MMMM.. BRISKET..
The BBQ BRETHREN FORUMS.  



Our Homepage Donation to Forum Overhead Welocme Merchandise Associations Purchase Subscription Amazon Affiliate
Go Back   The BBQ BRETHREN FORUMS. > Discussion Area > Q-talk

Notices

Q-talk *ON TOPIC ONLY* QUALITY ON TOPIC discussion of Backyard BBQ, grilling, equipment and outdoor cookin' . ** Other cooking techniques are welcomed for when your cookin' in the kitchen. Post your hints, tips, tricks & techniques, success, failures, but stay on topic and watch for that hijacking.


Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 11-15-2018, 08:01 AM   #1
Coat
is one Smokin' Farker
 
Coat's Avatar
 
Join Date: 05-07-14
Location: Nashville
Default a most perplexing dilemma

Lately I've passed on several thousand dollars worth of catering opportunities, and thought that it may be time to permit up and get going. So, like any good entrepreneur I threw together a business plan, built some trusty spreadsheets and started running plays--basically I made the bbq version of fantasy football.

Then last night, it hit me. As soon as i started down this path, all of a sudden my focus shifted, in the blink of an eye. It's always been about the cook and the craft for me. But as soon as I started messing with this business stuff, I immediately started focusing on the bottom line. And it's still just fantasy bbq. What will happen when it really is a business? Will I be even more focused on the bottom line? Will I forget that I'm in it for the "love of the game?"

So the dilemma is, to cater or not to cater. It would indeed fund my hobby. It would indeed get me cooking even more. But I'm not sure it's worth it if my focus will be this easily directed toward dollars and cents. I'm sure you've all been there. Just sharing my little personal drama. How have you guys navigated this in the past?
__________________
too many cookers. don't judge me, you're a junkie too.
Coat is offline   Reply With Quote




Old 11-15-2018, 08:10 AM   #2
razorbrewer
On the road to being a farker
 
Join Date: 05-19-13
Location: NE TX
Name/Nickname : Rick
Default

Passion for your work and concern for the bottom line aren't mutually exclusive. In fact, I'd argue that with most successful small businesses passion for the work strongly influences a healthy bottom line. You just have to decide if your passion is quality or quantity, because at some point, those almost have to necessarily become mutually exclusive.
__________________
The General has ARRIVED!: MAK 2*
Hunsaker Drum: RED of course!
22" Weber Kettle
For Sale: J.R. Enterprises Charcoal Grill
razorbrewer is offline   Reply With Quote


Thanks from:--->
Old 11-15-2018, 01:17 PM   #3
gcs
is one Smokin' Farker
 
Join Date: 08-14-13
Location: NY
Default

Passion for your work is one thing, making a profit is another, profit is good, otherwise its not a buisiness.

The bottom line is everything, without a plus sign next to your number youll be back cooking for your wife.....
gcs is offline   Reply With Quote


Thanks from:--->
Old 11-15-2018, 02:42 PM   #4
ColoradoSmoke
Full Fledged Farker
 
Join Date: 06-01-12
Location: Colorado
Default

Not to over simplify it, but I would pick quality and charge more. I realize you will lose some business but it at least keeps the balance of hobby/enjoyment/quality/profit intact.

I'd rather cook twice a month, make a nice profit, and enjoy my work than four times a month with less quality ingredients and less profit. And if your market will not bare the higher prices, then it answers the dilemma for you; keep cooking as a hobby and forget about the catering gigs.

Good luck and hope you can find the balance between the two!
__________________
Yes ma'am
ColoradoSmoke is offline   Reply With Quote


Thanks from:--->
Old 11-15-2018, 03:09 PM   #5
sudsandswine
Quintessential Chatty Farker
 
Join Date: 06-23-12
Location: Kansas City
Default

Barbecue is what I do to escape from my job/responsibility/work, my fear with taking it beyond that is it'd no longer be an escape. I've done a couple big (for me) cooks of ~200 people and I can tell you this - it was A LOT of work. Props to those of you that do it day in and day out but I can tell for me it'd definitely lose its luster once it became an obligation. Probably the only way to know if that'd be the case for you is to try it once or twice.
__________________
Shirley Fab 250g trailer | Primo XL kamado | Red Weber Limited Edition kettle + 26” kettle | Clonesaker PDS (pretty drum smoker)
sudsandswine is offline   Reply With Quote


Thanks from: --->
Old 11-15-2018, 03:22 PM   #6
dgaddis1
Full Fledged Farker
 
Join Date: 11-15-16
Location: Macon
Default

You're wise to look at the numbers, and spend some time focusing on the bottom line. Unless you're looking to be a charity you need to turn a profit, and not just a profit, but enough of a profit to justify your time.

And not just the time spent cooking. You also need to factor in (and I'm sure I'm missing stuff here!) time spent:
-Communicating with potential customers, walking them thru their options, etc
-Marketing. Setting up a website, social media, etc.
-Shopping for supplies, ingredients, other expendables.
-Prep, cook, clean up
-Driving to/from events, shopping, etc
-Doing your book keeping and business related stuff (like acquiring insurance, permits, certifications, etc, whatever you need)

I built custom bicycle wheels for a almost 6yrs, mostly as a side gig, about a year full time. I easily spent as much time communicating with customers (swapping e-mails, talking on the phone) as I did at the bench building their wheels.

Plus there's all the time spent talking with potential customers that don't turn into a sale.

Lastly, not only do you need to make enough profit to justify your time (talking $/hr here), but also enough to justify the time not spent doing other things, things you can't easily quantify in a spreadsheet, like spending time with your family, or doing other hobbies.

With my bicycle wheel business, when it was a side gig, the busier I got, the less time I spent riding my own bike. Literally as my monthly sales went up, my miles went down. When we found out we were expecting our first little one, I hung it up, and I'm so glad I did. I'd much rather spend my evenings and weekends playing with my daughter than building wheels. She's 7.5 months old and changing constantly, I'm glad I'm not missing it. The money wouldn't be worth it.
__________________
Why do people feel the need to list all their cookers in their signature?

Last edited by dgaddis1; 11-15-2018 at 03:43 PM..
dgaddis1 is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 11-15-2018, 03:33 PM   #7
qnbiker
is One Chatty Farker

 
Join Date: 05-05-10
Location: Marietta, GA
Name/Nickname : Lew
Default

Since you have been passing on catering opportunities, I assume you have catered before, and since you are considering doing it as a business, you must have enjoyed it. The business part and the barbecue part are two separate things. If you enjoy them both, great. If you only enjoy the barbecue part, maybe you can find a friend to go in with you who enjoys the business part. My bil loved making cabinets but hated the business part. He went in with a friend who wanted to do that part and they have been very successful.
__________________
A bunch of Webers, Smoke EZ, GMG Daniel Boone, and a WHITE Thermapen MK4
qnbiker is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 11-15-2018, 04:07 PM   #8
BuffettFan
is One Chatty Farker

 
BuffettFan's Avatar
 
Join Date: 07-10-18
Location: East Peoria Illinois
Name/Nickname : Terry
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by sudsandswine View Post
Barbecue is what I do to escape from my job/responsibility/work, my fear with taking it beyond that is it'd no longer be an escape. I've done a couple big (for me) cooks of ~200 people and I can tell you this - it was A LOT of work. Props to those of you that do it day in and day out but I can tell for me it'd definitely lose its luster once it became an obligation. Probably the only way to know if that'd be the case for you is to try it once or twice.

Agree 100% with this.
I too have done some big cooks for 200+ people, with a lot of help, obviously, and enjoyed it as a break from the every day routine.
But if it was the everyday routine, I think I would get very tired of it very soon.
I've had a few people tell me I should open a restaurant, and have a very close friend who is my main "competitor" with our cooks who has mentioned that we form a partnership in a smokehouse type venture, but I want to cook when and what I want to cook and not when and what others want me to cook.
I used to enjoy working on cars, until I did it for a living for 9 years. I'd rather take a beating now than work on a car.
I don't want the same thing to happen with my cooking.
__________________
We are the people our parents warned us about.
BuffettFan is offline   Reply With Quote


Thanks from: --->
Old 11-15-2018, 05:22 PM   #9
Jason TQ
somebody shut me the fark up.

 
Jason TQ's Avatar
 
Join Date: 01-10-11
Location: Lawrenceville, GA
Default

I did it for a year professionally and helped a friend open a place. Not as an owner, but I was given the kitchen, helped hire the kitchen staff and managed them all (with zero experience other than working as a server for a year back in the day). I basically figured out how to scale the food before we opened and run the back of the house.

I did enjoy it, but was more of an escape from the corporate world to try an opportunity I would never have again, which is help someone open a restaurant and be given full control of the bbq/recipes and cooking bbq.

Eye opening for sure. Cooking high quality bbq at scale is tough. Ain't like a burger joint that can fire up fresh meat from the cooler and get it to the plate in 10-15mins. Cooking, holding and serving bbq is just different. That is why most threads here about people being disappointed with restaurant Q is always accurate, but not everyone gets what actually goes into it. The bbq places that have high reviews have all my respect.

The stuff at home is easy and always fresh since you eat it shortly after cooking vs scale that to serve hundreds every single day and try not to piss off some "social media reviewer" who just wants to get free sh!t with their bad review because that is how it works these days unfortunately.

But I did love it. Cooking and feeding the masses is rewarding when you get compliments. Not a lot of money in it so you better love BBQ and love it also as a job (managing a kitchen of minimum wage or slightly above workers is a freaking circus, happy to have some amazing stories after only a year that can only come from a kitchen). Now I have a good balance of a "normal" job, but also having the skills to cook for 1000 people without having to think about it is a nice skill to have, which lets me cook for a handful of charity events during the year and have fun.

If I won the lottery I might try it again..........
__________________
-Jason
I didn't choose D-Canoe life..........
Jason TQ is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 11-15-2018, 09:03 PM   #10
pharp
Banned

 
Join Date: 04-11-16
Location: Fayetteville, AR
Default

I am concerned about making a profit with my catering business, but it is a side business. I started it as a means to help fund my BBQ Competition addiction. Over the past year I had more fun doing the catering (and getting paid) then I did burning weekends to compete.

Seeing people happy eating your food or reading a great review definitely helps you remember the "love of the game."

Best of luck if you decide to jump in!
pharp is offline   Reply With Quote


Thanks from: --->
Old 11-15-2018, 09:26 PM   #11
Mikhail
Babbling Farker
 
Join Date: 06-27-15
Location: Cincinnati OH
Name/Nickname : Mik
Default

I have told a number of friends this in other businesses they wanted to start, and it is how I got my own (non-bbq) going.

The trick in a startup is not trying to figure out what the market will bear. You make artisan food. The question you need to ask is what is it worth to you to do it? Price at what you need to make, then see if it sells. if not, it is not a business you want to be in.

You can always lower prices a whole lot easier than you can raise them. But if your product is great? It'll sell to those who care about value, not just price.
__________________
PK Classic Grill, Weber One Touch 22" Copper, Broil King Signet 320
Mikhail is offline   Reply With Quote


Thanks from: --->
Old 11-16-2018, 08:14 AM   #12
West River BBQ
Full Fledged Farker
 
Join Date: 05-26-18
Location: Sturgis, SD
Name/Nickname : Bill
Default

Anybody that has worked with the public will agree that there are a lot of complaints that come with operating a private business. Having a plan for managing unhappy customers shouldn't be overlooked.
West River BBQ is offline   Reply With Quote


Thanks from:--->
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


Forum Custom Search: Enter your Search text below. GOOGLE will search ONLY the BBQ Brethren Forum.
Custom search MAY not work(no display box) in some configurations of Internet Explorer. Please use compliant version of Firefox or Chrome.







All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:13 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
2003 -2012 © BBQ-Brethren Inc. All rights reserved. All Content and Flaming Pig Logo are registered and protected under U.S and International Copyright and Trademarks. Content Within this Website Is Property of BBQ Brethren Inc. Reproduction or alteration is strictly prohibited.
no new posts