I would find a partner with the tech background, it’s not too hard to get the basics down and I would encourage you to do that anyway, but I wouldn’t put any effort into CS or learning how to program. It’s more important to put some effort into UX strategy and marketing, and then find someone to monitor the execution.

You’ll need a little more info, but here’s how I would do it

1. Calculate annual average client revenue (annual service revenue/active clients)
   1. I would probably just include services here and not product sales
2. Calculate annual average client cost of services
   1. Include cost of service goods (dye etc) (annual cost of goods/active clients)
   2. Average hours per service * your rate
   3. add these two numbers together to get average client cost
3. Subtract the two numbers to find out average profit per active client
4. Figure out how many active clients are in the book
5. Multiply profit per active client by active clients
6. Don’t pay more than 50% of that number
   1. 50% because you need to have cashflow in your first year. This is a one time cost so after the first year it won’t impact you anymore

I would start by doing some quick math- assuming close rate stays the same, how many leads do you need to pull in to hit your desired commission, or how much bigger does the average value of leads need to be. Then ask yourself, can you adjust the way you’re working to hit either of those goals? If the answer is no it’s time to move on. You can’t single handedly fix a sales funnel but you can determine how much time you’re willing to waste not making enough money.

What kind of food business is it? And are you looking for loans or grant funding or both? There are some federal and state level funding options but easier to find the right ones with a little more info. :)

Don’t sacrifice your relationships for your goals, your relationships will help you achieve your goals if you build them with sincerity. It is not a balance between “work” and “life” but an integration, Everyone has something that makes them feel fulfilled, support and encourage the people in your circle and they will do the same for you.

Congrats!