Looking to start my own business and need some help!

[Monte83]

Hello I am new to the forum and have been reading through many posts the last day or so. There's definitely some great resources here! I am 31 years old with an associates in Business Management and have been working in management for 5 years now for a very large logistics company here in Jacksonville Fl. I have been a long time (+10 years) salt water aquarium hobbyist and have always dreamed of opening my own store. Up until August of 2013 I lived in Rochester Ny and part-time managed a local store for almost 5 years. I know the business, I know management, and I have all the passion in the world!

Here is my problem, start up costs because of equipment and live-stock are expensive. From my business plan and the data I have acquired I am looking at approximately $150,000. This would cover equipment, inventory, first years rent, my first years salary (minimal salary but I was always taught to pay yourself only what you need so you can put everything into the business to make it profitable), and supplies to renovate my shoppe where needed. I live in a great area Saint Johns Fl has an average income over $60,000 and the market is growing with so many people moving South.

I have a good job now and so does my wife but we have 4 kids and I don't exactly have cash laying around. So here's my dilemma, what are my chances of getting that kind of capital from a bank? I have read up a ton on angel investors and such but I have no idea how to get to them. How do I know whats real and whats a scam?

[0maha]

Unless you can collateralize this (ie, home equity, etc), no bank will touch you.

Here are some questions I'd ask:

- How much cash do you have on hand right now?
- How much cash could you access if you tapped into retirement accounts?
- How much free cash flow does your household have today with the two incomes?
- Could you adjust your personal expenses such that you could cash flow your household on only your wife's income?

[JR Strack]

You also need to factor into your plan

~insurance
~ monthly operating costs
~supply costs
~transportation
~ Any"hidden" surprises that may pop up along the way

Not trying to be a Debbie Dower, but $150,000 sounds a bit low to be starting a business with. Especially in the state of Florida.

[MakingItNow]

I have three questions:
1) What year/make/model cars to you & your wife have.
2) Do you rent or own a home/condo?
3) What is your current household income?

4) Not trying to be a DD, but what's way more important than all of that above is how are you going to make sales?

[mmenard0313]

I am also from Jacksonville, Fl and starting up a business within the next one and a half to two years. There is a Small Business Development Center workshop at UNF on starting businesses on March 26th that I'm going to so I can be more thorough on my start up. If you're interested,

UNF SBDC (http://www.sbdc.unf.edu/register-for-workshop/?workshops_id=294)

[Kyle Johnston]

These are some great crowd sourcing/investor websites to look into:

Kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com) is great for crowd funding campaigns. Usually this method involves using small amounts of money from large numbers of people. With kickstarter, you create a campaign with a time frame and amount you want to raise. People who like your campaign can pledge x-amount of money. If the campaign goal is met, all contributors are charged and if you fall short, nobody is charged. Kickstarter charges a 5% fee.

Invest in Startups | Wefunder - Crowd Investing (http://www.wefunder.com) and Startup Investing & Equity Crowdfunding Community - Onevest (http://www.onevest.com) these sites use crowd funding geared towards start-ups and work similar to kickstarter. You will create a profile of-sorts for your idea and people can choose what to invest in.

Startup Funding & Investing | Angel Investors (http://www.gust.com) - this site uses groups of angel investors and investment capital. Securing funding through this site is the hardest of the group, but it can provide the funding needed all at one time. This site works the same as others, create a profile, detailed description of your business, and let the investors decide.

[tallen]

I agree with JR Stack in that the 150K figure sounds like just your initial outlay for equipment and starting inventory, but you need to consider your ongoing operating costs and what you are going to live off, and need to have probably 6 months if not a year's worth in the bank (unless you have another source of income to live off), because you are not likely to be generating top revenue the minute you hang up your sign -- it will take time to bring in business and build a client base and reputation.

[oliviasmith]

Before your start business do a personal evaluation. It’s good to know your strengths and weaknesses. This knowledge will definitely make you confident. Next analyze the industry. The more know –how’s you have about the industry the more benefits as well as a sense of security you will have s. Besides evaluate your market. It offers you a much clearer picture. Next make your business legal. Register your business as this is just a first step towards making your dreams real. You are also expected to be good with the entire planning process. Your goals can only be attained when you have a plan handy and act upon it. There is no other path to success.

[Jed Smeenk]

If you are trying to get a loan from a bank, they will most likely want to see that you have some sort of collateral that they can take from you if the business doesn't pan out. That is why you need to make sure you do a thorough business analysis before you dive into the venture. Do some polls and take some research to see if the market would be receptive to your product or idea, and then go from there.

A cool guide that gives free business startup steps is in my signature. It runs you through things to think of before starting a business. The more knowledge you have before you start, the better in my opinion.

Hope that helps!