Originally Posted by mconlonx

Run the numbers from a business perspective.

Initial capital: Up front and projected capital costs for tooling, education. Know what you have to have on hand to get what you need when you start up. And plan additional capital costs for what you'll need as you grow.

Operating expenses: What salary will you need to live + expenses like insurance, utilities, consumables, rent, marketing, etc. Some of this will figure into your startup costs, but it will be more of a guide to...:

How many frames or complete bikes you'll need to sell per month/quarter/year to make it work as a going venture. Realistically estimate how many you could plausibly make in any given amount of time and see if it matches which what you'd have to make to survive. Don't forget that you have to sell the frames you build as well.

I looked into the framebuilding idea and the more I looked around at other frame builders, the more I saw that many or most had supportive spouses with decent jobs...