The New York City metropolitan area is home to one of largest populations of “Musicians and Performing Artists” in the nation.  This substantial sector of Musicians and Performance Artists is continually growing and the need for services to support it is coextending. One of the primary and necessary services in large demand by this sector is rental rehearsal studio space. Practicing live music in such a densely populated city has obvious challenges; close proximity of other residents, noise and disturbance, and insufficient space.  These factors make this service imperative and fundamentally in high demand.  Such services are tied to the market at a near one to one ratio (one Musician, Band, or Performance Artist: one rehearsal studio space). Creating a rehearsal studio that does not create a disturbance and provides adequate space and sound is critical in this urban environment. These challenges and needs are responsible for the advent of soundproof rental rehearsal studio space for annually or hourly rental.

In direct correlation to the market size and its pattern to continually thrive exponentially this business model offers enormous revenue potential. The most critical market condition for this model is the deficient amount of rental rehearsal studio space versus the current demand. Simply, the demand is not meeting the supply within reasonable geographical proximity.  This driver is relevant to both rental models, Annually and Hourly.   The obvious demand is demonstrated by observing a trend pertaining to the Hourly model called “Peak Hour Max”.
“Peak Hour Max” describes the maximum capacity for the Hourly model operating under the premise there are “Peak” and “Off Peak” hours. Peak hours are defined as the time period in a given day when the market has the greatest demand and Off Peak hours” are defined as the time period of a given day when there is a lesser demand. The current supply for Peak hours is not meeting the demand. With current observation of this trend, Annually leased studio space, Hourly rented studio space, effective marketing, high quality service, and value added amenities, the revenue potential of this business model will be actualized.

PRIMARY PROFIT CENTER
The primary sources of revenue for BKS are studio rental fees based on the following core services:

1. Monthly Lockout Studio Rental (“Lockout”): This is a unfurnished but fully soundproofed room, without any equipment provided by BKS. The tenant has 24/7 access and is allowed to share/sublet their room with other bands to subsidize the rent.  Although the studio is paid for monthly, it does require an annual lease (Annually leased rental studio space).
2. Hourly Full Service Studio Rental (“Full Service”): This is a fully equipped and soundproofed studio that is rented by the hour with the full support of onsite BKS technical staff.

SECONDARY REVENUE SOURCES
Musicians and Performance Artists spend a significant amount of time at the rehearsal space, on average two (2) hours or more per visit. Providing amenities and services of added value on site will add convenience and create a greater perceived value for the customer and an opportunity for BKS to develop additional revenue streams.  Additionally, offering these amenities on site will lead to a longer than average time that a customer spends in a rehearsal space.  The value added services are also accesible to the public (or non rehearsal customers) during specified hours to create additional revenue and exposure for BKS.

Upon initial opening BKS value added services will be (but not limited to) the following:

Café / Food and Beverage Services
BKS will partner with food and beverage service vendors that comply with all food sales and safety regulations and are all fully permitted and licensed per their particular commodity or goods. It is the intention of BKS to provide multiple Food and Beverage Services.  The offerings shall be presented in a cafe and/or small restaurant style format with a full service kitchen offering food, beverages, beer, wine, and liquor (pending all liquor licenses); additionally coffee services with full barista setup will be.

At the heart of the café services BKS will employ a revolving model that hosts local restaurants, as a pop-up location to offer a portion of their own restaurants menu or specialties.  This concept will create value and further unique experiences for BKS customers. It will also give BKS the added exposure and publicity of partnering with in demand and popular local restaurants.

Music Instrument/Equipment Sales/Service/Rental
BKS will partner with a Musical Instrument/Equipment Sales, Services, and Rental provider that will operate as a convenience and added value service to BKS customers while also preventing BKS from possible loss of revenue for studio space time due to forgotten or broken instruments and equipment.
BKS will provide basic instrument and equipment accessories for sale as customers will inevitably encounter unforeseen circumstances such as strings breaking, batteries dying, forgetting cables, tubes blowing, etcetera. 

Instrument Storage
For customer convenience and a strategy for customer acquisition and retention, BKS will provide instrument storage, available in (2) two options. Storage lockers large enough to hold a full size guitar and/or keyboard that can be locked and protected by a BKS customer will be available for rent per session or day (not for overnight use). Additionally, there will be an instrument storage service provided for check in and check out by BKS staff where customers may store their instrument or equipment between rehearsal days in the BKS instrument vault. The vault will be locked and protected by BKS staff. This service will be available for a monthly fee, with the ability to check in and check out as often as the customer chooses.

Membership/Rewards Program
Rewarding customers for loyalty and continued patronage is an essential tool for customer retention.  A membership loyalty and rewards program will be available for an annual fee and an optional service.  Members of this program will receive priority of available studio space, reservation advantages, discounts on studio space and amenities, as well as additional benefits to be developed after initial opening and through member feedback and demand. The membership loyalty and rewards program will also allow members to earn points for booking studio time, patronizing on-site amenities, and participating in social media and web based promotions and contests.

Customer Lounge/Event Space/ Art Gallery

BKS was designed so the layout will accommodate a Customer Lounge area. The lounge area will provide a place where customers of BKS may spend time prior or post a studio session.  The space will provide seating, Wi-Fi, mobile device charging stations, electrical outlets, vending machines, and other amenities for customer’s convenience and comfort. 

The Customer Lounge area will be situated adjacent to the cafe yet separated by a collapsible wall.  This will distinguish the space between the café and the Customer Lounge area during business hours, but allow the Lounge area to be expanded to service more guests when the café is not in service or to expand the café and food services offerings if needed for special events.  The collapsible feature of the wall creating delineation between the Lounge and Café will have a second purpose as well; to combine and transform into an Event Space for BKS use or rented out for private events.  The furniture from both the Lounge and Café will be temporarily moved and stored within the building to create an open layout.  This open layout will create the Event Space for BKS or a private client to host a variety of events inclusive but not limited to musical performances, artist showcases, film screenings, lecture and panel discussions, musical education, and special occasion parties.  Repurposing this space will allow BKS to generate revenue through rental of the event space and ticket and/or sponsorship fees for BKS and produced or co-produced events.

BKS will have over 2000 square feet of communal space that includes the café, customer lounge and reception, accessible to all customers.  The walls of the space will display relevant unique artwork and photography enabling BKS to operate as a full service art gallery. While temporary exhibits can or may be shown in this space, The BKS Gallery will exclusively and permanently exhibit renowned music photographer Michael Weintrob’s featured work.   This original photography will be available for purchase through BKS, there will also be prints available for purchase through BKS from Michael Weintrob Photography of the exhibited work as well as other pieces from his collection.

Mr. Kanfer is a highly motivated entrepreneur with over 20 years of marketing, business development and management experience with venture backed organizations, startups and small businesses. Founder & President of The Grand Street Alliance in Williamsburg. Brooklyn Mr. Kanfer has made a career of developing new business concepts. In 2008, successfully integrating a network of fellow entrepreneurs, private investors management professionals and venture funding sources, Mr. Kanfer leveraged his professional expertise and launched his vision of a socially focused, entrepreneurial consultancy. Leading up to his solo venture, Mr. Kanfer provided a leadership role at Xandros, Inc.. As Vice President of Marketing, Mr. Kanfer developed the companies international markets, reinvigorated the branding and product segmentation, cooperatively completed multiple rounds of private funding and was instrumental in helping the organization find its voice and position in the technology marketplace. Mr. Kanfer transitioned to Xandros, Inc. from Call Sciences, Onebox Division where he was responsible for the successful re-structuring and development of Onebox’s Sales & Marketing program, establishing a high market valuation leading to the company’s purchase by J2 Global Communications, Inc. (JCOM) the parent company of eFax and jConnect. Prior to Call Sciences, Mr. Kanfer was recruited by Captaris Inc, (CAPA) MediaLinq Services Division where he served in a Business Development capacity, developing new strategic relationships through the integration of MediaLinq’s carrier-class document delivery platform and technology partners including, The Xerox Corporation. Before his tenure at Captaris, Mr. Kanfer joined MessageClick, Inc., a leading provider of voice messaging technology for next generation telephone networks. He served as the company’s Director of Partner Development where he played and integral role developing the company into a top player in the communications technology and services business. As a result of Mr. Kanfer’s key contributions and leadership, MessageClick sold proprietary communications technologies and services to Fortune 500 companies and formed strategic alliances with operating partners GTE, AT&T, Excite@Home, EarthLink and Texas Instruments. Mr. Kanfer’s management expertise and entrepreneurial skills include a diverse track record in technology startup and venture finance, new concept development, development and operations, process innovation, product commercialization, corporate strategy & strategic alliances, commercial business development, market strategy, assessment and strategic advisory services.