Hello Pam,
We are trying to start up a Organic Pizza restaurant and having a hard time finding funding.
Are there any suggestions you have that would help us in this area. We are based in suburb of Sacramento,CA
We are a registered LLC and have a business plan.
Best Regards
Gary Rust President Co-Founder Pizza Organico,LLC
916-300-1205
garust@ssctv.net
Gary
I took my business to several banks in our local small town area (big and small banks). I received great results from the smaller local banks and no thank you’s from the larger banks. I expected this and actually wanted to work with the local banks anway.
I was able to green lights from 2 local banks to work with me on our project. I am at the step of final review of build out cost, my contribution towards the working captial etc.
Have you talked to any local smaller neighborhood banks? They tend to have a better feel for the community vs the national ones and have a vested interest in not only growing their business but your success as this will help them grow theirs even more.
Another route you can go is Equipment Leasing. Through this source you can provide funds for equipment, set up costs, and delivery costs. Leasing provides capital for 100% of the equipment costs and the down payments are usually first month and last month. Most equipment leases have a $1 payoff at the end of the term.
Some of the biggest strengths I find in this type of financing is the fact that it doesn’t affect your line of credit with your local banker. It’s a lease and does not go on your personal credit report, which also means it will not count against your debt to income. They compare with interest rates in the 8%-9% range.
I didn’t find out about this type of financing for my first store. However, while in the process of searching for financing for my second store I discovered this new way of obtaining capital for equipment. After equipment costs covered by my lease, my total out of pocket for the new store is less than $15k (that’s including a $10k franchise fee). So, if you’re not franchising, your total out of pocket would be less than $5k if you do it right. Hope this helps. -J_r0kk
Where’d you find that kind of Rate? 
Good info, I think I might take a 2nd look at this idea. Any particular vendor I should consider for this? Maybe lease the bigger items to reduce the expense of the start up.
this is how we’re going to open the “Gas’n Go” pizza concept/project…
we’re getting used equipment, from various sources, and wrapping it up w/a lease…
then we’re going to use a credit card for opening expenses…
risky, but fast…
Possible interested in this as well
Derek
All I did was a Google search online for “Restaurant Equipment Leasing”. You’ll get thousands of hits. One thing I will suggest in your search is to deal with the companies who are willing to do the $1 payoff at the end of the term. Some will try to sucker you into 10%. Don’t do it as you’ll have a hundred companies right behind them that will agree to the dollar. www.Leaseithere.com might be a good start for you guys. I told them I wanted $58k, they said they could only approve $23k… but it was a start. I’m dealing with 4 more companies right now and I’ll let you know what I come up with.
-J_r0kk
Be carefull of these 8-9% “leases”. Most all of these leasing companies will quote you a percentage, but it’s not comparable to a loan. They may loan you 50K at 9% but because its a lease, no principal gets paid off. You pay interest on 100% of the loan for the life of the loan. My 9% lease quote on my POS system would have cost me close to 23%. Do yourself a favor and buy an amortization book and at least know what you are truely paying before entering one of these leases. Not that they are not the right move for the correct situation, but don’t be fooled by the BS quote that most will give you. They all seem to stress the tax benifits as well, but if they cost you more in interest than tax benifits, what good does that do?