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Q: Are you guys nuts? Do you really expect people to just give you money?
A: Well, to a certain extent we are a bit crazy. Our families think that this idea is nuts. However, we believe that there are enough people out there that understand the want, the need, and the desire to be in charge of their destiny. With that in mind, we also hope that we can make some products, such as T-shirts, that appeal to them. If we can find that happy medium, we are hoping to actually raise funding by selling products rather than receiving donations. But, we are not too proud to accept those donations too. Q: How much money do you think you can get from this web site? A: We have no clue. We know that the novelty of e-panhandling has diminished. Some sites such as Save Karyn have raised over $20,000.00 and other sites like Send Me A Dollar has rasied over $5,000.00 Between June and December of 2004. We believe that they have been very successfull, but there are many other e-panhandlers out there that are unable to cover the costs of their web site. We are hopeful that our concept of wanting to start our own business but lacking financial resources may appeal to average working people like ourselves. Q: How much money do you think you need for your restaurant? A: Well, that depends upon many factors. The first and foremost is the concept that we finally decide upon. The second most important factor is the location that we choose. But, to boil it down to a number, we are looking to have approximately $100,000.00 before we will be able to seek additional financing to complete the restaurant. Q: $100,000.00? That seems like a ton of cash just to start. Can't you go at it with less? A: Most small businesses that fail due so because they start out with inadequate capital. We will have to basically start from scratch and purchase (or lease) everything - from the location, kitchen equipment, walk in coolers, ovens, dining furniture, etc. And then we need to have sufficient working capital to get us through our start-up phase. Most restaurants that fail do so in the first year and, in most cases, it is due to under capitalization. We do not want to be in that category as we all have family obligations and we will all be quitting our "day jobs" in order to take on this career. We are looking to make this venture succeed, therefore we are trying to approach this plan from a very conservative prospective. Q: If you do raise some cash, do you three think that you can really run a restaurant? A: We truly believe that we can. We all have some restaurant experience, but each of us bring a skill to this venture. You can see more about us here. Q: Where would you locate the restaurant? A: The exact location is still up for debate. There will be several aspects to choosing the final location, however the three of us are all willing to move a ways to make our dream come true. We all live in the general Southern California area, however we are all good friends and have mutual ties in Palm Desert, CA; Rancho Cucamonga, CA; Claremont, CA; Arroyo Grande, CA; Ojai, CA; and parts of Orange County, CA. In essence, we are pretty open as to where we will finally place the business. Our goal is to find an area with the need of what we can offer. Weather that is an area with expansive growth or an area that is developed but has a need for what we can offer remains to be seen. Q: Have you considered venture capital? A: We have. Venture capital is a great way to get started. But there is always a catch. In most cases, venture capital firms want to have an equity steak and/or take the business public. We would love to make gazillions of dollars, which can be done by eventually going public, however our most important goal is to be in charge of our own destinies. By using venture capital, someone else is always pulling the strings. It basically boils down to being our own bosses. Q: How can I send you some money for your venture? A: The easiest way to send us money is to use the convenient Paypal donation button. But, if you wish to send us cash, a check or a money order, you can send it to the address at the bottom of this page. You can also get something for your money by purchasing a t-shirt, stein or mouse pad at our online store. Q: How much money can I donate? A: How much money do you have? Q: How long do you think it will take to raise the money you need? A: Who knows? We started discussing an investment club idea to raise money for this specific purpose back in 1997. Unfortunately, there have been several stumbling blocks along the way; one of which has been an erratic stock market since 9/11. However, if it takes 10 years to make this project work, we still won't be retired. In short: however long it takes! Q: Are you guys putting any of your own money into this project, or are you just counting on other people to pay your way? A: We actually have our own money invested. At this point, there is not a lot invested, however we are using all the available cash that we have for this venture. Q: If a restaurant project is your dream, then why pay for a top-level domain name like grillandbar.com? A: Getting the domain was a lucky break. We actually got it for a very good deal because it expired. We were lucky enough to have noticed the expiration date and put in a backorder prior to availabilty. If you are more interested in backordering domains, please feel free to contact tony at tony@grillandbar.com. Just to let you know, Tony is not affilliated with any backorder sites or gimmicks and he does not get a commission for any type of backordering. He just stumbled on to the opportunity and is willing to share his experience. Q: Who is your web master? This is a pretty simple web site for a top-level domain name. A: Tony is our web master. He had some experience back in the late 1990's writing directly in html, however it has been several years since he has done that type of stuff. Unforunately, he hasn't had the time to learn web page software, php & mysql or any other common web site programming techniques. However, it is in his immediate future. Please feel free to tell Tony to get on the ball and get a better site up quickly - tony@grillandbar.com. |
