Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

1. There`s nothing like it, which would indicate there`s a high probability it doesn`t work. Do your market research much more thoroughly than otherwise.

2. You "feel" it would work. Don`t base a business on your feelings. Base it on reasoned analysis, imagination, and passion.

There`s a lot to be said for an old cliche that if it`s a good idea, someone would already have done it. It`s not *always* true, but it`s definitely a place to start.

The Sweet Tomatoes and Souper Salad chains sound similar. They have many locations around the US;  5 Sweet Tomatoes in Illinois, 19 in Florida, 9 in Arizona and a whopping 41 in California as well as locations in other surrounding states.  Souper Salad has 12 locations in Arizona and 40 locations in Texas but none in California.  Souper Salad also has locations in surrounding states.  You may want to check into these two operations.

I live in Los Angeles and you are right there is nothing out here like your idea. There is always that possibility that it would work. I have two friends who are professional chefs, both trained in Italy. They have been working on opening a restaurant in Venice, on Main Street, and have found that they will need no less than 500K to open even the smallest place.

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The ConsumerTreehouse.com Team
www.consumertreehouse.com

N23C, Keep in mind that ANY idea can work, given the right passion, push, and circumstances. Don`t read these posts as discouraging, but as they`re intended. Some ideas are more naturally easy to implement than others. I think what you`re seeing here as advice is only to say that this particular idea will be a bit more difficult to put into place. Therefore, you`ll need to be prepared to work harder at it. :-)