I make my money doing online marketing and offline consulting. But thinking about opening up a B & M business with a buddy of mine. The business would be a food business. Not a restaurant. More like a pizza/sandwich shop. Although not like a typical pizza/sandwich shop. The world doesn't need another one of those.
I want to call it "Weird Eats and Treats". I actually bought the domain the other day. Mobile website mock-up is up now. "Weird" as in different variety, not weird as in off the wall food that hardly anyone eats.
How do I plan for it to be different? Well we'd be serving the normal foods like sandwich's, fries, and pizza. But also serving other foods like homemade baked ziti, homemade chilli, different kinds of salads, Irish potatoes, beef stew, pasta salad, grilled cheese, homemade iced tea, cup cakes, pound cake, pies, other baked goods, candy, etc.
*I realize some of the listed items above are sold in some food places. I'm not claiming everything will be different. Just that I have yet to see a place that sells pizza and Irish potatoes, for example.
My buddy has been a cook for over 20 years. He worked under Walter Staib (I had no clue who he was, so I had to google him). Between him and his dad, they have a bunch of recipes for all kinds of stuff.
I believe we will be successful becausee...
My friends experience in cooking combined with my marketing and sales experience. I've studied Dan Kennedy (I've read, listened to, watched 95% of his courses), Jay Abraham, Michael Masterson, MJ DeMarco :smxB:, Brian Tracy, Chet Holmes, Craig Garber, and tons of other people. I know what it takes to market a business.
I would do some pre-launch marketing. Have a website, mobile website, Facebook page, etc. I would do some Faceboook marketing along with SMS marketing to build interest before the doors even open. This way we get off to a great start from day 1.
Customer Involvement...
I also plan to ask customers what they like about our place and what they don't like. From that, make changes if needed.
I plan to run contests from time to time to get customers engaged with our business. Have a contest where customers can submit their own "weird" recipes and then we pick a day where we make all of the food and have judges to select which food wins. Make it an event and get a ton of people to the business. Get it all on video, place it on our website, YouTube, Facebook, etc. The winner gets their dish added to our menu and they get to name it. Probably also do something for 2nd and 3rd place winners. Like a gift certificate.
I'll think of other contest ideas or just other ideas in general where we can involve our customers. A client of mine owns a pizza place and he has a pizza making competition every year. A ton of people show up and it's a good time.
Simple way to increase profits...
Nothing too advanced here, but I hardly ever see any business doing it, and that is having items next to the cash register and on every order ask if they would like "X". Basically, an up sell. So simple and yet barely anyone does it. I'd also place various items on the counter for more "point of sale" conversions. Like how supermarkets have candy, gum, magazines, at the checkout lines.
Doesn't add too much to each sale, but added up over the course of the month, should be good for a some extra income.
Marketing...
I would do weekly SMS marketing and/or email marketing. So if I find we have a slow day every week, I can do a blast out to subscribers to let them know about a special we are running that day only.
I'd work on building my most valuable asset (customer list) every day. This way I can contact my customers whenever I want/need a surge of business.
EVERY order that goes out gets a flyer that has info about joining our email/SMS list and why they should, specials, etc.
Facebook marketing - Fanpage, updates, specials, videos, testimonials, etc.
Website - Testimonials, specials, online ordering, etc.
Mobile Website - Mobile version of desktop site.
The contests I mentioned above. Probably have one every few months.
Financials...
My soon to be mother-in-law said she is interested in providing the start up costs/rent. But I need to give her a business plan. Which I am working on.
My friends dad (the friend who would be doing this with me) is willing to help with our first month of inventory. I may be able to get another $5,000-$10,000 from another friend, but I'm not relying on that money at all. 99% of the funds would be from my soon to be in-laws.
Ideally we are looking to rent a building that already has most/all of the equipment in it already. That would be the ideal scenario. If not, then we of course have to buy equipment which will add up fast.
Rent wise, around here $2,500-$3,000 a month will get you a really nice place. There is a place that already has all of the equipment in it and is ready to "move in". Problem is it's too far from me. Without equipment, you can rent a place for under $2,000 around here. Depending on the [exact] location, of course.
Guidance...
A close friend's brother used to own a pizza shop. When he bought it, it was doing around $4,000 a month gross. When he sold it he had it up to about $13,000 gross a month. I can speak with him if we need help or need some pointers with anything.
Another friend used to own a B&M store selling fitness equipment. He is very successful and is the smartest guy I personally know when it comes to marketing. I thought I knew a lot, he probably forgets more than I know. So I can call on him if I were to need help with some marketing ideas or business questions in general.
Future Plans...
After I get a working system going and we are successful, I would look into either franchising or open other locations. Ultimately, the goal would be to one day sell the business for a few million. Like most of you, I don't want to be working my a$$ off when I'm older. I want to build a successful business that I can sell for millions down the road.
If needed, I could probably get other investors to help grow the business with franchising or opening other locations. The friend I mentioned above, the smart marketer, he is always looking to invest in a successful business and he has some wealthy friends that have "play money".
Miscellaneous...
Look, no one is sitting in bed at night thinking "Man, I sure wish another place would open up that sells food." The last thing this world needs is another pizza/sandwich shop. I get that. This is not one of those "find a need and fill it" type of businesses.
However, there is no denying the fact that a properly run food business can't be successful.
I would inject some personality into the business. I enjoy interacting with people, so being friendly and engaging customers isn't an issue for me. And I believe people will like the fact that the owners are so friendly and easy to talk to. I would make it fun and enjoyable for people to do business with us.
I would always be open to new ideas and to trying new things. I would constantly be interacting with customers to get their feedback.
Why am I posting here?
I have no doubts that we can make this a successful business. However, I do have one concern and it's a big one. And I am pretty sure you have already thought of it as you read this thread. My concern is this business creating a JOB for me. I have no problems busting my a$$ to get this business up and running. But I have ZERO desire to be working 8,12,16 hour days a few years down the road. My friend/partner, he has no problem working long hours. But I don't want to do it after I get the business up and running and making money.
The goal is to run a successful business that spits out money. Not one that sucks up my time.
So my reason for posting here is to ask for help in coming up with ideas on how to make this a FASTLANE business. Can it be done?
My fear is that without me there every day, doing what NEEDS to be done, it will be nowhere near as successful as it could be. The obvious thing to help take the hours off of me is to hire people. But we all know how that goes. No one will care enough about the business as much as I do.
Trying to get someone else to ask an up sell question with EVERY ORDER will be like pulling teeth. They'll think it isn't a big deal. Making sure someone else asks EVERY customer if they are a member of our "Weird Eater" (or whatever I call it) program, again, will be like pulling teeth. They just won't get it.
Is there a way around this problem? Again, I don't mind working hard in the beginning and putting in long hours if needed. But, down the road I do not want to create a job for myself that relies on me being there all day for it to be successful.
Are systems, checklists, and flow charts the answer? Seems to be working for McDonald's.
Any ideas?
Any feedback?
Any advice?
Thank you.
I want to call it "Weird Eats and Treats". I actually bought the domain the other day. Mobile website mock-up is up now. "Weird" as in different variety, not weird as in off the wall food that hardly anyone eats.
How do I plan for it to be different? Well we'd be serving the normal foods like sandwich's, fries, and pizza. But also serving other foods like homemade baked ziti, homemade chilli, different kinds of salads, Irish potatoes, beef stew, pasta salad, grilled cheese, homemade iced tea, cup cakes, pound cake, pies, other baked goods, candy, etc.
*I realize some of the listed items above are sold in some food places. I'm not claiming everything will be different. Just that I have yet to see a place that sells pizza and Irish potatoes, for example.
My buddy has been a cook for over 20 years. He worked under Walter Staib (I had no clue who he was, so I had to google him). Between him and his dad, they have a bunch of recipes for all kinds of stuff.
I believe we will be successful becausee...
My friends experience in cooking combined with my marketing and sales experience. I've studied Dan Kennedy (I've read, listened to, watched 95% of his courses), Jay Abraham, Michael Masterson, MJ DeMarco :smxB:, Brian Tracy, Chet Holmes, Craig Garber, and tons of other people. I know what it takes to market a business.
I would do some pre-launch marketing. Have a website, mobile website, Facebook page, etc. I would do some Faceboook marketing along with SMS marketing to build interest before the doors even open. This way we get off to a great start from day 1.
Customer Involvement...
I also plan to ask customers what they like about our place and what they don't like. From that, make changes if needed.
I plan to run contests from time to time to get customers engaged with our business. Have a contest where customers can submit their own "weird" recipes and then we pick a day where we make all of the food and have judges to select which food wins. Make it an event and get a ton of people to the business. Get it all on video, place it on our website, YouTube, Facebook, etc. The winner gets their dish added to our menu and they get to name it. Probably also do something for 2nd and 3rd place winners. Like a gift certificate.
I'll think of other contest ideas or just other ideas in general where we can involve our customers. A client of mine owns a pizza place and he has a pizza making competition every year. A ton of people show up and it's a good time.
Simple way to increase profits...
Nothing too advanced here, but I hardly ever see any business doing it, and that is having items next to the cash register and on every order ask if they would like "X". Basically, an up sell. So simple and yet barely anyone does it. I'd also place various items on the counter for more "point of sale" conversions. Like how supermarkets have candy, gum, magazines, at the checkout lines.
Doesn't add too much to each sale, but added up over the course of the month, should be good for a some extra income.
Marketing...
I would do weekly SMS marketing and/or email marketing. So if I find we have a slow day every week, I can do a blast out to subscribers to let them know about a special we are running that day only.
I'd work on building my most valuable asset (customer list) every day. This way I can contact my customers whenever I want/need a surge of business.
EVERY order that goes out gets a flyer that has info about joining our email/SMS list and why they should, specials, etc.
Facebook marketing - Fanpage, updates, specials, videos, testimonials, etc.
Website - Testimonials, specials, online ordering, etc.
Mobile Website - Mobile version of desktop site.
The contests I mentioned above. Probably have one every few months.
Financials...
My soon to be mother-in-law said she is interested in providing the start up costs/rent. But I need to give her a business plan. Which I am working on.
My friends dad (the friend who would be doing this with me) is willing to help with our first month of inventory. I may be able to get another $5,000-$10,000 from another friend, but I'm not relying on that money at all. 99% of the funds would be from my soon to be in-laws.
Ideally we are looking to rent a building that already has most/all of the equipment in it already. That would be the ideal scenario. If not, then we of course have to buy equipment which will add up fast.
Rent wise, around here $2,500-$3,000 a month will get you a really nice place. There is a place that already has all of the equipment in it and is ready to "move in". Problem is it's too far from me. Without equipment, you can rent a place for under $2,000 around here. Depending on the [exact] location, of course.
Guidance...
A close friend's brother used to own a pizza shop. When he bought it, it was doing around $4,000 a month gross. When he sold it he had it up to about $13,000 gross a month. I can speak with him if we need help or need some pointers with anything.
Another friend used to own a B&M store selling fitness equipment. He is very successful and is the smartest guy I personally know when it comes to marketing. I thought I knew a lot, he probably forgets more than I know. So I can call on him if I were to need help with some marketing ideas or business questions in general.
Future Plans...
After I get a working system going and we are successful, I would look into either franchising or open other locations. Ultimately, the goal would be to one day sell the business for a few million. Like most of you, I don't want to be working my a$$ off when I'm older. I want to build a successful business that I can sell for millions down the road.
If needed, I could probably get other investors to help grow the business with franchising or opening other locations. The friend I mentioned above, the smart marketer, he is always looking to invest in a successful business and he has some wealthy friends that have "play money".
Miscellaneous...
Look, no one is sitting in bed at night thinking "Man, I sure wish another place would open up that sells food." The last thing this world needs is another pizza/sandwich shop. I get that. This is not one of those "find a need and fill it" type of businesses.
However, there is no denying the fact that a properly run food business can't be successful.
I would inject some personality into the business. I enjoy interacting with people, so being friendly and engaging customers isn't an issue for me. And I believe people will like the fact that the owners are so friendly and easy to talk to. I would make it fun and enjoyable for people to do business with us.
I would always be open to new ideas and to trying new things. I would constantly be interacting with customers to get their feedback.
Why am I posting here?
I have no doubts that we can make this a successful business. However, I do have one concern and it's a big one. And I am pretty sure you have already thought of it as you read this thread. My concern is this business creating a JOB for me. I have no problems busting my a$$ to get this business up and running. But I have ZERO desire to be working 8,12,16 hour days a few years down the road. My friend/partner, he has no problem working long hours. But I don't want to do it after I get the business up and running and making money.
The goal is to run a successful business that spits out money. Not one that sucks up my time.
So my reason for posting here is to ask for help in coming up with ideas on how to make this a FASTLANE business. Can it be done?
My fear is that without me there every day, doing what NEEDS to be done, it will be nowhere near as successful as it could be. The obvious thing to help take the hours off of me is to hire people. But we all know how that goes. No one will care enough about the business as much as I do.
Trying to get someone else to ask an up sell question with EVERY ORDER will be like pulling teeth. They'll think it isn't a big deal. Making sure someone else asks EVERY customer if they are a member of our "Weird Eater" (or whatever I call it) program, again, will be like pulling teeth. They just won't get it.
Is there a way around this problem? Again, I don't mind working hard in the beginning and putting in long hours if needed. But, down the road I do not want to create a job for myself that relies on me being there all day for it to be successful.
Are systems, checklists, and flow charts the answer? Seems to be working for McDonald's.
Any ideas?
Any feedback?
Any advice?
Thank you.
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