I am looking for information on the business side of starting a Pizza place, and was hoping one or some of you knew what steps to take.
The background: I have managed several of the top Pizza chains for some years: Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and Domino’s. I know what I am doing, and understand ALOT about the pizza business. I have the passion and drive to be able to run my own pizza place, instead of doing it for a company as just a manager. The problem is I have no money whatsoever to start one and no not because I have not saved up, as I am only 25.
My question is, with no money, GREAT credit, and a detailed and excellent business plan, with a pretty well known pizza company, how can I go about getting a loan for around 240,000?
Would banks laugh me out the door? Where would I find a investing partner?
Any advice would be appreciated. I really want to accomplish this dream of mine.
You are not going it get the Red Carpet welcome with no money down.
I am not trying to be rude here but most likely they would.
That my friend is the million dollar question. I was fortunate enough to have a great deal of equity in my house. I was able to find an investor that would give a second mortgage. With no money you are putting someone else at risk not yourself.
This may sound harsh but you need to know the real world of the pizza industry for most independent operators. To prepare yourself you need to work 100 hours a week (at what ever you can). This will do 2 things for you. First you will know what it is going to be like starting up your own place(most of the indys that I know started with these crazy hours) second you can build up a nest egg so when you are ready you can go into the business with some money.
Good luck with your dream. I hope you are able to make a go of it. This is the most rewarding thing that I have done over my many different career paths.
It is possible, but very unlikely… I’m 25 years old, and just started my own place literally from scratch. New menu, new construction/design/blueprints, made the decisions for what equipment, hired new staff, the decor, computer system, and literally every single detail that goes into opening a DELCO… All on my own with virtually no help. I was fortunate enough to find an investor for the money part. I am working 100+ hour weeks without a day off. I know the ins and outs of this place, it is my baby.
Would I do it again? Probably not, but then again I have learned a lot of new things, and made a lot of mistakes that I can learn from.
I suggest work a couple more years, save lots of money, take your time with a thorough business plan, and wait till the economy gets a little better and banks are a little more approachable.
I guess it depends what your definition is of a new store…my hoods cost more than $30K so I don’t think that $240K is crazy…if you buy one of those equip package deals on ebay, and take over an existing store with mechanicals in place than $30K is possible, but I think 100K is a good starting point, not $30K
The build out alone was $65k. Total was over 200k (doesn’t include labor/training, marketing, advertising etc). PLUS you HAVE to have extra money in the bank for getting up and running with minimum sales.
Yes, mine will be 3-4000 sq feet dine-in, delco with arcade, tv setup type deal. It will be with a franchise, maybe which is why my cost seems higher. I do not know the avg build out costs in California, as that is the only figure I have no clue on where to begin estimating. I figured somewhere in the price range of 60-90k to make it look nice. Also the landlord is willing to pay half the build out.
I do have an interested business partner that can put in half the investment. He is just reluctant in investing his money into a business, and keeps delaying. Hopefully not out of the awesome property that I think would fit best for what we are doing.
Hopefully he comes around, otherwise I really dont know where to begin outside of slowly saving.
Ill chime in with my shameless plug here. I am selling my pizza business in Maine and including the real estate for 299k. It is a healthy business. We just had our first child, and cannot continue to run this as well. If you are interested then drop me a line. mattbau43 at gmail.com