it is POURING HERE. like seriously, major storm. thunder, lightening, flooding, it is insane! today is my daughter first day of school and we were going to walking up there. right now, i dont even trust parking and walking her up to the front doors with an umbrella because of how much lightening there is!

Hubby's lost his mind, I think. He wants to buy a restaurant. In one of the most competitive restaurant markets in the country. Does he know anything about the restaurant business? No, but his friend manages another restaurant in town and will quit and manage for us if we buy the place.

Men and their ambition... *sigh*

So would it be a bad time to tell you I want to do the same Deb? I've got a super idea and I KNOW it'll fly. My only drawback is giving up my weekends and nights. It's a HUGE commitment and one that I hope he's considered (but I guess if he's not managing, it may not be as impactful).

Lol Okie, do YOU know what you're doing?

'Cause hubby's experience is in running a nuclear reactor, teaching physics, and renting out houses...

A restaurant can be fun and successful, but giving up weekends and evenings when you have kids would be really tough. I couldn't do it.

That's just it, Awesome, hubby already has a full-time job, on top of a small real estate empire... This friend better be a REALLY competent manager, or hubby won't be getting any sleep...

Well, you hopefully will have a plan B and C and on and on when your friend bails. The restaurant business has an exceptionally high turnover rate and the stress placed on managers is enough to see them jump ship quite often. I know this because I did have some experience in the restaurant business. I've seen it. It CAN be a hard living. But again, as an owner without a direct hand in the daily grind, you might not feel it the same as the manager would.

It SOUNDS like hubby has a decent plan to keep us insulated if things go south... I think we can afford to buy it and get things rolling, and if it works out, it would at least pay for its own upkeep.

It's that plan B I'm concerned about, though. I kinda like to see my husband every once in awhile...

For managers (can't speak for owners) at a typical lunch and dinner establishment, 80+ hour work-weeks are the norm. Just sayin...

Now if you're talking about a mobile crepe stand serving the morning rush hour, then you might see him more often than you think. :)

Yeah... figure 40 hours for his day job, too... what's 24x7?

Alright, it's Deb's bedtime. Thanks for the encouragement. I really do want to tell him to go for it, he seems so excited about it. I just have to work on my nagging worries...

Restaurant business can only be fun with the right staff. Success comes from that too.
Following your dreams is a good thing, but sometimes costly ones if they don't payout.. Has he thought about getting a job in the restaurant business to see if he likes it before he invests in it?

I saw a friend go down that road. He retired from a state job and said - I think I will open a restaurant on the water.. I said why. He said well I like to go out to eat and I like to go to bars, so might as well open my own place.
He should have stuck with his first plan which was running a bait shop.
Restaurant cost him hundred of thousands. He had cooks who ripped him off.and sometimes didnt show up for work. Managers who stole. Drugs running in and out of the place for months before he knew about it..
6 months into the restaurant being open he took up smoking. A year into it, he was drinking way to much. 3 years into it, closed the place down and got divorced too.

So yeah, I think more thought should be put into buying a business you aren't familiar with.

Another person I know dropped out of college and bought a franchise restaurant. 10 years later he owned 12 of them. He became a very wealthy man and retired at 50.

Not so sure either is the norm, but I would think he has to do a lot more homework before he plunges into it. Giving up nights and weekends is pretty much the least of his problems with a business. That is true in almost any type of self employment. Something has to give if you want it all.. Either his full time job, part time job or family will suffer..or possibly all of them...

I am in love with the song "Vampire Heart" by HIM.

Also, found a good free game on steam called Soldier Front 2. Pretty good for a Call of Duty alternative. Also, going to get Star Wars The Old Republic next month and try it out. It's free to play, so if I don't like it I won't be out of any money for game time, just the cost of the game itself.

Viv said......"Something has to give if you want it all.'

Speaking from experience, that can be very true! Stbxh worked full time as a school administer for 34 years, he on and off taught adult education 3, sometimes 4 nights a week, he also owned and still does own a consulting business and is heavily involved in 2 charity organizations.

He knew he'd be able to retire from the school in his early 50s, our sons would be adults and we would be able to make this "our" time. I sometimes complained he worked too much and his response was always "Babe, it'll be worth it in the end." But what we found without even realizing it until it was much too late was we had gradually grown apart by that point. He changed, I changed, our relationship changed and we were no longer on the same page with what we wanted and needed in life and in our relationship.

His ambition (ambition or being a workaholic) certainly wasn't the sole cause of our break-up but it was a contributing factor.

There's nothing wrong with being ambitious, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be successful in business but it depends on at what cost. Don't let ambition and success make you lose sight of what's really important in life.

Thanks, Viv and Leather... your thoughts pretty much mirror mine...

I worked pretty hard as the family was coming up. But I always made time for spousal unit and kids. Always did something with them weekly and we had some great vacations. Learned that from my folks.

sure there were times duty called and things got missed, but always tried to make up for it.

after all as SOMEBODY said once.."Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."