going to give it a go

I have been debating about opening a cart for a while but I have decided to give it a go.

I have emailed the BOH about the proper forms and such and will follow up with a phone call or in person on tuesday (monday is a holiday)

I actually found a cart to rent at a reasonable price. I have worked out an agreement where I will put a deposit on the cart and bring it to the BOH and assuming I get it approved then I will rent it, otherwise I will return it and get my deposit back.

I am going to take a leave of absence from my work and will run this cart for up to 3 months. I understand that it takes a while to build a customer base. I have read just about every page of this forum and I always hear where it is not until year 2 that things really get more stable.

Maybe I am delusional or just misguided (please do let me know your opinion) but with what I want to do, I think a few months will tell me if I will be a sucess or not.

There are not any carts in my town, so getting it approved my be a little difficult. I do know for a fact that there is not any law or ordinance against it.

I will be putting the cart in two spots each weekday. In the early mornings I will be at the main bus terminal, selling coffee, egg sandwiches buttered rolls and orange juice.

I will get there about 4 or so, be open and ready for business by 5am. I intend on staying there until approx 10am and then moving a few miles to a local HS.

The HS has 3100 students and they are not required to eat in the cafe and there are not any rules about them going off campus. I do know this for a fact from my one son who is a senior in that school.

Once i see it is working, I will quickly buy a cart of my own but for now I like the idea of not purchasing a cart without truly knowing if it will work.

Once again, IF it is working well, I will hire one of 3 people I already have in mind and start training them right away. Then I will head back to my job and work the cart on my days off (I work weekends so I get two days off during the week)


I am targeting the bus stop because between 5am and 9am there is an approx 100 people per hour (I have watched and plus I used to be a bus going person) this is a main terminal for the town I live in.

The nearest place to get coffee and such is around the corner and I know from traveling on the buses, everyone is running late to get to the bus and nobody will do anything to jepordize missing the bus. Having a cart right at the bus terminal I believe will be a pretty big hit (at least I hope so)

I have spoken to several HS kids who do eat off campus they all believe that I could sell enough to make it sucessful. There is a deli, a pizza place and a sub shop that the kids tend to go to. I would be the closest. I am looking at an all beef dog chips and drink for 3.50 At that price I would need 50 on avg to be running a decent profit.

I would be set up and open by 11am and stay open until about 3:15, school lets out at 2:30. I was unsure about staying open after school but every student I have spoken to has suggested it, so I will try it.


ok in a nut shell that is my ideas. Please feel free to give me any and all comments. Is there something that someone sees that I am totally missing. Has someone had personal exp that tells them that this will not work?

thank you

frank

Hey give it a shot can't hurt. To early for me. Bus terminal sounds good

It can be done. However, one thing I underestimated is my time spent preparing to sell and breaking down cleaning. You might add an extra 2 or 3 hours to your schedule for that.

You should play around at your house with different brands of dogs and different cooking techniques, (steaming/simmering) to determine which way works for you and your product. Not all products are created = . When it's time to sell you should have your product perfected. The process of doing it will always be evolving though.


Why don't you start off slow, keep working your job, and open up on Saturday's somewhere? This will give you a taste of it, allow you to perfect your product and processes, and give you the experience you need to expand.

Your talking about 15 hour days.

Arnie

You have done excellent research and seem to have a useable plan in place, but I always have such reservations about handing your business over to hired help. An absentee owner just cant keep enough of an eye on things.

Originally posted by ArnieTX

It can be done. However, one thing I underestimated is my time spent preparing to sell and breaking down cleaning. You might add an extra 2 or 3 hours to your schedule for that.


arnie point taken about extra time for set up and break down and the amount of hours. I forget that even though I work a lot of hours at my job not everyone else might be willing to do that. I guess other people actually have a life lol

I might break this down into shifts. Have someone work the morning shift and someone work into the afternoon. Maybe have an overlap of an hour or two in order to get things broken down and set up.

quote:

Originally posted by ArnieTX




Why don't you start off slow, keep working your job, and open up on Saturday's somewhere? This will give you a taste of it, allow you to perfect your product and processes, and give you the experience you need to expand.

Arnie

I understand your point but just not my style, I am jumping in with both feet. Before I was a nurse I was in resturantes for 15 years, mostly as a waiter some as a manager very little as a cook but I believe I can do this.

Another reason I want to jump right in is because of the renting the cart issue. I can only rent it by the week not by the weekend or day. If I took it for only the weekends, it would be much more difficult for me to make it profitable.

I would also have to build a customer base. In my business plan I think the customer base will be there due to the convience of it. I believe I will get people to try it simply due to the convience.

Once they try it though I intend to keep them with excellent customer service and a quality product at a fair price

quote:

Originally posted by spud

You have done excellent research and seem to have a useable plan in place, but I always have such reservations about handing your business over to hired help. An absentee owner just cant keep enough of an eye on things.

spud, VERY true. I would have to trust the person and I don't trust very many people. The one person is my mother. Another person is my best friend, someone I have known and coached baseball with for years. The last person is someone i have work with for a long time.

I really want two of the three to work for me. I work overnights and since I am used to working overtime I can do at least 2 days a week all day.

Not an idea situation, with me not being there, but I do trust those 3 and as I have said in other posts, I enjoy my job now. I honestly get paid well enough. This business is for money to be put away for the future. Maybe be able to retire a little earlier. Most definately I would like to stop putting in the overtime I do at my job. It will keep me fresher at my job. I will still be working as much because of the cart business but it will be different from my regular job.

I work between 60 and 70 hours a week now. If I could do 40 at my reg job and 20+ with the cart I think it will keep things fresher for me, not so routine if you know what i mean.

There is a plan in my head somewhere, It might be warped and distorted but it is a plan lol

Try not to bite off more than you can chew. Especially in the beginning when you are learning and developing a routine. I would try one location at a time, and get the feel down, before trying to juggle and merge two different locations and menu selections, at the same time. You are talking 15 hour days at the very least (on paper). Two locations, two set ups & breakdowns. Brand spankin' new.

On paper...fill in the blank.

Breaking new business into shifts, with additional workers who are also flying blind, does not sound like a good plan. It is very difficult and complicated to delegate work to people with whom you have an emotional bond and/or relationship. Especially when you are new yourself.

While I trust my Mother and my best friend with my life, I would never incorporate them into building a new business venture. I could learn and build a routine and technique, and hope they would comply and execute my vision. I doubt it would work that way.

yes I do forsee the idea of moving it from one location to another will be challenging, esp to a newbie. Right now that is the plan but things are very fluid. I will take in as much advice as I can and sprinkle in some exp and decide what is best for me at the time.

Best case senario is that I have 2 carts at some point in time. Where one stays out by the bus stop and the other stays by the HS. Heck I believe there could be enough business from the HS students for a morning before school rush also but as I said that is best case senerio.

You are right, everything works "on paper" and "in my head". I guess right now I am trying to find a way to have my cake and eat it also. I like the security of my job (and i really do like the work) but i also want this. If I had thought of this before I started nursing I prob would have dove head first and that would be my first and only job.

decisions decisions...,.,

Well that idea is shot to hell The person I was going to rent it from, got some other offers and they were able to pick it up before I could even get approved from the BOH.

I am still determined to give it a go, but I will just have to take more time.

That is ok, more research is never a bad thing

Maybe for the good. First post here probally sarcastic on my account. But research and then some. Will tell you Bus stop will probally work. Now do they allow drinks or anything of that sort on busses. Early crowd good big mark-up. Then have to check with code on property set up. Where I would like to set up is off limits for another year or two. Code is more of hindurence than state over food placement or licensing. High school kids good at first but after a couple weeks do not know. Any other businesses around the high school. As for time spent-I always have a 8-9 hour day for 4 hrs. open. You are everything. Back office (administration ,all paperwork),cook,prep,server and clean up crew. Everyday does not matter. Once a month do a classic car drive in. Do lunch,clean and back out at 5pm. that last's until 8:30 or 9:00. Would not even consider doing this everyday. Oh by the way wife from Quakertown. She made me say it. GoodLuck

I agree with everyone about the setup/takedown, I have a trailer and although its small if I dont get down town early enough there is not enough room to move it into place. Then there is 1/2 an hour with the boiler/ cooker to warm up properly.