue streams and growth opportunities
- Kitchen Expansion — timeline and operational details of kitchen opening
- Multi-Venue Expansion — Fitzroy and Frankston expansion case studies