cfcommunist Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 When I ran away with my girlfriend Kala (At only 17), We Ended up starting a business together.. A resteraunt... And as much as I was initially against it She rather quickly convinced me to get involved, and i ended up investing my entire savings in it so we could get it going... that was 10 years ago..... 5 years ago, My Girlfriend Kala passed away in a car crash (Shortly after we opened the second resteraunt) leaving me to try to carry on with the business myself. It has been a hard fought battle every step of the way, and several times over the past years we nearly went under. 2 Years ago I finally convinced my wife to get involved in the business and We've been in this together ever since. Thanks to the huge investment she made in the business we have expanded to 4 Resteraunts and 3 bars (We have a small chain going now) and all of which have completely paid for them selves (The initial investment has been entirely recouped) This Friday we will be opening Resteraunt #5 and it has caused me to look back on some of the harder times. Just 3 years ago I was 100% certain i was going to have to sell-out before going completely bankrupt. This was Kala's dream; And As sad as I am that she is no longer here with us to see it, I am extremely happy and proud to finally say its actually working the way she always said it would. Everyone Kept telling me how stupid i was to let Her get me involved in this, That it would never work, and that i was wasting my life on a pipe dream. It makes me so happy to finally be able to look at what I, what we, have done, and actually have something to be proud of. I know there will be hard times now and again in the future as well, but im just overjoyed that things are actually going right finally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karvala Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Good for you! You followed the dream, and you made it real. I'm sure Kala was very proud of you, and I'm sure you're wife is now. It's good to hear a tale of hard work and determination paying off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceman26 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Nice job comrade. Congratulations on the successful business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnigmaticEncounter Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Just goes to show you that even if a majority of people will see your aspiration and dreams unfit, theres no limit to what you can do when you are focused on a pivotal and central goal/dream. Good for you man. All the best of luck with your business. Pipe dreams becoming a reality are the best in general. and yes you are right there will always be dizzying highs and crushing lows...but you'll find your equilibrium if you have came this far already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfcommunist Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 Yeah, I know There is no such thing as an "Easy Business". Any time you try to run your own business you will constantly have to work for it. Tho, I hopefully have gotten beyond the hardest part. I think this is why alot of small business fail, espicially those started by people the age I was when Kala got me to start this with her; They all think "Awesome work on my scheduale and be my own boss!" well guys it dosent work that way. If it was as simple as buy/rent a building and hire people everyone would do it. The reality is its a 24/7 cycle of stress and anxiety, espicially in the tough times. Your always dealing with suppliers, inspections, budget, etc and a host of other things depending on your specific type of business. and EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS ON YOU. Im lucky to have a wife who is very helpful and involved despite having a "Normal" career of her own (Rachel is a Structual Engineer). to any Highschool kids thinking about doing this; let me give you the most valuable advice of your life. Just don't. Stay in school, get good grades, go to collage and make something of your self the normal way, you'll prpbabaly end up with more money and not working near as hard as I had to.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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