Small Business Plan For Restaurants

I want to start a small family restaurant..How do I go about getting the loans??

I know there are SB loans, but do they require a professionally written business plan, or is that something I could type up myself? Also, are there grants out there for women, minorities, etc.? My husband is Hispanic, although he was born in CA., he is currently out of work (he just got laid off). We both also have American Indian in our blood, although this may be difficult finding any documentation. We live in CA…..any ideas where to start?

If you are thinking of small business loans, I suggest you first visit Small Business Administration’s financing center http://www.sba.gov/financing/

Other possible sources of funds to start your restaurant business:

Your Credit Card

Using Credit Cards to Finance Your Startup

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,290366,00.html

Credit Where Credit Is Due: Using Plastic to Finance Your Start-Up http://www.inc.com/articles/1999/08/16625.html

Your Family Members and Friends

Accepting Start-Up Capital from a Family Member: Good or Bad?

http://www.powerhomebiz.com/blog/2006/08/accepting-start-up-capital-from-family.html

Borrowing Startup Funds From Friends & Family http://www.entrepreneur.com/Your_Business/YB_Node/0,4507,159,00.html

Microloan program which provides loans up to $35,000

SBA Microloan Program http://www.sba.gov/financing/sbaloan/microloans.html
SBA Accredited Microloan Providers http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol145/microloanproviders.htm

Forget about grants. It is hard to find grants to start a business. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for a for-profit business. Restaurants are a for-profit venture, and you cannot get grants to startup this business.

Nonetheless, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov – these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.

Even if you buy books on “how to get grants” or list that supposedly has information on grants — all of them are mere rehash of what CFDA has, albeit packaged differently. But still the info is the same – hardly any grants for starting a for profit business.

Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html…

“The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. (See http://www.sba.gov/financing for more information) While SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments.”

Here is a listing of federal grants for small businesses. See if there is any available for individuals for starting a business — THERE’S NONE.

http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.BROWSE_BENEF_RPT.show

Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT – Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program

Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women’s Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women’s business center that will train women entrepreneurs

For private grants, you may want to check the Foundation Center’s Foundation Grants for Individuals Online. It’s a subscription based website ($9.95 per month) but their opening blurb only says that the database is ideal for “students, artists, academic researchers, libraries and financial aid offices.” Entrepreneurs are apparently not one of them, so I take it they also don’t have listings of private foundations who give grants to would-be entrepreneurs.

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