What Business Would You Want to Start?

Have you ever thought about starting your own business? What business would you want to begin, either now or when you get older?

In “Opening a Restaurant in New York Is No Picnic. Here’s What It Takes.,” Priya Krishna writes about how two rookies created a restaurant from scratch. The article begins:

It’s the fantasy at the back of so many people’s minds, and maybe yours: Quit that boring job, cash in those savings and open a restaurant where you can indulge your love of cooking and spend evenings with devoted regulars.

The reality isn’t as pretty: Trying to create a restaurant from scratch is a huge gamble, and in New York City, it can feel almost impossible. Astronomical rents, stiff competition and city bureaucracy make the process an obstacle course. Yet a record 4,557 restaurant permit applications were filed with the city last year, many of them by deep-pocketed owners and big-name chefs.

We sought out the underdog, a first-timer risking it all to pursue the dream. Someone who had never recruited investors, landed a liquor license or scaled up a recipe for hundreds of diners. Could she succeed, or is the city’s dining scene simply too rough for a rookie?

Here’s how her effort has played out, step by step, since she began a year ago.

Students, read the entire article and then tell us:

• What business would you want to start? Tell us about it and why it interests you.

• Mouleena Khan, one of the partners who opened the restaurant Cheeni, is “a great organizer, but not much of a cook.” She brought that skill to the partnership. What skill, talent or passion could you bring to your venture?

• Mouleena asked her friend Aleks Jeune, who knows how to cook, if she would partner on the restaurant. What help would you need to start your business? Who in your family and social network could you turn to for help?

• To make their dream a reality, Mouleena and Aleks had to find a location, fill out paperwork, and construct and decorate the restaurant interior, all on a limited budget. What steps might you have to take to start your business? What do you think your biggest challenges might be?

• The two partners decided on a name and logo for their restaurant. Come up with a name and logo for your business idea, too.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.