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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to want to leave my job

9 replies

pineapple70 · 15/07/2011 15:47

... and open a cafe?
I have dp and 1 ds. I'm the main earner.

OP posts:
brownleatherbrogues · 15/07/2011 15:50

will you do bacon butties

and cake

mmmmmm cake

LaurieFairyCake · 15/07/2011 15:52

Is this a friday afternoon 'dream' or a possible plan? Grin

pineapple70 · 15/07/2011 17:09

Well more like a Monday to Sunday dream and perhaps a plan, but one with no financials worked out. I suppose I'm wondering if anyone on here has jacked it all in and pursued a dream.

OP posts:
SomethingProfound · 15/07/2011 18:07

You can make a fortune from cafes especially if you deliver lunches to local business. And breakfasts to industrial sites that open early.

Pendulum · 15/07/2011 18:23

I have just quit my job to pursue a new direction, and am main earner in the household. I will earn nothing for a while so it feels like a big risk. But I have a good savings pot behind me and some clear ideas about my next steps. Also my DH is completely behind me because he can see how miserable my job makes me.

Do you have money to see you through the first stages? Have you done some market research?

CheshireDing · 15/07/2011 18:55

Good luck if you decide on a new venture OP.

It partly will depend on the location of the cafe/deli though. The cost of rent could be your main issue.

My Mum has one and due to the rent, staff etc she wants to sell it and just do weddings/christening etc from home (the food/hygiene-whatever it is inspector has signed off her home and kitchen). The overheads are to high for her and she could be more flexible just having her website and working from home. She does weddings etc on the side now and that is much more profitable but she is tied in to the lease still for a bit longer at the moment.

wordfactory · 15/07/2011 19:09

I did pursue my dream but I was not the main bread winner.

That said, it still felt like a big risk at the time. But it has paid off.

wicketkeeper · 15/07/2011 21:17

Been there, seen it, done it, got the overdraft. Don't give up anything until you've done a proper business plan. A real one, not a fantasy one. Work out the absolute minimum amount you can live on (no holidays, no nights out, no Sky TV packages etc etc etc). This is how much your business needs to bring in. And unless you have some savings, it will have to start bringing it in immediately. Also work out your start up costs - premises, furnishings, kitchen equipment, insurance, advertising, stock, staff (who will need to be paid before you take any money from the business for yourselves, and regardless of your turnover). All the start up costs will have to be funded before your business starts bringing any money in (did I ask you about savings?) You could try to get a bank loan, but you'll still have to fund the repayments every month.

Do you have a catering background? Are you up-to-date with current health and hygiene regs? Do you have any knowledge of bookkeeping? (One of the big costs is accountant's fees - the more you can do yourself, the less you have to pay).

Sorry if this all sounds very negative. FWIW we are living the dream right now - and it's bloody hard work. We have a 6-figure annual turnover, no complaints - but we owe a 4-figure amount of VAT, and I spend my life chasing payments of invoices (we're currently owed £20,000). Up side - we get to work together, we can be flexible with our time up to a point, and there's a huge feeling of satisfaction that we're doing it ourselves. Down side - there's nowhere to hide when things go wrong (and they do go wrong), it's impossible for us to get a mortgage (need 2-3 years' books), we wouldn't be entitled to any unemployment benefit if the rug was pulled from under us, ditto sick pay.

I guess what I'm really trying to say is- do your homework before you take the plunge. It's a very big step, but it's not impossible, as long as you know what you're letting yourself in for.

honeyandsalt · 15/07/2011 21:25

Have you worked in catering before? If not, find a business that does the sort of thing you'd like to do, take a week's leave from your job and work the same hours at it as the owner and see whether it's really your thing. It's bloody hard work in my experience but if you love it then by all means...

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