I was just wondering if any monkeys have every opened up Their own business, such as a hot dog stand or cart. Or bigger take and go food business. I had this idea to start one for long time, but have no experence In running one, and no good location and little money to start one. Sounds perfect doesn't it. There is so much competing food services, I just wonder if these Small micro business are vailable out side of large metropolitan areas. So if anyone has experence in this type of business in a smaller Town or smaller town/city I would welcome your thought and input . I live in a smaller city in VA.
The main problem that you are facing is your town's local ordinance's concerning peddler's businesses. Where I live you , you have to have a peddler's license to sell anything from a sidewalk stand or cart, and believe me when I tell you that getting a peddler's license is very cost prohibitive. I also do not live in a large town also.
For the past 15 months, I've been working with a young couple trying to set up a mobile food truck. There are a lot of permits involved which are costing in the area of $1000 plus the cost of the truck. There are separate requirements for the State, County, and finally the city. Every state has it's own regulations but are probably similar from state to state. In CT, the primary permit holder is also required to be a Certified Food Handler which required some classroom time and testing before the permit could be obtained. The city issues the vendors license and if you are locating on private property, you will most likely be required to have a Certificate of Occupancy. Moving on, Department of Health....your equipment must meet standards of food handling for safety and sanitation. After opening, routine re-licensing will be required. I think that once you jump through the hoops and clear the hurdles, it's pretty straight forward for a continuing operation so if it's something you really want to try, check with state, country and city for requirements, plow through them and get started. I had a stationary hotdog vendor as a client for several years and it operated without any problems. And....the income was pretty good. The worst problem he encountered was getting suitable help. BTW, he also sold morning coffee/donuts/pastries as well as fresh flowers from his location which drew in more customers. Good luck
Sorry if it isnt about survival per say but economic survival is as important As any other topic. I found the other comments insightful and appreciate them. Seems that there will be a lot of red tape, but like I said I been Kicking ideas around for a long time. I have a really good chili recipe from my mother, lol. I think the older I get the more I want to get out on my own.
I do not know about your area but around here it is very competitive. The problem with some of the roach coaches I've seen over the years is they charge quite a bit for food that you can barely choke down. Pretty much the same crap you get out of a vending machine or not much better than buying food from a 7-11 or Plaid Pantry. The roach coaches that seem to do the best are ones that are the rolling kitchens. Some of the best (not necessarily the best but close) Mexican food I have eaten has come from a Mexican family with a rolling kitchen. Beef carne asada tacos with some cilantro and a lime on a soft corn tortilla, yummy. Offer food that is palatable for a fair price and you do alright. However, you have to figure out which are the best job sites and then get their permission. Nothing wrong with some competition for the guy that might already be there. It is nice to have a variety when it comes to roach coaches. There is a job site around here that has at least 10 different vendors competing for workers hard earned money.
Ill tell ya one hing that seems to work is deliver fresh busikets to your local quickmarts everymorning.
Here's just what you need.....a Grillwalker! Odd Jobs: The Grill Walker - Features - World Hum Saw a bit about it on the Travel Channel yesterday. Seems to be a great idea....if you can carry around 70 lbs every day. Kajun
Having been laid off for quite sometime and employment opportunities non existent in anything more than minimum wage jobs I decided to kill two birds with one stone. I now work from home doing PC repair and virus removal and also from time to time do some online skiptrace work for a wide variety of clients ranging from banks to ticked off ex's. Being able to work from home saves me around $300 a week on daycare as well.
Well, I live in a tourist area and we have lots of (seasonal) chip and hot dog stands etc. I don't know anything at all about the licensing/costs etc. of these small businesses but I can tell you that the owners are back on the job every summer so the picking must be fairly good or they wouldn't be coming back to do it again. All the best on finding a workable and affordable outlet for your goals. God Bless!
Not only have I owned and run 3 businesses, 2 of them successfully... I now work for the state of Kansas teaching disabled folks how to do it too... business lic is typically cheap $20 to $45... since your dealing with food products your need to get a health permit too... those little vendor carts do not come cheap... maybe you can get a deal on one through cregslist??? once you get your business lic, go to your bank and ask to set up a merchant account... why of that is so you can take credit cards as payment... they now make a nifty little card swipe that works off your cell phone... Quick book's will help you keep track of your expenses, inventory, AR/AP and set aside funds to pay sales taxes... starting your own biz is easy... doing it... well... just take a deep breath and go for it
GPDave is exactly right... Running a business is just a matter of finding a niche that needs filling, and buying LOW, and selling HIGH. You invest your time, and effort, and whatever you do, you never let the Banksters into your business, with a Loan. If you can't afford it now, it is better to plan and wait till you can. Commercial Account is OK, but you keep those Guys at Arms Length. Line of Credit is iffy, unless you have a very strong independent streak, and payoff any charges against that Line of Credit, at the end of each month. The temptation to go into Debt, is the Hook, that the Banksters dangle, and you NEVER want to swallow that, "Hook Line and Sinker".... Build your business slowly, and watch the trends..... If you start down the Road of Dominiching Returns, you fold up, take you profits, with you, and look for another niche, that needs filling, before you lose all the profits, that you worked hard to make. ..... YMMV...
Just an after thought... a couple coolers of soda and bottled water, then just a normal backyard gril set up at a swap-meet hot-dogs buggers...fried corn works for me too ya know...might just be the low cost low exposure to get started in the biz too... just saying...
I tie balloons and do magic /sleight of hand for folks and businesses as a side job... and have made as much as $80.00 per hour with balloons and 100.00 per hour with magic... i do it as a hobby and plow much of what i make into books and equipment... wish i could get 20 hours per week in gigs ....
Amen to that, a good practice to follow in personal life also. Many business take on debt and fail, and then your stuck paying for the failure for years to come. I spent 18 months building my business, mostly buying slightly used equiptment. Most of the stuff I bought I still have and could stil sell it for more than I paid for it, so to me its better than money in the bank. For a food cart I would do a national search on craigslist and be willing to travel a couple of days to pic one up. Ebay is sometimes good but Ive noticed the good deals seem to be less and less.
I've often been told that I'm a clown I've often been told that I'm a clown....but I don't think that I'd make much of a living from it <l : O
IF I may piggyback on this. Once you get past the regulations and permits/licenses, yo can make money. Have a bud, we met while I was active AF in the local area, had a donut machine. Make little donuts. Made good money. Then he got out of the military and went full time - he now sells corn fritters with halibut chunks. He buys the corm dough locally and breads his own halibut, purchased from local fisherman. He works every weekend in the summer, and hockey games when the team is in town. Call that 13 nights. He clears over 100K a year. He and his wife, in the winter, he hires HS kids for the summer. So, ya, you can make money, be your own boss and not punch a clock to make a living. But it took him a decade to get to the point he started really makes the good bucs, Just say'n you had better be in for the long haul. Good luck.