After months of debate partners Denise Shulver and Gareth Wilcox decided to take the plunge and start their first business, buying the lease of the Camden Arms in Brecon, Powys.
The site had been closed for several months and was definitely a property "with potential" in estate-agent parlance. When the new owners moved in at the end of August, they found there was no gas or electricity, no chance of hot water, and the pipes hadn't been cleaned, despite Wilcox's request.
"I definitely recommend anyone looking to buy a site flicks as many switches as they can," says Wilcox. "We didn't even have light bulbs when we moved in."
After a week of hard graft the pub was opened to an enthusiastic response from the locals - and a steady stream of customers have passed through its doors since.
Shulver and Wilcox have grand plans for the site including adding a beer garden outside in favour of the existing concrete car park. The pub will also be renamed Cwaerae Teg (meaning fair play) in October and will mark the new owners' ambition to turn it into a centre for the promotion of the Welsh language, arts and crafts (Shulver is studying for a degree in the language at Lampeter University).
If all goes well, the couple hope to double their staff numbers to 12 by the end of the year, and Wilcox, who has worked as chef and manager for Ramada Jarvis among others, aims to achieve rosettes for the pub in the short to medium term.
"Once we change the name of the pub and start to redecorate, it will finally feel truly ours," says Wilcox.
The pub is open from noon to 2.30pm and from six to eight in the evening, but this will be extended once the business finds its feet.
Wilcox says it's all going well, and he clearly has no regrets, although Shulver is still adjusting to the idea of living at the premises.