this post was submitted on 16 Nov 2023
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Let me preface this with my experience - I worked for nearly a decade in small business loans in the backroom processing SBA loans. I saw a lot of people succeed with their small business. I saw far, far more fail.
Get yourself a plan and consult with someone. Go to a bank, talk to a small business loan advisor. Even if you don't intend to take a loan out, talk to them about what they think you'd need to survive your first year. Small business loan advisors want to see their people succeed so are usually pretty solid sources of information, especially for the area you are in. Just be up front with them - tell them you might not be taking out a loan, but wanted advice. Smart advisors will jump at this because if you succeed, they'll be in a better spot for you to come to them for financial assistance in the future. Check with any other small business groups in your area. Your local government may even have a department or office to help local small businesses succeed.
Can you wing it and succeed? Sure, it happens, but not nearly as often as people who have a solid first year plan and set themselves up to succeed. I've personally met people who made AMAZING food, better than any restaurant I'd been to in the area, but their restaurant failed miserably because they didn't have a plan and tried to wing it.
As for your plan to use a manual espresso machine - you're going to hate yourself after the first busy lunch break. And if you start to succeed, you're going to live a life of misery. Can you consistently pull good shots up to 10-20 times in a row? Then 15-30 minutes later pull another 10-20? You think you're going to be slow, but what if you're not? You need to plan for being overwhelmed not underwhelmed, because I guarantee the first time potential customers stop by and then leave in disgust because it is taking so long and go to Starbucks instead, you'll be going out of business in the next 90 days. It is better to be prepared to handle a rush at someplace like Starbucks than think you won't be that busy.
Save up and buy a used commercial machine. You can always sell it later if things don't go as planned, but you'll hate not having it when you need it if you don't. Check with local restaurant supply houses to see what they have and see if they have leases, loans, or payment plans.