Solelua Beach

This week I want to take you to a destination inworld called Solelua Beach (Jorah (213,62,22)).  Upon arriving at the TP point of Solelua Beach, the sound of the powerful waves greet your ears and begin to immediately wash away the worries, troubles, and toils of all lives.  Tippy the Flamingo welcomes you to join the group and provides you with an easy means to donate to the venue.  To the left, you'll find a decorative sign indicating that live music may be present.  Solelua has surfing, a playful surf, sparkling sun, an inviting dance floor, a happy hippie dippy tub full of cold beer, plenty of lounging space, sand that won't stick in your crack (much), live music and dancing, great conversation and lots of laughter...come and join us!

The owner of Solelua Beach is the beautiful Ms. Kiki Szetey.  Kiki describes herself as happy (mostly), generous, kind and funny.  She usually wears the tag "Mostly Harmless" :)

Tell us about Solelua Beach ... what spawned its creation and gave you the idea?
Early in my SL I discovered a place called Mojo Beach and met a bunch of wonderful people there, many who had known each other for years from a previous beach called Laguna Beach Club. When Mojo closed, everyone was scattered and a bit lost, so Solelua Beach was born. 


Where does the name Solela come from?
One of my good friends was Portuguese and we were throwing around names. "Sol e lua" means sun and moon, which is perfect for a beach!

Is this the first sim entertainment sim that you've owned?
It is. I'd built several iterations before but never hosted any events until Solelua.

What is your favorite aspect of Solelua Beach?
The people, without a doubt. A place without the people is nothing. I've made some amazing friends there, funny people, talented people, people with great big hearts...the gamut.

Would you do anything different if you could do it again?
Nope! All I wanted was to make it a place that wasn't about being cool or impressing anyone, but just a comfortable welcoming place with a great relaxed vibe for people to do all sorts of things. Visitors can surf, hang out, swim, and of course, what has become my passion, listen to fantastic live music. I'm happy with how it started and where it progressed and where we are now.

What guidance would you give someone wanting to open a sim with a venue for entertainment?
Find a funding source or a host for your venue before you start dumping money into it. It's impossible to stay afloat without having it without spending a bunch of your own RL money. I was lucky enough to have been invited by a wonderful friend and talented builder, Pantzerhamzter Petshop, owner of Two Roses Bar & Club Supplies, to share his sim when I was planning to shut down last fall due to the costs. Think about all of that ahead of time, and know that you will, in reality, likely never make money from running a live music venue. From what little I know, breaking even in SL seems to be a huge success. I'm sure there are exceptions, but they are just that, exceptions. Also keep in mind I am still very new at this, so talk to other established venue owners and get their advice!

Now you are also a manager for a musician, right?
Yes! I'm so thrilled to be managing FunkyFreddy Republic. He's unique and extremely talented and a great person to boot. Contact me if you'd like to book him for your venue and visit his website at http://funkyfreddy.com! 

Thank you for your time, Ms. Kiki Szetey!