Has anyone started their own business? Options

[Oasis]

Specifically, starting a business that needed a financial backer/investor.

My best friend and I have been talking about going in to business together since we were kids. We've started one (landscaping) but we didn't need an investor. We just used $5k of my own cash as startup capital.

Now, we're talking about starting a much larger business. I don't want to mention specifics but we found prime land to open a business. A high traffic, affluent area that there are no similar businesses within several miles. It helps that the land owner is a family friend of both of our families.

We've never been able to open a large scale business because we didn't have the collateral. Let's face it, neither one of us have degrees and no bank is gonna listen to us asking for a half million dollar loan. My friend's dad agreed to back us as an investor for up to $500k. Only problem is, we need to come up with a rock solid business plan and financial report. The second we get finished giving our report he's going to start firing off questions left and right, and if we even so much as stutter for an answer he'll push the plan back to us and six months worth of preparation will go to waste.

I've written mock business plans in college and I helped a buddy write his last year, but I've never written one of my own. Any advice? Only thing I can think of is research the ever living shit out of everything, every potential variable or problem/obstacle, basically overprepare rather than underprepare. I will spend more time on this than anything else in my life. I've always wanted to start my own business and have ended up starting several smaller ones, but you can't make a living on those. This is big time so I don't want to fuck anything up

Our first order of business is figuring out zoning laws and whether we can even put a retail business at the location. Where can I find local zoning laws? I know I can go downtown to the county clerk's office, but are the laws available online?

Any other advice would be appreciated. We don't really have a time constraint, but we'd like to have a plan ready in three months, and both of us have jobs so we'll be doing this nights and weekends

[Mommy]

I don't know if it ever got off the ground, but I met this guy last summer in Lubbock who was opening a bar next to the Library. He had a business degree, but had never worked a real job except in bar tending and bouncing. Supposedly they (my friend, his friend, and my friend's grandfather) were granted a pretty sizable loan to open the bar all because their business plan was immaculate. The bank had no reservations giving him and his friend the money because they had reasonable projected profit charts and all kinds of stuff. The key is to think small. Never think that you are going to come out making a huge profit the first year out. The guy put down sample menu prices of what he would charge for drinks. He put what kind of atmosphere the bar was going to have, what kind of furniture it would have, everything. He put what nights were going to be specific specials like "$1.00 wells 'til midnight" kind of stuff. He did it all in a well-organized plan that was simple to read yet very professional.

This of course just going off what he told me and some other people. Like I said, I don't know if he ever went ahead with the plan, but last I heard in August, he had gotten the money.

Speaking of which, any Lubbock people know of a new bar that opened up right next to Library?

[Dogmeat]

i started a dick sex business and I sell lots of dick sex to gay men who want dick sex and then they tell everyone else all about the wonderful dick sex that I gave them and then even MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE gay men come buy dick sex from me!

ok.

no.

that's a lie.

Anyways....

I was actually kicking around the idea of starting up a business here in Vernal ... a new car wash. But you've got the right idea. First step is zoning, permitting, whatever ... do as much research as humanly possible.

I'd be presenting my case to a bank in my case, but sounds like your friends dad is the same thing.

Just takes a shitload of work is all.

[Oasis]

Yeah, our idea is a gas station/convenience store/bait shop. Within a one mile radius, there are two apartment communities, two parks, a dog park, fishing, the Lake Austin dock, and numerous businesses. The only thing there aren't any of are other gas stations....I went early this morning and drove from every conceivable direction away from the land. The closest gas station is three miles away, and that's in the Arboretum area, which is an entirely different demographic than we plan on catering to. Oh, and there aren't any supermarkets in the area either. It would be the closest option for beer, snacks, gas, etc for a very high traffic area...an area where people are mostly participating in leisure activities where you consume a lot of beer and snacks. Seems like a slam dunk in terms of location logistics

We might scratch the gas station portion though. I'm not even sure if we can put underground gas tanks that close to the lake...if something catastrophic happens and gas leaks in to the lake I don't want to be infamous as the asshole who destroyed Lake Austin. Plus, that would jack the needed startup capital up another hundred grand or more (just guessing here). Also, gas stations aren't even making a ton on gas. I think their profit margin is only 3 cents a gallon or so

[Seeker]

i'll buy 10 shares of your company

[impala454]

yeah gas might be a tough business to run right now. my advice- two words: DRIVE THRU.

[Oasis]

yeah gas might be a tough business to run right now. my advice- two words: DRIVE THRU.

I don't want to jack around with franchising rights plus 10% of gross commission for opening up something like a McDonald's. I'm sure franchising rights for any well known chain restaurant are $500k minimum, which would buttfuck our budget before we even looked in to building the actual store.

[impala454]

I didn't say open a mcdonalds. I said drive thru. As in, have one on your store. Every convenience store I've seen that has a drive thru is packed all the time.

People dont wanna get outta their car to get their cigs/lotto tix/drinks/snacks/etc

[Oasis]

I didn't say open a mcdonalds. I said drive thru. As in, have one on your store. Every convenience store I've seen that has a drive thru is packed all the time.

People dont wanna get outta their car to get their cigs/lotto tix/drinks/snacks/etc

Oh, that's a damn good idea. Especially for people on their way to the lake. Thanks

[impala454]

yeah no prob

i'll take 5% kthx

[Mommy]

Gas stations may be making more than you think. The other day, there was a gas war in some small city and gas dropped to $3.48 (from $3.99) because of the competition between 2 stations. Then again, maybe not because Exxon is selling almost 2500 of their own gas stations because the profits just aren't flowing. *shrug*

[Dogmeat]

I think right now owning a gas station would be great. Especially if it's in a more remote area.

With gas at $4.00 a gallon, what's an extra $0.05 gonna hurt?

[James]

I believe the reason gas stations aren't profitable with rising gas costs is because most people use credit cards to make purchases. With higher prices, credit card companies are cutting into the small profits gas stations were making since the credit card fee isn't flat rate, but a percentage. Read an article that was saying gas purchases over $50 were costing some companies. No, I'm not going to source that because it's been a couple weeks. Just notice that some gas stations have stopped taking credit cards for gas purchases.