For context I work at a small coffee shop . They have been established for 15 years… before Covid the business isness was VERY busy . The coffee shop to be at. During Covid the company had to switch managements and business began to decline . Right now it pays enough to operate and pay employees (this includes myself)
I’ve been working there for 2 years. I recently expressed to my boss I want to start my own business venture but I don’t know if the time is right . I love what I do and the neighborhood I’m in. I find a lot of joy in building and creating a community . She saw this and my dedication and hope for the place and offered me half of the business ess and profit made from it.
What am I getting myself into? I feel this offer is amazing and something I would really love doing. I’m young and don’t have much to loose… or maybe I do and that’s why I’m posting. I’m willing to invest 7k into the company but nothing more. But a lot of my time and dedication would be to bring business back in .
What do I need to think about ? Pros and cons?
There are normally two scenarios where owners will bring on new ownership.
need fresh legs, someone who is EXCITED about the biz who can regenerate the following.
biz is in decline and they want to offload it before it hits zero.
It sounds to me like you are situation 1. It sounds like you have a good base following who will bring in enough revenue to pay the bills but you don’t have the cream on top right now like you did before covid. If the shop has been open 15 years I’d guess the owners are 40-60 years old. I’m 36 and I MIGHT have one more good push left in me in business, I can guarantee you I won’t have anymore push left in me at 40+. I’d guess the current owners just don’t have the energy to fire it back up again. It sounds like a decent business that needs some fresh legs, new excited energy! Their options right now are give you 50% or shut it down. You’ve given limited info so it’s hard to say what to do for sure but early signs look good for you!
Don’t take on any of their debt, and set up a plan to be 100% owner in 3(ish) years.
thats pretty depressing in 6 years ill be 40 and people will see me as old wtf lol feels like i was 20 not too long ago…
The years from 25 to 36 have felt like they’ve just flown by. Kind of sucks honestly.
That’s the biggest risk. Owner may see a mark and is trying to offload his risk. Tread carefully OP.