Choosing the right events; Or having the events choose YOU

This past weekend we had the pleasure of serving some hungry folks in Hell, MI.  I have been operating a concession trailer in NW Ohio for the last 8 years.  I have watched the local economy shrink due to the fact that the large majority of our populous is tied to the now defunct auto industry.  In the past we were able to count on city sponsored events downtown on the river for a nice weekly income.  The past two years the city and local business's have been unable to fund a weekly prty in the park.  I can honestly say that losing this weekly event in the summer has cost our business roughly 20k in profit per year.  Thank God for people and their bikes. 
    Five years ago we became involved with a group of bikers and their yearly rally.  I was suspect that a bunch of motorcycle enthusiasts would be the ticket to helping with our finances.  After that first year I became aware that my perception of the old biker gangs was way off base.  I realized that today most bikers are successful individuals who can afford the expensive bikes and enjoy getting away from their weekly routine to enjoy themselves and spending money on my food was not a concern as long as they knew they were getting something of quality.  From this single event I was tied into the two local Harley Davidson dealers and over the past two seasons a majority of my events have been through them.  Bikers are always looking to have a great time, but not only that they are always raising money for charity.  I can attest to the thousands of dollars raised for charities through their poker runs and summer concerts.  Two weeks ago i was at a rural bike shop holding a blood drive and though the event wasn't as large as I had hoped I didn't leave broke. 
    That brings me to this past weekend in Hell, MI.  They were holding an event called the Rally in Hell to raise money for a group called Kamp for Kids and through a mutual friend of the promoter and ours we were invited to attend.  We were told that they had over 3000 tickets presold to the event and we would be competing with two other vendors.  Again I was skeptical because of the cost to drive there and the number of tickets sold.  I enjoy working events with 20k plus and budget for 10% to buy from me.  We arrived Saturday and checked out the local scene and Sunday we had no idea what to expect.  Just as they stated the bikes started rolling in around 12:15 and from about 12:30 on to 5pm we were about 40 deep and ended up with close to 3k in sales.  For the noob's out there this requires great teamwork and a lot of work.  We ran with 5 ppl.  2ppl taking orders and serving canned pop and bottled water, 1 person on the 2 deep friers, myself on the chargrill and flat top, and 1 other person cutting fries, and basically being a gofer.  We had roughly $800 in food and other costs and the event was free for us to be there.  As you can see not bad for a days work.  Due to our success we have been invited back for a rally with an expected 50k bikers in july and due to scheduling issues we wont be able to attend, but I;m sure the door is open to us for all of their future events. 
     All I can close with is when getting started in this business you always look at the obvious events to attend like the fairs and festivals where competition is fierce from many vendors and you lose hope that there is an event where you will make good money.  Always remember that if you work hard and impress the right person you can get hooked up in a niche where the the event planners call you and promote you at their expense. Because in the end to hold a successful function these planners NEED to keep their attendees fed and hydrated and who better to do it than YOU. 

Hello, very good advice there..I can't wait to be within a crowd of that size. All those people working with you are they family members? Being able to attend an event of that size with no entry fee is unheard of. I met someone at Sams club and he was telling me about the bikers and sorry to say I did not take him serious. I will have to make contact with him again. I don't plan on getting to the size of a full blown trailer. Once I have the amount of carts placed then I will go after my next business adventure…Well I guess I could live with a smaller trailer, something to have shaved ice and a food unit inside. I like the idea of having ac inside and not dealing with the 100+ temps in Arizona