Okay we have a great location picked: only drive thru one a major commuter road w/ space for a small retail shop inside. I have a great supplier who works with other small coffee shops in the state. I have the plans laid out and everyone thinks its great idea.
But for renovations/supplies/ect its coming out 300k. Is that a horrible idea?
I have reached out to local agencies and haven’t found grants and I don’t feel comfortable asking family.
I’m torn between you only live once/this is my dream and omg I want to throw up.
$300K is the initial estimate assuming things go reasonably well. Can easily be more than that, specially if this is your first build out. I had a cousin start a franchise business, he’s an accountant by trade, knows numbers inside and out. Took him 1yr+ of analysis to pick a franchise and take on about $250K in debt from an SBA loan using his house as collateral. Everything is more expensive than initially estimated, it happens. You gotta have an idea of what your gross margins will be and how much you need to sell on a daily basis to break even. Does the foot/car traffic support that? There are benchmarks out there. Find them. Nothing is ever guaranteed but I was shocked how little due diligence folks do when first starting out with a brick & mortar location. Even my cousin. He did great the first year, then COVID hit and at first he successfully transitioned to online (it’s a learning/tutoring based biz) but post COVID demand dried up. He was able to negotiate a settlement with SBA where he saved his house. Most other franchise owners went under and now have a lien on their home or are facing foreclosure. Careful with huge debt + a novice business owner.
Let’s say you Don’t have $300K. How can you start a coffee biz anyway?