Okay okay okay, I know reading my rants about investors and financing isn't as interesting as seeing pictures of sexy food or hearing funny stories about travelling, but I've got to get it off my chest and I'm just about done the ranting part...
I just need to drive it home.
Don't be fooled. The reason some restaurants shut down while others stay open is that the survivors have better financing than the others.
Restaurants that stay open have a money-man. If you invest your life savings and have nothing left over, you've left yourself little-to-no room for error, and let's face it, restaurants are fraught with opportunities for mistakes. Mistakes that take cash to fix.
If you open up and you're tight on funds, you don't have the ability to have a slow month. You don't have the ability to grow or upgrade. You can't make improvements where they're needed. Your fridge can't break and you can't solve legal problems. Whatever money your business makes will have been spent already and you'll be digging a big circular hole for yourself.
Now you don't have to have a million dollars to open a restaurant. You don't even have to know what you're doing. But you have to have a place to turn when you're in a pinch. Got savings? Family? Friends? Angel Investors? Banks? The only unacceptable option is nobody.
Coming Up: A Sourdough Update, Some Fun Pictures, and Breaking It Down: Why Restaurants Are Such A Ridiculous Business Model
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