How many of you out there had to get financial help to start your business?
What would be the best way to get the money I need to get started?
And "roughly" how much should I plan on needing to get started, not counting the cost for a building I know that the building will depend on many factors, but I'm talking about for everything else?
I am thinking about $50,000. How off am I on this number? 
You're very close. We used the equity in our house. (Actually, the bank loaned us more than we had in equity! THey were great!). My equipment is in the $50K range and the build-out was $20K range. Understand that I'm also a caterer, so I probably have a lot more kitchen equipment than you need.
What I ran into (and so did a lot of CC'ers, based on previous threads) is that SBA will not loan money for anyone in the food industry that hasn't been in business 3 years.
I know .... I know... it's crazy. You have to be in business 3 years before you can get a loan to start a business. To quote that great line from "Apollo 13" ..... "Is this a government operation or what?"
The SBA doesn't loan money, they guarantee the loan to be repaid to the lender... they have quite a few lenders to refer.
I called the SBA to get info for the girl who wanted to buy my biz. Years ago they loaned $$.
mpc
I'm considering 60 -75K for my opening costs. I'm still pricing out a few things. 
What is SBA?
Small Business Administration.
I was just talking about this with my husband last night. I would really like to find out how much it would be to get started. I am only doing this part time right now, but can't afford to quit teaching until we have kids. (Need the insurance) Any suggestions on where to start and what to have ready when you get there?
Okay, this thread is so helpful. I am not one for loans. I have a massage school loan that is $5K and that's too much for me. I have such an avoidance of being in debt. I have a house now but my hubby and I really don't want to use our equity since we just bought our house last year and hope to pay it off in 8 years.
I decided to hustle and save the $70K needed to open my own bakery. I call it the pull-my-hair-out-but-it's-all-for-the-best no-loan program.
Don't worry, I know what I wrote is insane but what can you expect from a crazy mama like me? 
I feel like I am the guru of getting financing for businesses. We opened our bakery/donut shop last December. The banks, SBA etc would not even look at us because we had not been in business for 2 years (heard this in other posts several times 
). We eventually took out a second mortgage on our house to finance our business. Total cost for us was roughly $89,000...build out of the location, equipment, start up supplies, signs and ALL the hidden costs. Yes there are several hidden costs that we certainly didn't think of. It seemed like every time we turned around someone had their hand out for another $200, $300, $500 for fees and licensing etc. I know the good State of Ohio hit us up several times, and there is no getting around it. Then you start to think of your sign for outside the business...want to talk about sticker shock, and if you want a menu board get ready to pick your jaw off the ground. Don't get me wrong everything worked out great and we have developed a thriving business (which I have heard that it can take up to 2 years to see a profit, so I feel very fortunate) but what I am saying is do your research and then do it again before you sign on the dotted line to put your house up.
I would be happy to try to answer any questions if anyone has any. I am by far NOT an expert but this is very fresh in my mind because it was just December that we opened, but we are in the process of opening another location so I am in it again.
GOOD LUCK
I feel like I am the guru of getting financing for businesses. We opened our bakery/donut shop last December. The banks, SBA etc would not even look at us because we had not been in business for 2 years (heard this in other posts several times
). We eventually took out a second mortgage on our house to finance our business. Total cost for us was roughly $89,000...build out of the location, equipment, start up supplies, signs and ALL the hidden costs. Yes there are several hidden costs that we certainly didn't think of. It seemed like every time we turned around someone had their hand out for another $200, $300, $500 for fees and licensing etc. I know the good State of Ohio hit us up several times, and there is no getting around it. Then you start to think of your sign for outside the business...want to talk about sticker shock, and if you want a menu board get ready to pick your jaw off the ground. Don't get me wrong everything worked out great and we have developed a thriving business (which I have heard that it can take up to 2 years to see a profit, so I feel very fortunate) but what I am saying is do your research and then do it again before you sign on the dotted line to put your house up.I would be happy to try to answer any questions if anyone has any. I am by far NOT an expert but this is very fresh in my mind because it was just December that we opened, but we are in the process of opening another location so I am in it again.
GOOD LUCK
And that is exactly why we won't be using our house. I'm sorry for your headaches but I am genuinely happy for your success!
ok, you say that you have to be in business for 3 years before they will insure the money or what ever. Is that being in business for yourself or just working for someone in the food industry?
In business for yourself... having experience in the field is a plus - but being able to maintain your own business for 3 years is what they need to see.
In my state, I can't have a cake /bakery out of my home. I HAVE to have a separate building. How am I supposed to be in business for 2 to 3 years if I can't legaly do it, without a building. I'm a stay at home mom, with a house note, truck note, and many other bills. How am I supposed to get the money to have a building to do the business in the first place?
ok so:
I have to have a building
It has to have a triple sink, bathroom, etc...
I need money to have this building
so therefor
no money = no building
no building = no business
no business = no loan
How stupid is that
Here is an idea that my dad came up with......... what about a mobile kitchen?????? They can be custom built to fit the requirements of where you live. I found a place that started around 20 thousand. It seems like this might be ideal beacuse if you have a large wedding you could park close to the location and do the cake and not risk the travel.
In my state, I can't have a cake /bakery out of my home. I HAVE to have a separate building. How am I supposed to be in business for 2 to 3 years if I can't legaly do it, without a building. I'm a stay at home mom, with a house note, truck note, and many other bills. How am I supposed to get the money to have a building to do the business in the first place?
ok so:
I have to have a building
It has to have a triple sink, bathroom, etc...
I need money to have this building
so therefor
no money = no building
no building = no business
no business = no loan
How stupid is that
What I'm doing right now is renting space from another baker... I can do that and work my full time job. She charges me about $10/hour. I take on a cake or two a week...do that for 2 years then hopefully (crossing my fingers) we will have paid off all debt and be ready for me to dive into this head first!
Here is an idea that my dad came up with......... what about a mobile kitchen?????? They can be custom built to fit the requirements of where you live. I found a place that started around 20 thousand. It seems like this might be ideal beacuse if you have a large wedding you could park close to the location and do the cake and not risk the travel.
I read about that idea in another post and got all excited b/c it was a more affordable alternative. When I started to research it with the Health Department here in Texas, they stated those can only be used for single serving items. So if you were doing a dessert mobile that would work but whole cakes for people to buy, that's a no-no. 
All these dumb "regulations" to keep the (wo)man down! 
[/quote] jewelykaye
What I'm doing right now is renting space from another baker... I can do that and work my full time job. She charges me about $10/hour. I take on a cake or two a week...do that for 2 years then hopefully (crossing my fingers) we will have paid off all debt and be ready for me to dive into this head first!
[/quote]
That would be great but there is nowhere around here that I could use. No other bakers around here.
I've decided that in 3 years, I'm opening a bakery no matter what. That will give my husband time to be out of grad school and my oldest child will be in school. I will have plenty of time to perfect my recipes and decide exactly what I want my business to be and decide the feel of the location. I've pretty much figured it out, but I have to meet with some marketing people to see how to market my idea. Anyway, if I don't do it then, I'll never do it. Just jump in there and do it, but make sure you have a master plan. You can do it one way or another.
I have found out that Home Depot offers a progect card, no interest for 12 months, Then after 12 months you have a fixed interest rate until you pay it all off. So you apply for your card with how much you want, and use it to pay for your project. They have really nice storage buildings with windows and all the materials to finish the inside, (I found one thats 10x18 for only $2300.) , ovens, they even have triple compartmant sinks, mom sinks, refriderators, frezers. So I think I may try to go this route. Lowes has the same type of card, I think there limit is $30,000. And fixed interest is as low as 6 or 7 %. Not sure what home depots limit is. But I don't thinks that Lowes has the triple sinks. Would have to check. They do have nice buildings though. And I think they are a little cheeper. Only thing is that you can only purchase from the place you get the card from. So any thing that I would need that I can't get there I'll have to save up for. We have one from Lowes to remodel our living room. So once that one is paid off, then I think I might try for this one.
... Only thing is that you can only purchase from the place you get the card from. So any thing that I would need that I can't get there I'll have to save up for.
If they dont' carry it, ask to see if they can order it or get it from another of their stores.
we built a new house a year and a half ago. we have a typical 2 car garage and plenty of space in the house for regular living space. in my state, you cant have a bakery out of your home kitchen. as i take walks around the neighborhood, i get bummed out that we didnt think of getting a third garage (an option by our builder) that we could have renovated into a separate kitchen for a legal legitamate business. unfortunately at the time that we decided to build, i wasnt into this hobby. *sigh*
I can not have an in-home bakery either in this state, Oklahoma. We have looked at many options this last week. We are now looking at renting, it is going to be about $250 a month to rent here. I figure if I can't get a loan yet, I might as well rent and build my business. I don not have another baker in my area to share space with either. I never knew about that card you mentioned, that is great! I will have to check that out. I wish you the best of luck with everything.
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