Starting business at 18

Hollister11

I'm 18 just finished my leaving cert and for years I have wabted to start a cafe. I know what I want to sell, costs and markups that will be made.
But there is a problem.
I have about €50. Would banks take me seriously and give me a loan without any collateral or am I wasting my time.

Btw this is dependent on weather or not I get my course in college.

Chance The Rapper

You'd definitely need a parent or someone to offer collateral. You could try your local enterprise center.

Buttercake

Hollister11 wrote: »

I'm 18 just finished my leaving cert and for years I have wabted to start a cafe. I know what I want to sell, costs and markups that will be made.
But there is a problem.
I have about €50. Would banks take me seriously and give me a loan without any collateral or am I wasting my time.

Btw this is dependent on weather or not I get my course in college.

Get a job in a cafe/restaurant/hotel/bar, anywhere. Start at the bottom and work your way right up to supervisor level. Go to a different cafe/restaurant/hotel/bar or even work in a different country to gain more experience..work up to manager level, all the way along, pretend that wherever you work that you "own" the place.

Save up your money and then when you have about 30k, consider getting your own place. You will have enough knowledge of how things operate. It's a long road and a lot of sweat, tears, heart & soul but will be worth it in the end.

Best of luck.

Buttercake

Chance The Rapper wrote: »

You'd definitely need a parent or someone to offer collateral. You could try your local enterprise center.

LEO wouldn't entertain cafes/restaurants/bars/hairdressers etc. The only thing they would do is offer a start your own business course or maybe some mentoring.

jimmii

Definitely get at least a few years experience that will also give you plenty of time to save take the time to learn everything you can about the business and how it runs behind the scenes. I would imagine convincing someone to put the money up for a cafe right now is going to be tricky there seem to be a massive turn over of places right now seems everyone thinkings they can open a cafe. If you really think you have something that is different and will attract a customer base then I think you have to take your shot but definitely get in some more experience first. You could even try approach a cafe owner and ask them really REALLY nicely and see if they will let you shadow them for a few days so you can get the chance to pick their brains you never know you might get lucky!

micosoft

All the above. Wanting to run a business is different from being able to.

- If you can get into College do it. It's great to have a backup plan in your pocket if the business does not work out.
- Get a job in the sector and aim to work up to manager. Believe it or not, McDonalds can be a great route for this as they provide a structured promotion process, free training, and enough scope to actually get promoted to manager. You will learn a lot about running a business there from stock control to customer service. And you can use it to pay your way through college.
- Do a night course on starting your own business (many of them are only three weeks long in the summer when off college). As stated, you will not get a grant for this kind of business. But you can learn all the "in's and out's" of running a business from HR to Tax.


Listen and Learn. Lot's of very smart and experienced people crash and burn in this sector. And always have a plan B.

bizzyb

Agree with the above posts.I want to start a simular business myself but right now I no nothing! For start I'm starting college in September for 3 years to train as a chef and I won't even consider opening my own restaurant until I'm 40 (31 now). Start at the bottom and don't rush into it, you have youth on your side!

damiensw

Buttercake wrote: »

Get a job in a cafe/restaurant/hotel/bar, anywhere. Start at the bottom and work your way right up to supervisor level. Go to a different cafe/restaurant/hotel/bar or even work in a different country to gain more experience..work up to manager level, all the way along, pretend that wherever you work that you "own" the place.

Save up your money and then when you have about 30k, consider getting your own place. You will have enough knowledge of how things operate. It's a long road and a lot of sweat, tears, heart & soul but will be worth it in the end.

Best of luck.

This is the best advice that you will ever get. Take heed of this and you will be starting the process of running your own cafe in the future.

Deano7

bizzyb wrote: »

Agree with the above posts.I want to start a simular business myself but right now I no nothing! For start I'm starting college in September for 3 years to train as a chef and I won't even consider opening my own restaurant until I'm 40 (31 now). Start at the bottom and don't rush into it, you have youth on your side!

Very hard to start at 40, either kids or mortgage are present.

antoinolachtnai

As well as the excellent advice above, I would read into the topic. Food looks like a simple business but it is a complex and sophisticated business. I would read Danny Mayer's http://www.amazon.co.uk/Setting-Table-Danny-Meyer-ebook/dp/B000OI0FCQ - you can read the introduction on-line for free and there is a lot to learn from it.

bizzyb

Deano7 wrote: »

Very hard to start at 40, either kids or mortgage are present.

Thankfully I have a positive attitude, determination is a wonderful thing.

Graham

Deano7 wrote: »

Very hard to start at 40, either kids or mortgage are present.

Alternatively it's much easier to start a business at 40 because your mortgage is paid and your kids have left home.

Bit of a daft assumption.

Deano7

bizzyb wrote: »

Thankfully I have a positive attitude, determination is a wonderful thing.

Fair play to ya.

Jawgap

Cafés / restaurants have an extremely high failure rate and the set up costs from new can be prodigious.

My advice would be - as a lot have suggested - is to work in a few of them first (in different roles). See what works, what doesn't - what's the minimum size and what's a good size - what gives good margins - how location affects clientele etc

I'd also travel to have a look and see what's happening in other cities even if you only go as far as London.

You could also look at buying a cafe out of liquidation - unfortunately some go under not because of poor location, but because they're crippled by their start-up costs. Buying one of those can cut down the start-up cost making it a success for the purchaser.

Another option would be to look at a franchise, but you'd need backing to buy in.

A third option might be to start at the 'micro' level and buy or lease a 'coffee cart' or other mobile coffee / cafe option. Cheaper, but you'll need to pick your trading locations wisely.

Best of luck.

Jawgap

bizzyb wrote: »

Agree with the above posts.I want to start a simular business myself but right now I no nothing! For start I'm starting college in September for 3 years to train as a chef and I won't even consider opening my own restaurant until I'm 40 (31 now). Start at the bottom and don't rush into it, you have youth on your side!

Fair play to you.

My father - who was a half decent chef in his day - always said it takes ten years before a chef is ready to open his own restaurant, so you'll be bang on target.

In his experience most restaurants failed not because of problems with the cuisine, but because chefs tend to neglect the fact they are running a business first. If you can't manage the business side (or would concentrate on the food side), get someone who can. In his case he left all that to my mother - I can remember some right ding-dongs when she'd put the brakes on some of his ideas!

By the way you won't have a wife and kids - you'll probably have a manager and a couple of small commis chefs to help you out!

Good luck

Deano7

Hollister11 wrote: »

I'm 18 just finished my leaving cert and for years I have wabted to start a cafe. I know what I want to sell, costs and markups that will be made.
But there is a problem.
I have about €50. Would banks take me seriously and give me a loan without any collateral or am I wasting my time.

Btw this is dependent on weather or not I get my course in college.

I started in business at 22, I was young at the time but I did survive, while you are young you can make it work!

Your main issues are finance and experience. You could seek an investor with experience within this area or however you fulfill this need is entirely your own choice.

The banks won't give you money without security therefore you have to seek investors, etc and to get their attention you need a lucrative and innovative investment proposal.

Good Luck!

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

Sounds like you need a mentor to run through your business aspirations and help guide you, someone with experience would be invaluable to you. Try your local enterprise board.