I would love to open up a small restaurant in my town; diner-style, catering to the baby boomers, older folks & diner-lovers alike; There is a small building for sale in my (small) town that was previously a bar. It was a crappy bar catering basically only to the motorcycle people. The hours were also horrible & so was the food. So I am not surprised it went under. Anyway, I think a diner could really take off because we dont have one yet in my small town. I do not want to just make money, I want to help my town with a resturaunt that is muchly needed. It is also kind of becoming a dream of mine. Any advice greatly appreciated, especiallly from anyone who has gone through something similar or opened any small businesses. Yes, I DO know it would NOT be easy. But How do I go about getting money? Take out loans? where do I start? I am very serious about this idea. I am a 21 year old college student getting a degree in Commercial Advertising (for photography). I will be graduating in May. I do not have a lot of money to go around. Thanks for input, again it will be greatly appreciated!.--Answer1:First, write a business plan which describes what you are going to do, how you will promote it, who your customers are, competition, etc. There are many templates on the web to do this. Even if its just few pages, this is your map.If you cant describe on paper what your diner is, how you will operate, how and who you will market to, how you plan to pay for everything, then you should not even attempt it.Create financial projections in a spreadsheet. There are many expenses to consider and to project.If you have a local Chamber of Commerce, they can be helpful and check out www.score.org for help by people experienced in the restaurant industry.Ive been a multi-unit restaurant owner ... do not underestimate the work involved. This is typically a 7 day a week, 12+ hour a day business. Very challenging. Make sure you have a good map to start and be realistic with your financial projections.