First you need an Idea, Not just something you saw on TV. Even the people on Kickstarter started with an idea. So you say "Maybe" corrugated cardboard or tubing and bubblewrap. OK, have you done any market research on this? Have you checked how many factories they are in your area already doing this that you will be competing with? Have you priced any of the equipment you would need as a start up to even make you competitive? I know of one huge startup packaging company in Duarte California that is growing in leaps and bounds and would be almost impossible to compete with as a start up. They are even paying their machinist $45 an hour to start in the maintenance machining.
I get it, you are interested in machinery. Just because you are interested in something doesn't necessarily mean you will be good at it. What has your trade been that allowed you to save $40K for investment? How much experience do you have running a business?
I'm not being negative on purpose but just laying out some very basic questions you should be asking yourself before coming off of a little fallback money. Can you live with losing it all? 30% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 50% during the first five years and 66% during the first 10[FONT=arial, sans-serif]according to the SBA.
What that statistic doesn't tell you is many of those that made it needed additional funding to stay afloat. Maybe family investment, Put up your house for collateral, Cash in the kids college fund. Again, Ask yourself, Are you the kind of person that can walk away without hesitating, Knowing when to cut your losses? Ive seen people sink their life's savings along with family and friends on a gamble. No different than Vegas. You start thinking "Ive came this far, Just a little bit more money" only to crash.
I'm not saying you won't be the next Bamboo Socks startup and become a millionaire overnight but just don't get your hopes up.
And if you are thinking of a machine shop with $40k in California? Maybe do some hard research on that. One member on here got a Kickstarter campaign funded over $150K in California and failed before he ever started. Now his campaign page is full of people hunting him. Don't be "that guy".
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