Become a Concession Vendor

People have been starting and running their own businesses for years. Some of the most successful people in business today are people who took a small idea and made it into something big. This was the chance they needed to make themselves into something big. There are many types of businesses out there from offering a service to make people’s lives easier to selling a product such as with the food service industry. Recently popular in food service is purchasing a concession trailer as a mobile food kitchen. There are several positive aspects of owning a mobile concession trailer as opposed to a stationary restaurant at a static location.

One advantage to having a mobile kitchen is a word in its title “mobile.” Rather than staying in one location, someone with a mobile kitchen can attend events and sit in places for business in areas all over. This allows for high-paying events to be in reach for the business owner. The traditional stationary restaurant does not have the luxury of moving from on place to another based on potential profit. This is definitely one advantage to having a mobile kitchen over a stationary restaurant.

Another reason being able to move a restaurant can be a great advantage over a stay-in-place restaurant is that, if business is bad in a certain area, a mobile kitchen can get up and move to a location that will provide more customers and therefore more cash flow. With a restaurant in a building in one location, if a restaurant is failing because of the location such as scarcely populated area, or food that does not go together with the area, the owner can not just get up and move his business. He must figure out another alternative to moving in order to save his business.

One final reason that purchasing a concession trailer can be advantageous over a restaurant in a building is the fact that it is very affordable compared to the cost of a stationary restaurant. Hundreds of thousands of dollars may be required to successfully get a traditional restaurant off the ground. For as relatively little as $25,000 – $30,000, you can purchase an almost new, spacious concession trailer equipped with a grill, deep fryers and other cooking equipment suitable for running a restaurant. This is a fraction of the cost a traditional restaurant would cost just to get it ready to run, much less order food and other miscellaneous supplies.

There are several reasons that a mobile kitchen could be more beneficial to purchase than a regular restaurant. Some of them include that mobility is a very advantageous thing to be able to do with a restaurant, particularly if you are not having any luck in the location you are currently at. Another reason is that concession trailers cost much less to purchase, supply, insure, and maintain than any traditional restaurant you can find. Having a concession trailer does not have to be the end of the business line for you. Purchasing a concession food trailer can be just the stepping stone you need to move on to purchasing a traditional restaurant.

Be a Rich Jerk!

You want to meet the Rich Jerk! 

Ha – don’t make me laugh. What do you think the chances are of ever getting to meet this 26-year old brat who has more money than you’ve had hot dinners? Oh, you want to BE a Rich Jerk? Well, that’s a completely different story! I’m going to tell you why. A few days ago, I heard about this fellow who had sold a web site and business on eBay for a fabulous sum of money. More than that, he is still running extremely successful online businesses, which are adding to his considerable wealth, every minute of the day. Now, if like me, you’ve built the web sites, made sure that the search engines find them – and then still only make a modest living online, there’s surely something to learn from this guy’s approach. So, I bought the eBook that he wrote and, although it’s only a small book, it has some great advice. The topics covered in the eBook include · Which are the best affiliate companies to join · Tips on writing a sales letter for your product or website · Pay-per-click search engine strategies · How to improve your search engine results · Selling on eBay – some really interesting stuff here I have to be honest here – there’s quite a bit of this information available in forums and discussion groups online. What isn’t there, though, is how this guy applies the information to his own online businesses to make a great living. I would also say that he’s got a chapter in the book about some investment strategies; that’s one area that I am going to steer well clear of, because I don’t know enough about investments to make a good judgment on the advice. Will these strategies make me money? Well, since I bought the eBook, I have already put a couple of strategies in place and can confirm that I have already got a return in my investment. The next trick is to reinvest the profits and build up some capital. Then, with some good working capital behind me, applying more of the tricks and tips to my online business will start to pay good dividends. If you want to check out the eBook for yourself, you can buy it online at Meet the Rich Jerk - there is a 45 day money-back guarantee. (I'd be surprised if you need it.)

Avoid scams and concentrate on real

 As a self-proclaimed skeptic looking for a REAL way to make honest $ on the internet, it took a long time to find something I felt was worth investigating. I have checked out many sites, trying to compare potential with time and $ required to make them work. All I wanted was something where within a few days I saw results and the more I put in, the more I got out. 

There is money to be made on the internet if you know how, the problem is finding a proven way that anyone can follow. Most of the sites I checked out claimed to teach you how, but charge large amounts and deliver only vague information that did not help me. Finally found a system that delivered real results for me.

When I found Mark Warren’s Ultimate Wealth Package, I started out trying to poke holes in the system to prove it did not work, but could not find any holes in it. Even found several independent research sites that had compared his system to many others, basically confirming my findings. 

The most recent research site found (www.brlent.com) compares 3 systems proven to work, listing unbiased strengths and weaknesses of each. I encourage you to look at this comparison if you are considering the Internet as an income source.

Aspects of Creating a Mobile Concession Business

 The ability to be one’s own boss and make lots of money doing it is all part of the American Dream. An up and coming segment of the small business world is food concession vending. This is a form of food service that does not involve being stationary. Mobility is the key to the food concession industry. The ability to pick up and move whenever you have an event or want to switch locations is paramount in this business; which brings attention to the fact that there are several things needed to begin a concession business. One of the first important things is location. Another important aspect is choosing the type of food you will serve. One more vital thing to consider is advertisement.

One of the first things to consider when starting a food concession business is the location where you will set up your vending equipment. You’re best bet is to set up in a highly trafficked area where many people live and work. One of the biggest parts of your clientele is potentially the work force around the location. Even better would be to find a highly trafficked area that also had little choice of food. People are more tempted to think outside the box and eat from your concession trailer. Many of these workers do not have a lot of time for a lunch break. Quick, simple, cheap, and delicious food is the key to drawing people in and creating loyal customers.

Another thing to consider when you start a concession business is what type of food you will serve. You must first consider the part of the country you are in. Goulash may not appeal to New Yorkers. Another thing you must consider is financial history of the area you are serving. Some people may neither desire or be able to afford sushi or caviar for lunch so be careful about offering food out of the economical means of those to whom you are planning to sell. Another thing to consider about food is how easy or difficult it may be to prepare in a mobile style kitchen and how long it will take to prepare. You definitely don’t want the items you are selling to take a long time to prepare. If so, people will be more tempted to just go into a sit-down restaurant to eat. Quickness is definitely a way to go for the food concession business.

One other thing you may want to weigh when setting up a food vending business is advertisement. Roadside signs and billboards are a great way to go, albeit expensive. A great way to make sure you have great advertising is to have exceptional food and service. With these to attributes, your company will be advertised by one of the best and most powerful means of advertisement: word-of-mouth. Get people to enjoy your food and the friendly face you offer in the middle of a possibly hectic workday. Having a great relationship with your customers is definitely a must when dealing with the food service industry. Other forms of advertisement include fliers, sale signs, and coupons. Bags, napkins, and containers with your company name and logo on them are also great ways to advertise. For the business with the larger budget, t-shirts, hats, and bumper stickers might be a way to go.

Whatever decisions you might make about your mobile concession business, there are certain things you must consider to make having a successful company easier. In the mobile food service industry, important options include location of your vending equipment, type of food served and advertising your business in order to make it more successful. By considering these things, you will have a better chance of making a name for yourself in the food industry.

Are You Sabotaging Your Marketing Success?

What?!?  Sabotage your own success?  Who would do that?  Well, you'd be surprised how many small business owners think they are effectively marketing their business, when in fact they are cutting their own throat.  

Yes, they may be running ads that are pulling in leads or customers.  And yes, they may be writing a regular column for their local newspaper so they are perceived as the expert in their industry.  And yes, they may even be doing a pretty good job of marketing on a regular basis to their prospect list.  

So if they are doing all of these things "right," how are they sabotaging their success?  Well there are lots of ways.  

Following are just a few of the ways small business owners unknowingly sabotage their own success.

(1) They have not taken the time to develop a marketing plan.  

A plan focuses your efforts and allows you to make the most of your marketing budget.  Unfortunately, you can market without a plan.  Yes, you read that right.  You can do it, and people do market without marketing plans everyday.  

But that does not mean you should.  To make the most of your marketing efforts and budget, make sure you take the time each year to create a plan.

(2)  They don’t have written goals 

Smart business owners have written goals and objectives for what they want to achieve with their business and for each of their marketing activities. I know this sounds b-o-r-i-n-g, but it's a fact.  

There is proof that people who put their goals into writing have a higher success rate than those who do not.  Plus, how can you develop a plan if you don't have concrete objectives?  You need a clear vision and target to aim for. You can't possibly determine what marketing or how much marketing you need if you don't know what you are aiming for.

(3) They have a short-term attitude.  

They are reactive in nature, and while on the surface it appears they are doing a lot of marketing, they are not doing anything consistently or long enough to make an impact. Running an ad or sending out your newsletter a few times and giving up when you don't get immediate results is worse than doing nothing at all.  

How so?  Because at least when you do nothing it doesn't cost you any money.  Pulling the plug too soon costs you money.  And statistics show it takes somewhere between three and 10 exposures to a message for the average consumer to notice it and take action.  So it is quite possible your audience was just beginning to take notice right about the time you threw in the towel!  

(4) They don't know their USP. 

Probably the worst way business owners sabotage their marketing efforts without even realizing it, is to NOT have a clear Unique Selling Proposition (USP).  

The greatest marketing plan in the world will not be effective if you have not clearly defined why someone should buy your product or service instead of all the other products or services available to them.  

If you have not figured out what is unique and better about your product or service, and found a compelling way to communicate this in everything you do, you can market 'til the cows come home and you will be wasting your time and your money

10 Tips to Banish Marketing Sabotage

(1)  Develop a marketing plan. Make sure you make it your number one priority to develop a marketing plan every year.

(2)  Write objectives. Write at least one objective that states what results you would like to achieve with your business over the next year.  And, write at least one objective for every marketing activity you undertake, that states what results you would like to achieve from that activity over the next year. 

(3)  Stay the course. Check in on your progress toward your objectives every three to six months, but give your plan a good nine to 12 months to work.

(4)  Determine your unique selling proposition and make sure it is represented clearly and in a compelling way in everything you do.

(5)  Don't try to be "everything to everyone."  Focus on a few specific benefits and a specific audience.

(6)  Track all of your marketing activities so you know exactly what is working and what is not working.  

(7)  Don't rely on one marketing activity. Employ a mix of several marketing activities to reach more people more times.  

(8)  Create a system to help you stay on track with your marketing activities every month and to help you plan ahead for future activities.

(9)  Create a realistic budget based on a percentage of your projected revenue, or the dollars you have available for marketing and stick to it.  Marketing is an investment in your business. You have to spend enough to make progress but not more than your business can financially support.

(10)  Understand your environment.  The economy, competition, the strength of your particular industry, your prospects' situation.  You have to understand them all so you can create an effective plan to either overcome obstacles or take advantage of opportunities.

Follow these guidelines and your business stands a much greater chance of succeeding.  All of these activities are part of a good marketing plan. And no business that wants to succeed should be without one.

Are You Missing Out on Free & Easy Marketing?

 Did you know there's something you do every single day that you 

could be using as an opportunity to market your business?

What is it?

Sending email. How many email messages do you send in a day? 

I recently went back and counted the messages in my Sent folder. 

I use several email accounts, but in just one of them I found an 

average of 10-12 messages a day. That's 70-84 message per week!

Two Chances for Free Promotion

Did you realize every time you send out an email, you have two 

opportunities to market your business?

#1 With Your Email Address

Take a look at the email address you're using for business. Are you 

using an email address such as "crazyjane@yahoo.com" or

"fitbodyhunk@hotmail.com"?

Okay, so I'm poking a bit of fun, but you'd be surprised at some 

of the email addresses I see. Granted some of them may be 

reserved for ezine subscriptions, but I also receive a lot of email 

from small business owners with these types of email addresses. 

So what's wrong with this?

Well, for one, they are missing out on a free marketing opportunity.

When you use an email address such as debbie@10stepmarketing.com  

you have the opportunity to get repeat exposure for your company 

name with every email you send out.

You Can Build Your Brand and Business

What, everyone you send email to already knows your business 

name? That's okay. It's good reinforcement. And it doesn't cost a 

dime, so why not do it? Plus, it presents a much more professional

image. It says you are a real business. Even if you are sending 

out your emails while wearing your pajamas in your home office. :-)

Use Your Web Site Domain Email Addresses

Ideally your web site domain should be the same as your business 

name. And you web hosting should come with at least a handful of

free email addresses. It's fairly easy to set up, but if you're not sure, 

check with your host. Odds are they've addressed it in their FAQs 

or online help.

#2 Use An Email Signature

The second way you can market for free is with your email signature.

Even if you don't have a web site, or if your web site address is not 

the same or similar to your business name, you can easily take 

advantage of this.

Set It Up Once ... Use It Everyday

Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express (and probably other email 

software as well) offer a Signature option you can program so every 

email you send is signed off with a consistent signature. 

Create Your Own Personal Signature

You will want to consider including some of the following information

in your email signature. I wouldn't suggest including all of this 

information or your signature will be too long. Pick what's important 

to you, and include information that represents how you want people

to contact you.

Your First and Last Name

Your Title (if appropriate)

Your Business Name

Your Tagline

Your Email Address

Your Web Site Address (include the http:// so it becomes a live link)

Your Phone Number

Your Fax Number 

Your Snail Mail Address 

An Invitation to Subscribe to Your E-newsletter, Ezine or 

Receive a Free Report (or any other free information you provide)

Following is an example of the email signature I include on every 

email I send out:

Debbie LaChusa

The 10stepmarketing System

“If you can answer 10 questions, you can

successfully market your business!”

619-334-8590 phone

619-334-8591 fax

debbie@10stepmarketing.com

http://www.10stepmarketing.com 

Subscribe to the free 10stepmarketing Ezine

to receive weekly marketing how-to articles, 

low-cost marketing ideas, tips and advice at 

http://www.10stepmarketing.com 

It Equals 70-80 Free Promos a Week!

By signing off all your emails with an email signature, you are 

constantly promoting your business. Plus your contact information

is right there if someone wants to get in touch with you. They don't 

have to take the time to look up your phone number or web site 

address.

A good email signature also clearly communicates to people what 

your business is all about or what you do.

Who Knows Where Your Email May End Up?

You never know where one of your emails is going to end up. It 

may be forwarded to someone who could just become your next 

subscriber or client.

Build Web Site Traffic With Special Promos

You can also use your signature to build traffic for your web site

by inviting people to visit your site to get a special report or to 

subscribe to your e-newsletter.

You can even use it to announce new products or promotions. 

In fact, I just changed mine today to promote my new 

Extreme Marketing Makeover program.

Your Email Address Format

Make sure the email address you are using is formatted something

like this: yourname@yourdomain.com

How To Set Up Your Email Signature

If you use Microsoft Outlook, simply go to the Tools option on 

your toolbar, click on Options, and then Mail Format. You'll see 

Signatures down at the bottom of the window. You can set up 

one, or as many as you want. You select the one you want to

use as your default and it will automatically be added to all your email messages.

By doing these two things, you will be building your brand and 

your business without spending any extra time or money.

Are You Derailing Your Business with Details?

 Details can kill your web business. And I'm not talking about details killing your business from the standpoint of being careless about them. While it's true that being careless can hurt your business, everybody knows that (even if they don't always put it into practice).

The way I'm talking about that details can kill your business is if you focus too much on them.

Say what?

How on earth can focusing too much on details hurt your business?

Ever tried to walk on a railroad track?

When I was a kid, my aunt and uncle had a house right next to a railroad track. My uncle once challenged me to walk on the track without falling off.

Hey, it's not like walking a tightrope. That track was as wide as my feet. Should be no problem. So I started walking it, carefully watching my feet with each step to make sure I stayed on the track. But I couldn't get more than a couple of steps before I'd lose my balance and fall off.

My uncle taught me that the only way to walk that track successfully was to look at a point a ways down the track - not down at my feet. By setting a goal and focusing on it, I could walk on that track as easily as if I was walking right on the ground. It was only when I focused on my feet that I tripped up.

It works that way with business, too. Our natural reaction is to put all our attention into "watching our feet" as we deal with this short-term detail and that. But when we do that, we "fall off the track" of where we wanted to go.

Now, I'm not saying that we should ignore the details of our business as we gaze wistfully toward our vision of the knock-out business we dream of building. You never get anywhere without taking step after step after step to reach your goal. But you never get anywhere, either, if all you look at is the present step.

The point in the distance that you need to focus on is the need your audience has and the solution you have that will fill it. It requires you to understand your audience - who they are and what they need and what concerns stand in the way of them choosing your solution.

It's way too easy for us to focus on details, namely, on the latest traffic building tips or tools, the latest bells and whistles we can add to our site. Details are usually driven by facts, and facts are something we feel we can learn and control. Understanding the people who make up our pool of potential customers is a lot more scary. It requires us to step outside ourselves into the hearts and minds of other people.

Given the choice between dealing with predictable facts and details or dealing with unpredictable human nature, most of us will jump at dealing with facts any time.

But that just gets us stuck staring at our own feet as our feet inexplicably slip off the track. The only way to stay on track is by looking toward your ultimate goal: you helping people solve some problem in return for them repaying you fairly for the time and effort you put into it.

That's really the most simple definition of what business is. The details are not your business. The facts and the tips and the tools are not your business either. They're merely the steps you take to get to that point in the distance. And the more you take that to heart, the more easily you'll stay on the track toward your goal.