Appetite for Debt – Why Loans is Good for You!
Starting and growing a restaurant can be a money intensive proposition. Buying or renting space, kitchen equipment, and furniture is only the beginning. Add to this the utility, salary and inventory, and it’s no surprise that so many restaurant owners struggle to make ends meet.
However, there are many sources of capital available to business owners who understand, and perhaps nothing is so important to the health of a restaurant that grows rather than debt. Loans, rent, credit cards, mortgages, and personal records of all kinds can make a new restaurant take off, or help a thriving restaurant grow.
No Money Down
Jimmy Kavopovis, 42, is the proud owner of Steele Creek Caf ?, a fast food-friendly place in an office park environment. This is the third restaurant business. The restaurant industry is currently very challenging, Kavopovis said, and finding loans for growth is part of the challenge. “In the past you could place equipment for collateral, but times have changed,” he complained. “Banks don’t lend money to restaurants that often.”
Nevertheless, Kavopovis has succeeded in developing a thriving business through the use of creative credit – both traditional and other. He built and owns the building where Steele Creek Caf is? operates, and owns another building – formerly the home of his first pizza restaurant.
Balancing effort
“Restaurants are very capital intensive,” said Lesley Kohn, principal at Nextaurant, Inc. San Francisco. “So there are some extraordinary ways to increase debt.” Nextaurant works with chefs and owner-operators on budgeting, fundraising, and operations. She has no lack of ideas and advice about using loans.
“Look at it holistically; too many companies are underleveraged,” Kohn says, referring to debt’s ability to multiply an owner’s profits without additional out-of-pocket cash. A holistic view of the business includes forecasting the budget for three to …
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