Geoff you'll be O'K if you have a following to see you perform for 3 hours or if you gamble and book a known artist.
It took me 4 years before I opened a folk club in my home town.
If you are operating alone you have to be able to do it all and you can only rely upon your own resources and skills.
Someone I know thinks you can start a club from nothing,only his booked artistes appear, I was one of 2 punters.I have my doubts about it going anywhere and its costing him a bundle as well.
Start a singaround and have everyone put in a £1, do this weekly , build a fund then invest it in booking a quality name , charge more on the night and go from there.
You could look into applying for grants, I havent as I wanted the venture to become self financing
Last Friday we had a full house for Roy Bailey.
So ,If you cant perform for a whole evening then start by finding someone who can and who would like to become enrap'n'r'l
Good luck, but its not the best time to start as Christmas is fast approaching, I close on 29th Nov and re-open 25th Jan
I'll watch this space