As a business owner who started 3 years ago (not Q' related) I can tell you there is a lot more to it than you realize. I am in the small engine repair biz and my day starts at 6 am, in the shop at 7. Open the doors at 8. Close the doors at 6 pm. Then paperwork and admin stuff till 9pm at the earliest. 7 days a week. If you are going to be successful, for the first 5 years you better be wiling to dedicate 24/7 to your business, and have a backup income.
Sure, all my friends talk about how great my Q' is, how I should start a food business. I do cook a few parties a year for friends who cover the cost. I have a Carolina style mustard sauce for pulled pork that is like nothing anyone on the west coast has seen. Everyone tells me I should bottle and sell it. Last night the wife and I sat down and looked at the costs. The hard cost. By the time we buy the ingredients, bottles, labels, shipping or gas to go get the stuff, utility cost for cooking it up, insurance and permits to do it legit, time for bookkeeping, we would have to sell it for $5 for a 16 oz bottle to make 50 cents on each sale. That doesnt include marketing and advertizing, delivering or shipping to the stores, the gas wear and tear on the vehicle delivering it, our time for the whole process and who knows what else. No one here is going to pay $5 for a bottle of mustard sauce when they can buy the same size bottle of plain mustard for $1.19.
Not trying to discourage you, but with a business, legit or not, there are hard costs most people never even think about. And with foodservice you better be legit!!!
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