The Big Day
Tomorrow is the big day. I submit my first loan application to the bank in the hopes that the SBA will back the loan and the bank will give me the money. I am nervous but I am not. I don’t physically feel nervous but the little voice in my head in on overdrive. It’s pretty nuts.
I’m excited though. It has been a lot of hard work to get here. I have spent the weekend putting my marketing expertise to good use cleaning up and designing a pleasing layout for the business plan. I think the hardest part is knowing the right balance between enough information and too much information. I have been trying to approach it as just another marketing project to try and remain objective but…it’s hard because it is so personal. Keep your fingers crossed for me and in the meantime…check out the yummy peanut butter pie. At least I can keep myself busy while the SBA reviews my application.
Yummy Peanut Butter Pie
With a little help from my friends…
Ok. Let me just say this. Friends are great! I love my friends and when you are trying to start your own business, it is unbelieveable how even the smallest things they do add up to mean so much.
Take for example my best friend Caitlin. On this earth, you will not meet a kinder, gentler soul who cares so much for the people in her life. Not only has she agreed to help me with all the PR and Marketing campaigning leading up to the opening of the restaurant…she has also graciously offered to join the part-time staff and reenter the world of food service to come work for me. Now, if there is 1 type of employee that I want working for me – it would be anybody like Caitlin. She’s sweet, friendly and I don’t think she has ever met a stranger. The customers are going to love her as much as I do.
Another fine example, my friend Darren (who is also an SBO – small business owner) has been A ROCK for me through this process. I have a question, I call Darren. I don’t understand, I call Darren. I mean, he HAS to be tired of hearing from me. Anyways – we are talking today about letters of recommendation. The guy at the SBA advised me to compile as much supporting material about myself, my business sense and my history as I could to show potential lenders that I was not only reliable (credit history) but also dependable (professional history). A great way to do this is with letters of recommendation. So naturally, I reach out to Darren. We have known each other forever and the way we met was at his business – my company was a customer and I was sent to pick something up there. Him, his wife and his son (who is brilliant and adorable – at 3!) are a HUGE part of my life. So naturally, when starting a business, he is the one I would turn to for a recommendation. He knows me well! Anyway, I shoot off a quick email and get one back in about 5 seconds that says – call me. So, I do. Well, this guy is not only going to write me the letter, but is gonna do ONE BETTER. He sets me up with one of his good friends and professional contacts who is a LENDER for a local bank. I’m sorry. I am under-selling this guy. He is the freakin’ VP of Business for the bank! Now, Darren says to me, I can’t guarentee you will get a loan out of this but at least some good advice.
Forget the loan part. I would not expect a bank to give someone a loan because they know someone who knows someone who needs some money. I mean. Whatever. But seriously – try GREAT ADVICE. I mean, who better to council you on what potential lenders will want than a FREAKING LENDER. And the thing is – the thing that matters most in this story – if I didn’t have such a great friend, who believed in me and my business idea this much – I never would have had this opportunity. The meeting is Monday, so I will let you know how it goes! And Darren – you are the best!
I need HOW MANY SINKS?
Happy Friday Everyone! At least, I am pretty sure it is Friday. When you don’t live an 8:30-5:30 existance that is merely a list of tasks between one weekend and the next, it becomes pretty difficult to keep track of the days. Not that I am not doing anything, it is just that there isn’t a break in the middle anymore. Every day has become yet another day to get things done for the business. And I have to say – it is great. I know I am working harder than I ever have, putting in more hours than I ever have and doing way more MATH than I ever have but I am seriously having a blast.
So last night was a big night for me. I was researching health codes and the like for my particular area of the world. I now know why it costs so much to open a restaurant – CONSTRUCTION! Seriously. The sinks have to have sinks! And you have to have a sink for each activity that would take place – including a sink for hand washing. Yeah – that is all it is for. Now, as a part of the restaurant going public I say BRING IT ON. Keep me safe and my food safe. As a potential restaurant owner, I only see my construction costs rising…and rising…and rising. YIKES. That is a lot of upfront capital going out of my pocket. So, I have crunched the numbers and decided that even though the rent is a bit higher, it pays to look into some pre-existing spaces that have already been constructed to meet the health codes of the city and county. This “shortcut” doesn’t eliminate upfront costs for me but it certainly minimizes. I am also hoping to find a kick-butt commercial broker who can negotiate the lease down for me. Fingers-crossed people. It’s all about hoping for the best.
Networking – It really is that great
So I met with the SBA guy at the Knightdale Chamber of Commerce. It was a free event they were hosting and I thought hey – free – my unemployed self can afford that! Well, after my meeting (see recap one post back), one of the staff members and I were talking about my business and she mentioned that the Chamber was hosting a women in business lunch the next day.
I should start by saying a couple of things about me. 1) Although I was a promotions director for a radio station which meant I had to be very outgoing and approachable with all types of people and 2) I am a marketer by trade which means I have dealt with a lot of professional people over the years — I am VERY SHY when it comes to meeting new people, especially in a group setting. Freaks me out and I get really nervous. It is pathetic.
Now, back to the luncheon. How could I say no. I am a woman. I want to be in business. It seemed like something I should do so I signed up. I thought I would go through my usual cycle of — nervous, don’t want to go, decide I should go, more nervous, decide I will not go, get angry at myself, don’t go — yes, this is crazy I know but I have just always felt as though when I talked to or reached out to people, I was somehow bugging them or wasting their time. I’m weird. I know.
Today was different though. Today found a new sense of confidence or something in me that just led me to the luncheon and it was great. I wasn’t nervous at all. I walked into the room, sat at a table where other people already were (I NEVER DO THAT) and even when it was my turn to give an introduction, I just stood up and did it. I cannot believe how easy it was for me. I think that this is how I know that I am doing the right thing for me. Because for the first time in my life, I feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment out of my days. I have never had that with any other job. I always hoped that their approval of my work would give it to me but it never did. Until today. Today is the day that I found out what I was really capable of and I have to say, it is the greatest feeling in the world.
Now. We just need the loan so this great feeling can start coming with a paycheck!
And to all the Women in Business today at the Knightdale Chamber of Commerce – thank you for welcoming me with such open arms into your community. I look forward to a great time with you guys and we are ON for margarita brainstorming!
And then there was money
It is pretty obvious to anyone not living under a rock that our world keeps spinning round and money is the fuel that keeps her going. You can’t do anything without money. And that includes starting a business.
A really successful businessman said once that the smartest thing he ever did was never invest a dollar in a business he started. I don’t know that I agree that is the smartest thing but it is certainly what has kept his bank account full.
Here’s the thing. If you don’t have anything to lose, how hard are you going to work at making your business great? A personal investment in what you are building seems like a necessary check point to the whole process. Granted, I have no money. Let’s just say that I was pretty stupid in my 20’s and a lot of my income is tied up in America’s favorite accessory – credit card debt. I will say that approaching 30 (the big day is Aug. 8th), I have come to realize the error of my ways and am working hard to correct oh so many wrongs. Being currently “between opportunities” (see about me), that makes it a little tougher to make a dent. But then, I have always been optimistic so I am pretty sure that in the end, I will win out over my debt.
The point here is that although I don’t really have the money to invest in my own business, the wonderful folks at the SBA (you don’t know it – google it) kindly informed me the other day that I will be responsible for coming up with 20% of the amount I am looking to borrow. Yeah. That means if I am borrowing $150,000 – I gotta come up with $30,000 and the bank will fork over the $120,000. Scary.
Here is what I will say about financing the business. This was my greatest fear in all of this. Not the fact that I am essentially borrowing more than I paid for my house or that I will be responsible for paying the bank back, but that I might not be “worthy” enough for Mr. Lender to even consider giving me that kind of cash. Back to the SBA guy…we sit down and he kindly asks me, “What kind of business do you want to start?” I respond with my idea for a bakery-cafe in Knightdale. He says, “Well, you got two things against you. First, you want to open a restaurant and that is a scary risk for the bank. Second, you have never owned a business before.” Since I cannot change either of these facts, I inquire as to what I can do to overcome them. He responds, “Write an amazing business plan and put yourself in the lender’s shoes. Tell him how this isn’t a risk.”
Great – the business plan. I have never written one. How do I even know that I am on the right track? Minimize the risk? How do you even begin. What if I get an exceptionally paranoid loan guy? What then? And my big question of the day – how much does my personal credit history play into all of this?
I am not gonna lie folks – that is where he got scared. First words out of his mouth – a lot. Great. But then he asked me if I knew my credit score. YES! I am prepared. I am a good student. I did my homework and know it is ___! He looks me in the eye and says – you have nothing to worry about. I cannot tell you how happy I was to hear those words.
Just don’t tell my mother she was right about how important good credit is ok?
Why We Are Here
In the course of writing my business plan – which btw is NOT as easy as you would think – I have been doing tons of research on the net and discovered that although there is a lot of info on starting your own business, there really isn’t a lot of info on starting your own business. What I mean by that is there are a TON of sites that offer you guidence on the steps that you go through to make this happen, but very little from people that have actually done it. So, I thought to myself, why not blog about this as I go along through it…sort of a play-by-play of my experiences and hopefully you will get something out of it too.
First things first. You have to write a business plan. This is simply not a step to skip nor is it one to take lightly. My first stop was to Microsoft Online. There you will find a treasure trove of great templates that were put together by SCORE (if you don’t know who that is, you need to break out the google search asap!). I got the template for my business plan, sales forecasting, p&l’s and cash flow all in this one place. It made life so much easier. The business plan template was great because it didn’t just tell me what I needed to include. It is set up with a series of questions under each section. You answer the questions then go back and compile your answers into paragraph form. Here is why this rocks – because in answering those questions, I really was forced to think through each and every aspect of what I want this business to be. I knew what I wanted, but I had to define in absolute detail what it was. A great exercise because knowing it know, before I open the doors, will really give me a road map to follow when all the craziness of actually running the business sets in.
So, starting a business, lesson 1: Write a business plan. A thorough, well thought, well defined plan for exactly what you want the business to be. This is the most involved project I have ever done but it is also the most rewarding. I am 8 days in and not done yet.
