When we recently went to NZ, my wife pointed out that many of the shops had changed in the short period of time, one year, since we had been there. What that shows to me, is that the café and restaurant business in Wellington is a tough one. Restaurants that I felt were excellent had gone out of business, and some cafes had just simply disappeared.

The reason I say this is because we have been thinking semi-seriously about running a café and/or roaster either in Wellington, or in Japan. But, when I think about how hard it would be to do in Wellington, it’s quite off-putting.

Similarly, we have been thinking about running a bed and breakfast or hostel-like place, most likely here in Japan. The main snag we have come across is making a viable business case, because it would involve significant upstart costs, as I am thinking of purchasing a building, or making the location out of something, say a container.

So, I think in the current situation, I’d almost definitely need some sort of professional guidance, such as a business coach or a business course like the Alt. MBA. My inclination is to just go out and do it, but my significant other has reservations, mainly revolving around money, which shows to the importance of a solid business plan, which I’m OK with, and there’s no lack of people I can talk to too.

Just thinking out loud.