Working at One Fat Frog, I have seen it all in terms of financing. I have gotten financing for restaurant entrepreneurs with great credit, those with mediocre credit, and some people with horrendous credit. The key is to be persistent and have the right attitude.
There are people out there who think “if I could just open my own restaurant, things would be great, but I don’t have much money and I have bad credit.” So they keep dreaming of running a restaurant while they continue to work at a job they hate. There are others who think “I don’t have money or credit, but somehow I will make this happen. I will open a restaurant and then I will be a success.” With that positive thinking, they are already on their way to becoming successful.
There is no shame here at One Fat Frog. I empathize with those whose portfolios are less than stellar. Let me put it this way. A few days ago I realized that a pair of my jeans now have a rip in the leg. Most people would probably then decide “I need to buy new jeans.” Instead, I pulled up my bank account and then calculated all of the upcoming bills I have to pay along with my upcoming paycheck. I determined that I don’t have money in the budget for new jeans at the moment. Therefore, my response to getting ripped jeans is “hey, it’s a style right now, right? I’ll just pretend I bought them this way from Urban Outfitters or something.”
So if I come back to you and say “sorry, I wasn’t able to get you approved due to your credit score,” there’s no shame there. I understand. Just look at my jeans! That’s when you and I need to have the right attitude. “Now we know that you need a co-signer to get approved. Who can co-sign for you?” If you have bad credit, there are ways to get you approved for financing. Using co-signers is one of those ways.
However we go about it, One Fat Frog is going to work with you and do what it takes to get you the restaurant equipment you need. In part that’s because it makes me feel good to see the Frog help business startups succeed. In part that’s because I want to be able to walk into your restaurant later and get special treatment. “That guy’s food is on the house. He helped us get this place financed!” So if that happens, the drinks are on me, ladies…
Download the finance application here.