BonesCPA:
Well, if I go the custom paint route, I won't be jumping in headfirst. I've actually got plans to start doing some work for friends and people around town this winter to make a little cash and gain valuable experience. Hopefully that will allow me to be producing some good supplementary income by the time I graduate college.
I actually have a bunch of bodyworking equipment sitting around, and my best friend and I are going to buy all the other necessary stuff this winter, just so we can save money painting our own cars, while allowing us to be pickier about how the cars are painted. We just figured that if we've got the equipment, we might as well pick up some work on the side. He's already got a full-time job, so it wouldn't be something that we'd both be trying to jump into fulltime without a fallback (normal) job. As far as supplies, it'll be enough to lay good, full-custom paint jobs, but we're just doing this part-time, so the supply list isn't extravagent (no hydraulic lifts in the floor, no frame rack, just paint/body supplies totalling up to about 3,000...I can come up with my half a whole lot quicker than I can come up with 1.5 million!
The fact that we're not acquiring a new building helps as well.
As far as the borrowing for the retail location: I definitely don't expect to be getting any loans straight out of school. When I talked with my dad, he recommended getting a good job, and making some money, as well as getting some experience in the wine/cigar retail field for at least 3-5 years before presenting a business plan to anyone.
Your comments on marketing to an alternative clientele are very interesting. That may in fact be an interesting thing to research.
Just to clarify: the cigar/wine retail isn't a business I plan on opening anytime within the next few years, I'm just trying to find out how various people feel about the idea, and my family/friends aren't much help, since they're not exactly the ideal clients for such a business. Everyone's been a ton of help!
Hmm, does anyone have figures on what the percentage of success is (rough average) for a specialty retail shop (since I would probably have to open the shop solely retail before going into the spa thing--an idea my father had, said it'd probably help to build a client base, as well as establish the "manly" image before trying to convince guys to try the spa thing) and what kind of salary can be expected from a small-medium specialty retail store (as far as the owner is concerned)? Obviously, there are no magical formulas for this, since it's such a varying market, but I was just curious as to what kind of estimates you guys had (my usual go-to site,
www.bls.gov, is no help, since it doesn't account for the self-employed). Thanks again.