Aspirations for Business

[Charles Gather]

I am looking to leave my current full-time employment and feel like I have found what I want to do.  The problem is that I don't know how practical it is and I have no experience to fall back on that is relevant.  I found this board through a Google search and read a couple of really interesting threads.  So, my hope is that I have found a good source of information.

The Idea:

So, the nutshell version is a coffee shop (potentially with pre-baked pastries) at the end of a strip mall where I can also have a drive thru.  I want to buy the land, develop the strip mall, and rent out the space through a property manager while I run my coffee shop.

The Details:

I found a company that will help me figure out the coffee business.  They have package levels based on what you are looking to do for the equipment and interior design.  It includes mentorship, biz plan assistance, and even on-site training for the opening.  They make most of their money from the future sale of their products, although I'm sure they make a bit off the hardware and training, as well.  As I just sold a couple of rent houses from a business that I started out of necessity and have now closed, I know that if I had a spot I wanted to lease, I could afford to open a shop without financing.

This is where the complications start because of the bigger picture.  As I don't have any experience and this company does not do any development, I am trying to find a good source of information on how to figure out the rest.  I am ok doing the reading but I would really like to find direction or resources to help me flesh out the strip mall part of the plan in order to more efficiently use my time.  I am sure that between buying/developing the land, in addition to the startup cost of the coffee shop, I will need financing.  I also have no clue how to determine sizing of the strip, construction cost, or even reasonable costs for land or even how much land I need.  I'm not even sure this is a feasible idea, overall, or if I should just stick with the coffee shop.  Either way, I want to own the building and be my own boss.  There isn't much in the way of constructed buildings for sale in the areas I'm looking as they are high traffic but still in developing areas.  So, building seems like the best option.  If it works out, I might even want to replicate the process down the road.

Anyway, that is the gist.  If anyone has any thoughts, I would love to hear and all of them.  If it works out, I might even want to replicate the process.

Thank you for your consideration.

CG