Adventures in Bootstrapping: How I Started a Restaurant with $6,000

Two years ago I was laid off from my office job. I had no college degree, but I had spent six years working as the assistant to an inventor, and the rest of the time in HR and business management positions. I had some idea how to start and run a business. I'm also a good cook.

I am a huge fan of the cooking show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives," which is hosted by my idol, Guy Fieri. On one show, he featured a mechanic who used a homemade rotisserie meat smoker in his camper to cook for his employees, and it inspired me. I approached a neighbor who had been pushing me to start my own restaurant, and essentially asked him to put his money where his mouth was. He loaned me $2,000 and I promised him a 25% return on the investment. Once we had that loan, a friend of my husband's lent me $3,500 with no interest due and a friend of mine lent me $500 with no ...