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sorry for the tardiness, but better late than never!

Ricoboxing

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Hi everyone, I read the book over 2 years ago after finding this forum and for some reason never got around to introducing myself, so hey better late than never.

Bit of a background, spent my early 20's as a professional boxer (welterweight) as it's something I always wanted to do when I was a kid. By 25 after 16 only pro fights my boxing career came to an end. Feeling depressed I met a girl which inspired me to do something, so I went back to school for graphic design, graduated, got a full time job, got married, 2 kids later.... the usual boring stuff.

5 years into my job at the age of 32 (2010) I started thinking of ways to increase my income. I came up with all sorts of ideas, but my wife always had this great Hawaiian BBQ recipe so I decided that we should start selling barbecue at street festivals on weekends. I had no idea how to run a business, never worked in a restaurant before, but decided to just do it and take action.

Well every summer business started to get better, we did more events, catered more parties and eventually my income from selling bbq and catering on weekends was more than my slowlane office job, so almost 5 years after I started this business I finally quit my fulltime job. I probably would've quit sooner, but it's not that simple when you have a mortgage, kids, wife etc... So all you young guys that don't have those obligations yet, there is no better time to take action than now!!

So now our business is blessed enough that I basically work in the summers from May-September (mostly weekends), and take the rest of the year off to spend time with my family and be a stay at home dad. My wife still works part time in an office.

I may not be rich (financially), but I do feel rich because I get to spend time with my family, I look forward to going to events/catering and after so many failures I found something that actually worked.

I'm not gonna kid myself though, as the book says, I basically own my job. The business doesn't make money unless I'm there working. It violates the commandments of scale, time and entry.

Well anyways enough babbling, thanks for reading and I hope to start adding value to this forum.

Here's a pic at a food and wine show a couple weekends ago.

14262617_341179529570952_6221727055625584640_n.jpg
 
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Scot

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Awesome story. You've done a lot more than half of the people on this forum.

You really don't break the commandment of scale and entry, because it does take a lot to build up a caterer/food vendor. And scale is what you make it. If you get it financially successful, you can look into either franchising or expanding.
 

OldFaithful

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You work weekends (2 for 5) for only 5 months (5 for 7) of the year? That's roughly 40 days of work per year! That's pretty awesome.

Making a lot of money doesn't have to be your goal. Making enough to enjoy life as you wish is a great goal! I'm glad you shared your story, thanks.
 

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welcome! are you going to work on any project that includes the CENTS?
it is a nice job the one you have and i feel a little bit envy for the fact that you can have time with your family. if you have your health also that is wealth in its purest form! God bless you and your family!
i feel sorry when i say everyday to my kids : Daddy has to go to work now.

edit : i visited your site and now i really really want to eat.....
 
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ZF Lee

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So now our business is blessed enough that I basically work in the summers from May-September (mostly weekends), and take the rest of the year off to spend time with my family and be a stay at home dad. My wife still works part time in an office.

I may not be rich (financially), but I do feel rich because I get to spend time with my family, I look forward to going to events/catering and after so many failures I found something that actually worked.

I'm not gonna kid myself though, as the book says, I basically own my job. The business doesn't make money unless I'm there working. It violates the commandments of scale, time and entry.

Well anyways enough babbling, thanks for reading and I hope to start adding value to this forum.
Open an AMA, now! I don't see lots of food business threads here, let alone BBQ.

Violations of scale, time and entry? You already have entry. Your business IS the entry. Customers rolling in, food business already up. You can't open such a thing in one day!

To strengthen your entry, trademark your wife's BBQ recipe and protect it from value stealers via law. From there, you can create a brand out of it and open up FRANCHISES. With a present base of customers, people will consider buying your franchise.Scale and time done already!

Looking forward to see more exciting progress!
 

Ricoboxing

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Awesome story. You've done a lot more than half of the people on this forum.

You really don't break the commandment of scale and entry, because it does take a lot to build up a caterer/food vendor. And scale is what you make it. If you get it financially successful, you can look into either franchising or expanding.
Thank you for the kind words. Yes I can probably

You work weekends (2 for 5) for only 5 months (5 for 7) of the year? That's roughly 40 days of work per year! That's pretty awesome.

Making a lot of money doesn't have to be your goal. Making enough to enjoy life as you wish is a great goal! I'm glad you shared your story, thanks.

Sorry I should clear that up a bit. I'm out at festivals and catering parties approximately 50-60 days a year (we do a few events in the winter and get the odd catering job in the off season), but from June - September I'm always doing stuff (food prep, cleanup, picking up supplies etc.) almost everyday. I guess just like any other business, people only see when we're lined up at an event and raking in the $$$. What they don't see is all the work I had to do to prep the food, and all the work I have to do after the event is over. Actually I can't believe I used to do that on top of my regular job for 5 summers. When I had full time job, I must've had weeks where I worked 80hrs between them. Ya well, it was all worth it.

People also don't see when it's pouring rain at a festival and we lose money. The average person with a job has no clue how it feels to work all weekend to lose money. But like I tell my wife, if you want guaranteed money, then get a job ;)

welcome! are you going to work on any project that includes the CENTS?
it is a nice job the one you have and i feel a little bit envy for the fact that you can have time with your family. if you have your health also that is wealth in its purest form! God bless you and your family!
I'm always trying to think of ways to scale my business, but to be honest, right now I'm happy having a small business. I have a simple business and a simple lifestyle. My kids are still young (10,8) so they still like to spend time with us, we go on a nice vacation every year, and I don't have a job. I guess once they get older and have their own lives, then I'll open up something to occupy my time.

i feel sorry when i say everyday to my kids : Daddy has to go to work now.
I know that feeling all too well. When I had a full time job the kids were in daycare from Mon-Fri and on weekends when we were out selling BBQ, they would stay with relatives. But I guess you do what you gotta do :rockon:

Open an AMA, now! I don't see lots of food business threads here, let alone BBQ.

Violations of scale, time and entry? You already have entry. Your business IS the entry. Customers rolling in, food business already up. You can't open such a thing in one day!

To strengthen your entry, trademark your wife's BBQ recipe and protect it from value stealers via law. From there, you can create a brand out of it and open up FRANCHISES. With a present base of customers, people will consider buying your franchise.Scale and time done already!

Looking forward to see more exciting progress!
My wife's recipe (and our food for that matter) is nothing special. What sets us apart from other vendors is the way it's presented. I built a mobile tiki bar with a grass roof and cook on a large charcoal grill. That itself brings in the crowds. For some events I'll bring a small pig and roast it onsite. I'll let it roast really really slow and won't have it carved till almost the end of the day. People see that pig on a spit, and spend $20 on a few sandwiches and bbq skewers.
13735937_1639652993029919_751489221_n.jpg


I've learned a ton about selling food since I started in 2010 but still got a ton to learn.
 
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Scot

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Thank you for the kind words. Yes I can probably



Sorry I should clear that up a bit. I'm out at festivals and catering parties approximately 50-60 days a year (we do a few events in the winter and get the odd catering job in the off season), but from June - September I'm always doing stuff (food prep, cleanup, picking up supplies etc.) almost everyday. I guess just like any other business, people only see when we're lined up at an event and raking in the $$$. What they don't see is all the work I had to do to prep the food, and all the work I have to do after the event is over. Actually I can't believe I used to do that on top of my regular job for 5 summers. When I had full time job, I must've had weeks where I worked 80hrs between them. Ya well, it was all worth it.

People also don't see when it's pouring rain at a festival and we lose money. The average person with a job has no clue how it feels to work all weekend to lose money. But like I tell my wife, if you want guaranteed money, then get a job ;)


I'm always trying to think of ways to scale my business, but to be honest, right now I'm happy having a small business. I have a simple business and a simple lifestyle. My kids are still young (10,8) so they still like to spend time with us, we go on a nice vacation every year, and I don't have a job. I guess once they get older and have their own lives, then I'll open up something to occupy my time.


I know that feeling all too well. When I had a full time job the kids were in daycare from Mon-Fri and on weekends when we were out selling BBQ, they would stay with relatives. But I guess you do what you gotta do :rockon:


My wife's recipe (and our food for that matter) is nothing special. What sets us apart from other vendors is the way it's presented. I built a mobile tiki bar with a grass roof and cook on a large charcoal grill. That itself brings in the crowds. For some events I'll bring a small pig and roast it onsite. I'll let it roast really really slow and won't have it carved till almost the end of the day. People see that pig on a spit, and spend $20 on a few sandwiches and bbq skewers.
13735937_1639652993029919_751489221_n.jpg


I've learned a ton about selling food since I started in 2010 but still got a ton to learn.


Feel free to keep posting pictures of the food haha Making me hungry!
 

miked_d

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For some events I'll bring a small pig and roast it onsite. I'll let it roast really really slow and won't have it carved till almost the end of the day. People see that pig on a spit, and spend $20 on a few sandwiches and bbq skewers.

That's like using visual copy writing!

Please post on the forums more often. As a successful businessman you have a lot to offer. Additionally, you are guaranteed to pickup things for yourself.
 

Ryan Wolf

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I don't know if it'd clash with what you're selling, but since you do hawaiian style, you could also sell some shave ice on the side if you don't already. But only if it works with what you offer. If it doesn't make sense for your business, don't go for it.

I own a shave ice place and can tell you that the work is so easy and the margins are huge. Equipment and flavors will set you back about $3k max, depending how nice of machine one wants.
 
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Ricoboxing

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I don't know if it'd clash with what you're selling, but since you do hawaiian style, you could also sell some shave ice on the side if you don't already. But only if it works with what you offer. If it doesn't make sense for your business, don't go for it.

I own a shave ice place and can tell you that the work is so easy and the margins are huge. Equipment and flavors will set you back about $3k max, depending how nice of machine one wants.
Great minds think alike! ;)

I'm actually opening up a shave ice booth for some of my festivals next summer. Some events our lineups get pretty crazy so I don't want the shave ice to slow down the process. My Hatsuyuki machine is suppose to arrive next week! Maybe you can be my shave ice mentor:D

Aloha!

Feel free to keep posting pictures of the food haha Making me hungry!
Here's one more just for you! Dont want people to think I'm spamming the forum
13628113_1763284217224226_202253894_n.jpg
 

Ryan Wolf

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Great minds think alike! ;)

I'm actually opening up a shave ice booth for some of my festivals next summer. Some events our lineups get pretty crazy so I don't want the shave ice to slow down the process. My Hatsuyuki machine is suppose to arrive next week! Maybe you can be my shave ice mentor:D

Aloha!


Here's one more just for you! Dont want people to think I'm spamming the forum
13628113_1763284217224226_202253894_n.jpg

Right on. Did you get a cube shaver or a block shaver? I started out with a Hatsuyuki HC-8E (cube shaver) but have since had to upgrade to a Swan block shaver. The Hatsuyuki does a great job but it wasn't ideal at my place due to the fact that I only serve shave ice, so I needed the quality to be better than my competition. However, the cube shaver is much easier to get ice for and easier to learn how to use, plus it requires less maintenance (at least in my case). I'm hoping that you ordered the HC-8E instead of a block machine BUT you'd be fine if you got a block machine (easy to operate, though it takes a few weeks of trial and error before you're quick, but getting good ice blocks can be tedious).

I don't want to dilute this thread with petty shave ice tips, so feel free to message me if you want and I'm glad to help out.
 

ZF Lee

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Thank you for the kind words. Yes I can probably


My wife's recipe (and our food for that matter) is nothing special. What sets us apart from other vendors is the way it's presented. I built a mobile tiki bar with a grass roof and cook on a large charcoal grill. That itself brings in the crowds. For some events I'll bring a small pig and roast it onsite. I'll let it roast really really slow and won't have it carved till almost the end of the day. People see that pig on a spit, and spend $20 on a few sandwiches and bbq skewers.

Do consider trademarking it and protecting your recipes under law. Even some franchise outlets produce perfectly ordinary food and then they charge a bounty for it. At least franchise foods are generally fine, except for fast food outlets! :)

I'm sure you remember Robert Kiyosaki who may be earmarked for fluff (he rambles about his same old story and has lack of technicals, but his books do offer the financial literacy logic for beginners). But to do him credit, he did open a wallet business of his own. Made millions but he got screwed by people how stole his product design (piracy). His product was very ordinary, but he forgot to protect it under law.

It's the Commandment of Control.

But about standing out, your style of cooking is quite unique. Most would cook meat indoors (no fun in that!). I like that kind of free visual advertising!
 
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ZF Lee

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Right on. Did you get a cube shaver or a block shaver? I started out with a Hatsuyuki HC-8E (cube shaver) but have since had to upgrade to a Swan block shaver. The Hatsuyuki does a great job but it wasn't ideal at my place due to the fact that I only serve shave ice, so I needed the quality to be better than my competition. However, the cube shaver is much easier to get ice for and easier to learn how to use, plus it requires less maintenance (at least in my case). I'm hoping that you ordered the HC-8E instead of a block machine BUT you'd be fine if you got a block machine (easy to operate, though it takes a few weeks of trial and error before you're quick, but getting good ice blocks can be tedious).

I don't want to dilute this thread with petty shave ice tips, so feel free to message me if you want and I'm glad to help out.

Tell us if you both happen to team up! :)
The Fastlane gets more awesome when people hook up together to get the bigger rewards!
 

MJ DeMarco

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Awesome intro, great to have another entrepreneur deep in the trenches of the grind ... welcome aboard. Hope to see more from you.
 

Ricoboxing

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Awesome intro, great to have another entrepreneur deep in the trenches of the grind ... welcome aboard. Hope to see more from you.
Thanks for the kind words. Hope I can add value to this forum!
 
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