Need a good business idea

amother

Yellow

Sun, Nov 27 2016, 10:53 pm

amother wrote:

Many people seem to think lakewood has a decent cafe but I beg to differ. The best of the kosher cafes are run by israelis. Partner with an Israeli, incorporate that style (ie. Cafe K, cafe rimon)and you will be successful!

Do you live in Lakewood?
I do. My friends family and neighbors are all very happy with the dairy options that we have. Some other dairy cafes have opened and quickly closed. In my opinion, we have all that we need.
(Except for good sushi!)

33055

Sun, Nov 27 2016, 11:33 pm

debsey wrote:

I think if I follow my accountant's recommendations, I'm unlikely to get into trouble, since he is a licensed professional.
I'm not talking about a deduction, I'm talking about putting her on payroll for my business as an employee, which means that I'm paying her with pre-tax income.

I was hoping an imamotherCPA would address your post. Nothing I say is legal advice. You should consult your attorney for that.

Firstly, having your return prepared by a professional doesn't protect you from getting "into trouble". You are responsible for your own return. Perhaps E&O Insurance or a preparer guarantee kicks in to cover your monetary losses; however, the government will look to you.

Secondly, this looks like something you should do a lot more research on. The tax credit looks interesting but complex. Can you run a daycare in your home for your employees without complying with a lot of laws other than just tax laws? I don't know about NJ's rules for daycare, but if they are similar to NY's you are looking at an undertaking not merely finding the right person and putting them on payroll. Are you doing this to retain employees, or are doing it to pay for your own childcare?

imeinu

Sun, Nov 27 2016, 11:53 pm

amother wrote:

Prime95 Sushi is incredible!
not milchigs, though...

amother

Yellow

Mon, Nov 28 2016, 8:31 am

amother wrote:

Yellow amother- I do live in lakewood. Yes there are lots of options but nothing really good in my humble opinion. I'm talking quality delicious food at decent prices. Again, if you appreciate cafe k, sunflower, beyond shem tov in miami, you know what I mean.

Actually, you're right, beyond by Shem tov is an AWESOME place but I don't think that would fly in Lakewood for some reason.

amother

Babypink

Mon, Nov 28 2016, 9:22 am

OP here...thanks everyone! I really appreciate all your input. I happen to think there is no great milchig cafe in Lakewood either and we were thinking of opening a branch of mocha bleu, Cafe K, Sushi Tokyo, etc.

We're open to a lot of ideas and my husband is going to speak to one of his friends who is a successful business man as well to get some advice from him as well.

There is a lot we still have to learn and we are not going to jump in to anything too quickly. My husband is a well thought out person and is not going to make any rash decisions.

debsey

Mon, Nov 28 2016, 10:25 am

Squishy wrote:

I'm doing this because I get what it's like to leave a nursing infant, and if we had childcare on site, that would make life easier. It would also greatly cut down on absenteeism, lateness, and turnover. And yes, since I am in the same position as my employees, and I need someone to watch my baby, why not have that same someone watch 2-3 babies? The big issue with this seems to be liability insurance and changing my policy, which might make it not worth the expense and headache.

debsey

Mon, Nov 28 2016, 10:27 am

amother wrote:

Hatzlacha! I'm not a big "eat out" person, but I do order lots of corporate platters and lunches. One piece of advice - talk to the people who had failed restaurants in Lakewood and see if you can learn from their mistakes.

33055

Mon, Nov 28 2016, 1:41 pm

debsey wrote:

A some point you become a day care provider. In some states you can watch one unrelated child. And you would have to offer this benefit to all your employees in the same class. What would you do the days school is closed or your worker can't send her toddler to daycare because the kid must be 24 hours fever free? It is an interesting question.

amother

Wheat

Mon, Nov 28 2016, 7:30 pm

amother wrote:

Are you in a heavily Jewish area?

If I had the time I would totally operate a toveling service where I would pick up the dishes/utensils, make sure to remove all labels, tovel everything, dry and repack it and drop it off. Maybe I'd charge a premium for washing the stuff with soap afterwards if it was worth my while. This would be a godsend for busy kallahs or people before Pesach or whenever people build up a big enough stash of random stuff.

I have no idea how lucrative this would be.

not op.

but how much would people pay for a service like this?

mille

Mon, Nov 28 2016, 8:20 pm

Restaurants are a terrible investment. I wish you much luck if you decide to go down that road... I've been in restaurants my whole life as an immediate family member is a chef. I've seen many fail, especially those ran by people who are NOT business people... The most successful restaurants I have seen, kosher and not, had a major partner who was a businessperson first and foremost. Restaurants are a huge startup expense (generally 200k at a bare minimum, and that's a bare minimum, depending on construction needs), and you generally stay in the red for many months if not years.

I worked in a now very very successful kosher restaurant. When it started, the owners didn't take home a salary for the first year. After the first year, they were taking home less than 40k each... It's not a particularly profitable business for a long time.

I am not completely trying to discourage you (only a little), but you really need to go into this with a full understanding. Please talk to some people who have opened restaurants - and NOT those which you are trying to franchise (of course they will tell you everything was easy and fun and no big deal - they want you to franchise their restaurant and further their brand!).

amother

Lemon

Mon, Nov 28 2016, 10:22 pm

amother wrote:

Such a business already exists, as I discovered to my frustration last time I bought new dishes. This company was there doing a job for a newlywed couple that had apparently gotten the entire kitchen and tableware section of bed bath and beyond for their wedding. I hung around for ten minutes and then wisely went home to return early the next morning at an hour when most honest folks are still abed. It was wedding season and I didn't want to run across the toveling service people again !

amother

Babypink

Tue, Nov 29 2016, 12:07 pm

mille wrote:

Thanks for your input. I will definitely make a note of everything you mentioned. Also, we weren't going to buy a location. We were planning to rent and I've heard that a lot of places in Lakewood do that because it costs too much to buy a property. We're not hung up on going in to the food business so it may end up being something completely different.

What do ppl think about opening up a baby clothing store along with furniture as well? Something similar to Juvenile Planet....

debsey

Tue, Nov 29 2016, 12:27 pm

amother wrote:

I feel like that's also pretty well supplied - the people who want to go to a local store have so many to choose from! Elemeno, Piccolino, JP, etc. Personally, I buy pretty much every single baby related thing online. I only go into baby stores for gift packages or when there's a major sale. I think you should post a poll on here - what store do you WISH existed in Lakewood and why and see if you like any of the ideas people give you.