Small BUsinesses in Need (Westminster, Broomfield: real estate, lenders, broker)

[jacoby23]

I am in the very preliminary stages of planning to budget and write business plans for a small business I would like to open in the next few years. The site would be in the Broomfield-Westminster area, preferably on busy 120th Street. I am however not limited to this area. This will be a small business as we do not have huge amounts of capital.

What types of businesses would you like to see open in the area, or what types of businesses are in high demand in the area?

[StealthRabbit]

Don't forget to stop by the local SBDC and SCORE offices for SB info and FREE guidance (You can do both via online too) AND you can always switch to another of several thousand SB counsellors that better suit your business need.

Have you used Reference America (at library)? It is very detailed in the market survey info you are asking for.

I helps to know your interests, skills, and cash flow expectations.

Don't forget to FULLY understand the licensing / reporting / registration burden and costs.

Remember, you need to be 'self-funded' for first 3-5 yrs, or use local ED (Economic Development) fund for lending (less requirements than bank). Don't expect SBA help (financially) until you have an established 3-5 yrs of POSTIVE financials and have a 1.3 to 1.5 Debt Coverage ratio AND 25 - 30% equity (Known be lenders as "Skin-in-the-game")

Best wishes for successful business, we could use a few.

[oldtrader]

As the post above says, you have to be self funded for the first 3-5 years. That means enough money to fund the business and also money to support yourself/family till the business becomes profitable without taking any money out of the business. Remember, that something like 85% of all small businesses will be out of business within 5 years, mostly due to lack of capital to carry the business. I was a real estate commercial broker handling businesses and investments starting in 1971 till I retired many years later so I have some experience in the field, and was in the business world all my life and taught retail business at a college back in the 60s, leaving because I could not afford the pay cut involved.

There are a two rules of thumb to think of, before starting any business and are hard and fast rules towards your being successful.

1: Sufficient money to start the business and carry it for 3 to 5 years, plus money to support your household.

2: Never start a business, that you are unfamiliar with. Work for a while in the field, before you jump into it learning the business on someone else's dollar before you invest your own.