So You Want to Start Your Own Food Business

My first taste of a kolache was overshadowed by the stark fluorescent lights and sticky cement floors of a donut shop that felt like it was from the dawn of time. After my eyes adjusted, and after I peeled my sneakers from the jelly-donut residue caking the floor, I finally tasted the yeasted dough that gave way to vanilla cream and neon-bright berry jam. It was utterly addictive and I didn’t hesitate. I ordered three more.

Over time, this beloved Texas pastry of Eastern European origin became not only one of my favorite things to eat but also one of my favorite pastries to bake. As a pastry cook at a bakery in Brooklyn, a blueberry kolache was one of the first specials I contributed to the pastry case and the first recipe I developed entirely on my own. Jammy blueberry compote filled each golden bun, topped with a crumbly streusel scented with lemon and thyme. Tasting my own kolache recipe for the first time took me back to that nostalgic first bite in that donut shop, with its fluorescent lights and sticky floors. It felt like a time machine, an experience I wanted to share with others.

Family vacations to Georgia led me to develop a twice-baked croissant filled with peach cobbler filling and brown sugar streusel. A summer vacation to Norway inspired a weekend special of warm skolebrød, custard-filled cardamom buns glistening with coconut and orange glaze. Developing my own recipes introduced to me the true meaning of building community through food. In sharing my own memories of family vacations and childhood obsessions, friends and strangers alike shared their own nostalgic food memories from their pasts. From this feeling, I felt moved to take a larger step in developing my own project out of the comfort of my own kitchen.

A few months later, I launched a pastry pop-up called Guest Check. Customers pre-ordered a box of five seasonal pastries and picked them up from my home in Brooklyn where every recipe was developed and baked. I rose before the sun and pre-heated my oven to 375, and soon enough my arms were sticky with buttercream and powdered sugar dusted the front of my apron.

Shortly after, Guest Check moved to in-person pop-ups at restaurants and cafes around New York where I was able to connect one-on-one with customers about their own nostalgic food memories. Aside from frosting cakes and kneading kolache dough, connecting with the community was my favorite part of Guest Check — the feeling that encouraged me to start it in the first place.

Every small business like Guest Check begins with a feeling. For me, the feeling of nostalgia encouraged me to create flavors that felt familiar to me and to others. Whatever your reason may be, the “why” is the spark of an incredible undertaking. Starting a business takes time and investment to build. When I started Guest Check, I spent a lot of time juggling the creation of a budget while also considering how I would technically execute nearly 150 individual pastries in my small Brooklyn kitchen. While balancing all of these plates at once can feel intimidating, it’s important for chefs starting their own businesses to remember that there are options when it comes to investing with a trusted partner at the start of their journey, one that can help chefs lay the groundwork for a financial roadmap long before they’ve put on their apron.

Sabino Vargas, a senior financial advisor with Vanguard, thinks of it akin to following a recipe. Just as a chef follows a well-developed recipe in the kitchen, an entrepreneur starting their own food business should also follow a strong formal business plan. “Putting your business plan in writing can help increase your chances of success,” Vargas explains. That’s why investing with a partner like Vanguard is a strong first step, providing financial planning and investment management to help new food business owners reach their financial goals.

When I started Guest Check, it felt like a massive undertaking. I knew how to measure the cost of a recipe down to each gram of flour, but considering the big picture was intimidating. It’s a feeling restauranteur turned content creator Daniel Chung can relate to. “A lot of people say, ‘Hey, do what you love.’ But you need the resources to do that.” Vargas suggests assessing your own financial situation from the jump, a kind of checkup for your financial wellness as an entrepreneur. “Step one is to take control of your personal finances,” he says. “You’ll need to make sure you’ve created a budget that works for you. If you’re employed, take advantage of maximizing your employer match on retirement contributions.” From there, Vargas suggests tackling your personal debt. “Focus on paying the minimum on all your debt and then prioritize, as your budget allows, paying down high-interest debt,” he says.

For chefs who are looking to pivot to entrepreneurship but have little to no finances to invest, preparing for the unexpected is important. Chung agrees: “When you own a business, having a safety net is really important because you never know what could go wrong.” Vargas suggests making sure your emergency savings are set up from the start, with at least $2,000 or half a month of expenses in savings. He also encourages entrepreneurs to maintain a contingency reserve of three to six months of expenses in case of job loss, as well as up-to-date insurance and legal documents.

“Apart from financial preparation, the US Small Business Administration offers several resources for those exploring starting a business,” Vargas says. “Resources are local, free or low-cost, and can range from small business development centers to business mentoring and even women or veteran-focused groups.”

Before starting your own food business, ask: Does your financial situation reveal you’re ready to start a business? Are you on course with your personal goals? Must you use personal savings to start your business or are there other options? Having a trusted partner like Vanguard can help you answer all of these questions while your idea of becoming an entrepreneur is still in its early stages so you can build your dream food business with confidence while still maintaining the feeling that encouraged you to start your business in the first place. At the end of the day, the passion behind the business, combined with deliberate preparation, can result in a recipe for success.

^{All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.}

^{©2026 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved.}