The motto at Joe St. John’s new business is, “We’re your hometown bar, wherever that hometown might be.”
Community means everything to Joe. The retired army helicopter pilot spent years away from home while serving, and as he transitioned back to civilian life, he knew that whatever came next would involve his family.
That opportunity came when he closed on a deal to buy a restaurant in Vero Beach, Florida. With his wife, Jonna, and son, Trey, as co-owners, Joe re-opened the business as Joe’s All American Tap Cafe in February 2024.
“I was trying to find something that had a high volume of customer interaction, that provided a service, and a product that helped build community,” Joe said. “It would be the anchor point that allowed my family and me to provide something, a quality service and product for our community, and just build a sense of belonging here.”
Key to turning Joe’s bar and restaurant dream into a reality was his business plan. He had retirement savings, but knew he would need a bank loan to secure the financing needed to cover the typical startup costs for a restaurant.
That’s where LivePlan came in.
Using LivePlan to write his business plan, Joe took the plan to banks. In just a few weeks, he was approved for a $225,000 business loan.
“LivePlan was instrumental in our approval process,” he said.
Step-by-step prompts make creating a polished business plan easier
Joe’s entrepreneurial journey dates back to 2016, when he was working toward his MBA at Florida Institute of Technology.
His capstone project involved pitching an actual business idea, using a basic business planning tool to try to determine if the idea was practical. Thinking of his pilot experience, he considered starting a sea plane-based dive charter business that would include a restaurant and bar for guests.
“LivePlan helps to make your ideas a reality. It’s highly valuable to the planning process.”
After graduating, it was time to give his business proposal a more serious look — starting with the software he would use to validate his idea.
“I was searching for something more robust than what I had used before. That’s how I came across LivePlan,” Joe said. “It’s fantastic. It gave me all the prompts I needed to create my business plan. And the formatting was spectacular.”
Using LivePlan’s pitch, plan, and forecast features, Joe was able to run various scenarios for his proposed business. Between those calculations and conversations with friends experienced in the charter plane business, he determined that, while an exciting opportunity, the charter flight business would be both risky and cost-prohibitive.
But the other aspect of his plan, the restaurant and bar, held promise. So Joe got to writing his business plan, using LivePlan to answer all the questions that lenders would have when he was ready to ask for funding.
“LivePlan helps to make your ideas a reality. It’s highly valuable to the planning process. I don’t know where to start. My MBA was very helpful, but if you have an idea for a hot dog cart, or a sea plane dive charter service, whatever it might be, invest in LivePlan, go through the process, fill in the blanks. They’ll ask the right questions. You might have to do some research, but it’s going to take care of you.”