I have been reading up on small businesses, and have learnt one very important detail: start-up costs are almost always from your own cash reserves.
while I don't find this "unfair" or anything, it is quite discouraging to find out. This is because I am only currently bringing in $25,000/yr (25 years old) and am the sole provider for my wife and two year-old. Now, this is an entry-level job, and I could be making around $60,000 in five years or so. Still, it is discouraging. I am contributing to retirement and savings, but no room for anything else (believe me - I'm great at personal finance, and have reduced my debt from $15,000 to $1,200 in just two years; six months of which I was unemployed, living off of $700/mo; I am also an active member of several personal finance communities, so we don't need help here. We have simply reached our max potential for our income level).
So here's the thing - I could cash-out our retirement at the end of ten years or so. However, I will have only contributed roughly $13,000 by then. Definitely not enough, even when factoring in the gains.
The loans that are available for small business owners are for business growth, such as expansion or upgrades. This raises the question: Is it a more financially sound idea to start as a food truck, and then expand to a brick and mortar location?
it is a lot to take in. Any advice would be much appreciated!
(I used the search; couldn't find much in the way of start up financing, except people asking how much it costs.)
Edit: We have almost no collateral. Our car is paid off but worth about $5,500. We have about $10,000 available on credit cards (no balance), and we don't own a house. None of this should be changing anytime soon.
while I don't find this "unfair" or anything, it is quite discouraging to find out. This is because I am only currently bringing in $25,000/yr (25 years old) and am the sole provider for my wife and two year-old. Now, this is an entry-level job, and I could be making around $60,000 in five years or so. Still, it is discouraging. I am contributing to retirement and savings, but no room for anything else (believe me - I'm great at personal finance, and have reduced my debt from $15,000 to $1,200 in just two years; six months of which I was unemployed, living off of $700/mo; I am also an active member of several personal finance communities, so we don't need help here. We have simply reached our max potential for our income level).
So here's the thing - I could cash-out our retirement at the end of ten years or so. However, I will have only contributed roughly $13,000 by then. Definitely not enough, even when factoring in the gains.
The loans that are available for small business owners are for business growth, such as expansion or upgrades. This raises the question: Is it a more financially sound idea to start as a food truck, and then expand to a brick and mortar location?
it is a lot to take in. Any advice would be much appreciated!
(I used the search; couldn't find much in the way of start up financing, except people asking how much it costs.)
Edit: We have almost no collateral. Our car is paid off but worth about $5,500. We have about $10,000 available on credit cards (no balance), and we don't own a house. None of this should be changing anytime soon.
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had stellar credit and 0 debt, I charged everything else. After I used that money up, I borrowed some money from family. I have a couple threads about building a coffee truck as well as a shop, you might find them helpful 
It was originally her idea, having been a barista as a teenager. She is looking to get back into the field so that she can gain more experience, once our kiddo is ready for school/babysitting (she is two right now). I have been reading a lot into the technical side of things, while she has been into the creative aspect a lot. She's good at that. I do need to get her involved more with the technical issues. 