Planning on starting my own business

[lethal6]

It is definitely going to be tough. A LOT of small business are shutting down. A LOT. I don't know the market, but I would figure that anything tea related that is new won't survive (or will struggle tremendously) on south tacoma way on account of how many there already are. Would be like opening up yet another Teriyaki joint there.

Have you thought about south hill. Meridian just past the mall heading south maybe? Meridian by the mall, then all the way down to say 138th is VERY busy.

 

[sf22189]

One thing to do.... get a LLC. That way if your business fails, it doesnt take your house and cars with you.
Lets hope it doesnt fail.... but prepare for the worst, hope for the best. or something like that.

that is my opinion

 

[2slo4u]

i'll be sure to check out other shops and see the traffic within the area.
S. Tacoma Way has too much competition
by South Hill mall area is busy too, but busy with the wrong kind of people i think..i need a place with alot of asians haha
and where i live..we walk into a store and its like "oh what the heck!? asians!"

 

[jerk334]

when i set up my maint. company 3 years ago, one of the easiest ways i set out to gain information about the market, was to go to the competition. before i opened, noone knew who i was. I told them i was doing a college research paper about small buss. owners and operation cost and some just opened up their finance books and let me take a look. i gained alot of insight of how the competition worked, thier areas of interest, and pricing. still up and operational and i have watched 2 close. and noone ever reconized me as, "your that guy who was writing that paper!"

 

[Jersey8]

i love crepes. reeallly fin pancakes

 

[253eg]

A strip club, Deja Vu the only one in town now(that I know of). I'll be the interviewer, don't gotta pay me a dime

 

[Jersey8]

they have 2 deja vu's by my school in michigan lol. same owner?

can't beat 2 for tuesdays. 2 lap dances for $20. awesome

 

[Bheims]

Its going to be tough to compete in a state that runs on Starbucks.

Bubble tea is pretty good but if someone had to cut a drink out of their day Im guessing itd be the bubble tea, not the coffee. There are BTs in MN and they do pretty well. It needs to be in a trendy area to do well (young, hip market)

Do you have a business plan? Have you talked to other franchise owners and compared finances? Have you been contacted to fill out an application?

Applying for a small business loan would be the last thing on my mind currently, Id take jerks advice and call some other BT franchisers for an idea of what your cashflow, startup capital, projected revenue, etc will be.

Write down everything - who are my competitors in the area, what would cause this to fail, whats your marketing plan, how can you stay competitive, etc

 

[2slo4u]

i've talked to a few bubble tea shop owners.we have a bubble tea place near our subway so we're always talking anyway and i brought up the idea and the owner said she'd teach me how to make good bubble tea.
my cousin Yee Vang has a buddy in socal with a Quickly and that store offers not only bubble tea but other foods as well and is a hang out spot for plenty so i wanted to do something like that minus the franchise basically..

funny one of my cousins told me to open up a strip club too and i agreed since i wanted to be the one doing all the work in my business

 

[oc_civic]

opening up a business in the middle on one of our countries WORST times economically is kind of bad business sense unless you have a s**t ton of money saved up and plan on possibly buying the property.. the reason I say this is that property can be had relatively cheaply now because everything is folding and going under.. so if you had a s**t ton of money and bought now.. and could survive the poor economic climate, you would be in a really good spot IF things start to get back to the way they were before.. but it is my honest opinion that the way things were before came about due to the "fake" economy we had.. and the abundance of free credit being handed out left and right... with new regulations I dont think we will EVER see a time like that again.... so yeah sure some people still splurge on that kind of thing, but I am SURE that the amount of people drinking s**t like that.. treating themselves if you will are dwindling.. if you do it.. good luck with it.. but I would consider investing money elsewhere.. how much tea do you really have to sell to stay in business? to keep it afloat? to support you.. AND your girl.. AND a kid..
home cost + utilities + home owners + vehicle cost + food + supplies for business + payroll (if any) + business insurance + business utilities + mortgage or rent + business loan (if any)..
when you think about ALL those bills.. how many bubble teas do you need to sell PER day just to break even and stay afloat.. how many to actually get somewhere and advance yourself in life? if you go for it.. good luck.. but i think it is a risky proposition..

 

[2slo4u]

lucky for me, wife has good work resume and we stay in the house with the family still..its a huge house so its a good thing that we can stay in the house and have plenty of room for 8 people.
the whole family would be helping in w/e business.
i thought about mutual funds or stock but i had to quit my job this summer and am only doing Pre Paid Legal now..it brings in money but i know i want to do more

 

[Mr. Jollypants]

opening up a business in the middle on one of our countries WORST times economically is kind of bad business sense unless you have a s**t ton of money saved up and plan on possibly buying the property.. the reason I say this is that property can be had relatively cheaply now because everything is folding and going under.. so if you had a s**t ton of money and bought now.. and could survive the poor economic climate, you would be in a really good spot IF things start to get back to the way they were before.. but it is my honest opinion that the way things were before came about due to the "fake" economy we had.. and the abundance of free credit being handed out left and right... with new regulations I dont think we will EVER see a time like that again.... so yeah sure some people still splurge on that kind of thing, but I am SURE that the amount of people drinking s**t like that.. treating themselves if you will are dwindling.. if you do it.. good luck with it.. but I would consider investing money elsewhere.. how much tea do you really have to sell to stay in business? to keep it afloat? to support you.. AND your girl.. AND a kid..
home cost + utilities + home owners + vehicle cost + food + supplies for business + payroll (if any) + business insurance + business utilities + mortgage or rent + business loan (if any)..
when you think about ALL those bills.. how many bubble teas do you need to sell PER day just to break even and stay afloat.. how many to actually get somewhere and advance yourself in life? if you go for it.. good luck.. but i think it is a risky proposition..

I have to disagree. Opening a business in this economy is a good idea. If you are able to stay afloat until the economy picks back up, you'll have an established business with customers, you'll have built a reputation. Then again, I'm in an industry that hasn't really seen that big of a drop in business

 

[hooked_on4]

mmm bubble tea, you doing instant or the all natural?

 

[sf22189]

Do you have a job now? does your wife? She will most likely need a job to keep some overhead. I worked for a guy that owned nothing had nothing and did nothing. He tried to do his own business and in the small town we were in, did not make enough revenue to even keep the business going, not alone to keep his piece of crap truck running, or to keep a cigerette in his mouth. I think Mr. Jollypants said it best when he mentioned that you will be spending more money for the first 3 months then what you make.

Talk to a financial advisor or someone at a bank about a business loan. You will need a business plan. This is where other successful shops come into play. Use their finances to build your plan. Find out how long it took them to turn a profit. then set a goal that is less than that. Also see what their total revenue is currently (get a average between shops also). This way on your plan you can say "Bubble tea shops on average generate a $50,000 annual profit" (I made that up) When you talk to shops, talk to some that are across town. You won't be their competition so they wont be stuck up about showing you the ropes.

Be prepared to make a little sacrifice! This means your time. Step-dad is taking over a bar, and he is working 12hrs, 7 days a week. He does not make enough money yet to put someone on a payroll. Now of course I help out once or so a week to help pay back some of my debt to him.

And as OC_Civic said. starting a business now in this economy sucks, but look at this way. If you can start one, and if it is successful in this economy, think about what it will be like when the economy gets better.

 

[oc_civic]

I have to disagree. Opening a business in this economy is a good idea. If you are able to stay afloat until the economy picks back up, you'll have an established business with customers, you'll have built a reputation. Then again, I'm in an industry that hasn't really seen that big of a drop in business

what customers?

starbucks.. a nationally recognized chain with established customer base AND corporate backing.. closed 500+ stores due to the setbacks in the economy..

like I stated earlier.. economical shifts have up sides and downsides.. when the economy is up you have a lot of people with money ready to spend it... that is the positive.. breaking into business.. buying property.. etc.. can be tough sometimes because with all that activity and money flowing certain things can draw a premium (property for example).. when the economy sucks.. people buckle down.. spend less on s**t that is non-critical to getting by.. this makes for less available consumer dollars.. the upside is things like real estate are cheap, due to the motivated market..

a good business to get into when the economy is down are things like rental properties.. properties can be acquired cheaply.. fixed up.. and rented.. and you will basically have renters paying your mortgage.. then IF the economy takes back off you can sell your property at a larger price making huge amounts of cash in one single transaction..

I am not some college educated business professional.. but i have over a DECADE of retail management and business experience.. my opinions are drawn on observation.. and interaction with the business community.. it is not some theory.. it is what i have actually seen first hand..

bubble tea? how much is a bubble tea? $3 $5? are you going to sell 20? 30? 40? a day? after you pay all the expenses how profitable is this business really going to be..

not being negative just being realistic.. but as i said if you go for it.. good luck with it..

 

[oc_civic]

and for what its worth.. the figure of 3 months paying out more than you are making is EXTREMELY optimistic.. it will likely take years to actually make money...

 

[Mr. Jollypants]

what customers?

starbucks.. a nationally recognized chain with established customer base AND corporate backing.. closed 500+ stores due to the setbacks in the economy..

Have you seen their prices? The exact reason I don't go there. It's like 5 bucks for 10 cents of water and 50 cents of coffee. f**k that. I'd rather go to IHOP and get unlimited cups of coffee for 1.59.

like I stated earlier.. economical shifts have up sides and downsides.. when the economy is up you have a lot of people with money ready to spend it... that is the positive.. breaking into business.. buying property.. etc.. can be tough sometimes because with all that activity and money flowing certain things can draw a premium (property for example).. when the economy sucks.. people buckle down.. spend less on s**t that is non-critical to getting by.. this makes for less available consumer dollars.. the upside is things like real estate are cheap, due to the motivated market..

Spending is up. Economy is picking back up. With this shift, it's the perfect time to start looking at a business so when the economy starts coming ahead full steam you'll be ready. Hell, our house value has already risen a few thousand, and this is when several big companies have closed in our area.

a good business to get into when the economy is down are things like rental properties.. properties can be acquired cheaply.. fixed up.. and rented.. and you will basically have renters paying your mortgage.. then IF the economy takes back off you can sell your property at a larger price making huge amounts of cash in one single transaction..

I have to disagree. Rental property is not where you want to be during this time. Too many people losing money, too much risk on people not making payments or just completely wrecking your rental. Too much risk for me.

I am not some college educated business professional.. but i have over a DECADE of retail management and business experience.. my opinions are drawn on observation.. and interaction with the business community.. it is not some theory.. it is what i have actually seen first hand..

This is something I have heard a lot from people I've talked to that own businesses. They got into thinking they knew how to run a business because they had retail management experience, then they open a business and find out it's completely different.

bubble tea? how much is a bubble tea? $3 $5? are you going to sell 20? 30? 40? a day? after you pay all the expenses how profitable is this business really going to be..

This I have to agree with. Bubble Tea doesn't exactly seem like the greatest business to get into. It's a small product with a great profit margin, but that margin is what? 2 bucks? 3 bucks? You'll have to sell 50 a day to make a "reasonable" living. So let's say you have customers that buy 1 (More than likely) that's 50 customers a day. 30-35 if you consider some will buy 2 or 3. Which doesn't seem like much, but you have to consider these are customers you have to pull in to your business. You have to go out and physically be like "Hey, I own this new tea place over in *Name here* on *Cross Streets*. Come check us out. Here's a coupon for 10% off." With that 10% off, you've just love profit, but you brought a customer in.


Starting out, you'll have no customers. None. Family and friends are not considered customers, because they are family and friends, they will buy your tea to support you, not because they like your tea. You'll have to earn your customers, and you'll have to make it so that word of mouth will spread. It's not exactly easy because good word of mouth is harder to spread than bad word of mouth.

From my experience, and doing what you want to do, that 10,000 will be gone within the first two months of operations. If you manage to stretch it, three months, if it's a lot of money for equipment (I've never been in the food industry) a month.

 

[oc_civic]

i have over a decade of REAL world business RUNNING.. while my title may be "general manager" I essentially run the businesses (plural) with everything from ordering.. profit management.. hiring.. firing.. pricing.. I am not a "retail manager".. and your rental property comment is totally off base as you run the risk of having property damage in ANY economy.. it is not more likely because the economy is down..

buy $200k rental property for $150k (OR LESS if you catch a good foreclosure)
rent it out for several years reducing the amount you owe
ideally the economy picks up and that house that you purchased for 150 is now worth 190..
under sell for 185 and bank 35 thousand dollars.. remember your tenants are paying the mortgage.. so 35 grand WHILE you are working another normal job..

obviously the numbers quoted above are just play numbers.. the results can be better or worse depending on all variables..

i think you underestimate the power of buying and selling property..

 

[Mr. Jollypants]

But in this economy you have a bigger chance of having to deal with tenants that don't pay rent on time, or at all, they get up and leave without telling you, having to pay for repairs out of pocket, which then could potentially eat the rent they paid or didn't pay, so then you are out a months mortgage payment on that property and now having to pay for the repairs.

 

[oc_civic]

But in this economy you have a bigger chance of having to deal with tenants that don't pay rent on time, or at all, they get up and leave without telling you, having to pay for repairs out of pocket, which then could potentially eat the rent they paid or didn't pay, so then you are out a months mortgage payment on that property and now having to pay for the repairs.

even if you miss 4 months without rent... you are still likely ahead of the game.. remember 4 bad months with a rental leaves you stuck with home owners and mortgage.. 4 months bad at a business can likely drive you under... the flip side to what you are talking about is renting out section 8 type dwellings.. in that scenario the government is paying the majority of the rent so you are good to go every month without issue.. the downside to that is a somewhat less desirable property and less desirable tenants.. but that is why you carry insurance on the property.. and that is why you take deposits.. to offset those losses..