I understand, when we ran retail stores we went over 5 years without a day off including Christmas, New Years etc.... until we finally started closing on Sundays. If you can just keep the company alive through the hard times and let your company evolve to find a sweet spot in your marketplace you can go from just making it to making it big (almost) instantly. Then after you get past the "take a year off and travel" phase you can settle back into a very enjoyable and flexible schedule while you get ready for expansion or new markets to explore.
Great thread. I would call it a gamble for a 18 year old to start a business without much capital, and nothing(like a degree) to fall back on. Some gambled and won big, but that doesn't speak for all. One needs to thoroughly understand the costs and trade before he starts a business as a novice, being a employee doesn't always know the ins and outs. For examples, how much does the electricity and water cost monthly in the restaurant you work EWS? What is the level of competition in that area? If you hire a part time accountant, how much does it cost? What's the daily number of car flow and pedestrian flow passing by the restaurant? What is the demographic background of the restaurant? Is the restaurant you work in making money? About how much does it make or lose? How much do you know about the labor law? If you get a loan, how much is the interests and how does it fit into the cost structure? How confident are you in selecting the right location? etc... What I'm saying is, a complete business plan is a must to start a new business. Until you figure out the ins and outs of starting a restaurant, caution is better than haste.
EWS - S - you're the one with the dessert sub idea, right? You're 18. Doing this on your own without the cash will be difficult. You have no cache with banks, investors, etc. I think if you found a mentor, that would be helpful. Whether it's the boss of the place you work or someone on this BBS (ask some of the people in this thread) or someone in the community (check youngentrepreneur.com or startupnation.com?), that would help you understand your position, your product's viability, and the business world. No matter what, your product is not a guarantee of success. If you're so high on it right now, that's already a bad sign. Be cautiously optimistic as you gather more information. Good ideas often fail because humans make *no* sense. As for college, don't drop out until you have someone you trust who tells you this idea is a world beater. This person should likely have an avenue of funding for you as well. Remember, all the great stories about college dropouts you hear (Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, etc.) were people who went on to own multi-BILLION dollar companies... and their successes took years to really develop. You're talking about a sub shop with a likely front-end investment and unlikely payoff in one of the most competitive segments of American industry. Oh, and pay REAL attention to what the people in this thread are saying about starting your own business. You work HARDER for the same/less money... you get less vacation time, more volatility and uncertainty... some people want that, some people don't. And you sure as heck better love what you're doing (i.e., I hope you're not working in a sub shop to make money but that you actually have some weird love of bread). ----- Subway has the lowest initial investment to get into a franchise... it's also sort of known for treating its franchisees poorly and oversaturating markets. See "Fast Food Nation", I believe. It discusses how the real people who make money (besides the CEO and leadership) are the people who get people to buy franchises.
Stay in college. But its a good thing that you are already thinking of starting a business at 18. When you are done with school, you can then decide whether or not you want to do this and then if it fails, you will have something to fall back on. When I was 18, I was thinking about 1 thing only. Pink Taco.
If you want to make some big money, I have the perfect spot to open a Chuckey Cheese. There are 2 things that keep me from doing it: money and having to work there, but you'd make a killing.
You have to think Creatively when you lack capital. You need to examine your Idea and look what are the BARE BONES BASICS or what is needed Rocket River
