On 8/4/2018 at 12:43 AM, understandingcocoa said:The landlord laughs at me every time I tell him my plans which is mildly discouraging, as he doesn't understand why I wouldn't do it all as cheaply as possible
This is a conundrum indeed. Of course you want a cute little shop, inviting and high-end with beautiful displays. The planning and dreaming is half the fun. You want to paint and make it your own and have nice things. But will these nice things actually make you money and if they don't, is there a re-sale market? For years, working in restaurants I wondered why chefs always seemed so tight with a dollar. Then I quit my day job and realized that a dollar is harder to make and to keep than it seems.
I mean, you might want to spring for another melter and some new molds but you probably don't need a $20k Selmi at this point. Unless you're independently wealthy ... I think it's not that small businesses fail exactly, but that people get tired of just breaking even. We do it because we love it and try to make it work, but how many of us will be able to retire on all the money we made?
Another chocolatier in town opened a cute little retail shop, then because that didn't really support itself they did a kickstarter campaign and opened a second with a super fancy espresso machine to drive business. And they have a 3rd rent to pay on kitchen space ... that's a lot of rent to pay plus the cost of the build-out. Will they end up like the eclair lady who shut down after 2 years and is trying to sell her high end toys like a pasteurizer and a depositor? They spared no expense outfitting the production kitchen plus had a cute little storefront downtown, could have done high volume but I think it just never really happened. People didn't understand, or didn't want to pay $6 for an eclair. That's why you start out with DIY and used equipment 
Chocolate is an easier sell but yes, you'll still have people who would be just as happy with Cadbury.
But, hopefully you'll be open in time for the holidays and you'll be busy all winter and loving it.
