Food Booth: The Complete Guide to Starting and Operating a Food Concession Business - Softcover

Barbara J Fitzgerald

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0976570300 ISBN 13: 9780976570301

Publisher: Carnival Press, 2006

Synopsis

You want to operate a food booth but don’t know how. Finally, the food concession business made clear. Like sitting at the kitchen table with your personal concession consultant, this book will let you in on all the inside secrets.

About this title

About the Author

Barbara J. Fitzgerald has over twenty years of experience as a food concessionaire. She has successfully designed and operated a large variety of concession operations, and has served a variety of menus at hundreds of events in the Northwest. She additionally designed and operated a successful espresso cafe. In 1994 Barbara was honored to become involved in the administrative and regulatory process by co-chairing a position on the Oregon Food Services Advisory Board as representative for the food concession industry. It was that experience that inspired her to found NWVN, Northwest Vendor's Network, an association of vendors and event coordinators for the purpose of improving communication and cooperation among associates in the concession industry. The advise of this busy professional has been sought by many event organizers and she has served as consultant to many concession start-ups. Her dedicated entrepreneurship, accumulated experience in concession development, management and marketing, and her passion for the concession business qualifies her as a concession operations authority.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

EXCERPT: From chapter 2: When planning your concession business there are several very important questions you must first ask yourself:

What is your purpose for starting a concession business? Are you looking for an excuse to do a little traveling? Or, perhaps you have some spare time in the summer and wish to use that time to supplement your winter income. Maybe you have teenage kids who need a fun way to earn college tuition. Are you semi-retired and need to supplement your fixed income? Maybe you have arrived at a large amount of money and see an opportunity to start your own business. Or, maybe you are tired of scraping by as an employee and wish to become self-employed. Perhaps you are more or less unconcerned with making money, but simply looking for the tax advantages of being self-employed. Are you in charge of fund raising for an organization? Maybe you re simply a free spirit with a desire to be responsible for your own employment.

What do you ultimately expect to achieve from your concession business? How much is enough? Will you be happy to earn enough to keep gas in the motor home while you satisfy your wanderlust? Perhaps an extra five or ten thousand dollars earned in your spare time will bridge the gap left by your inadequately paying "regular" job. Or, better yet, be enough to finally take that trip, remodel the house, or buy a new car. Maybe a summer concession business will keep the kids busy, and assure them a college education. Or, perhaps you hope to eventually quit your job, make your living from your concession business, and use your spare time in the off season to pursue other interests. Maybe you have been laid off and need to get your bills paid. Which brings me back to; how much is enough? Can you accomplish your goal if you finish the summer with five thousand dollars in your pocket? Or, will it require seventy thousand dollars to feel fulfilled?

What are your financial resources? How financially capable are you of getting your concession started and seeing it through to the point where you have reached your goal? Do you have adequate resources available for start-up capital, as well as enough reserves available for the first season or two of low returns? If not, how do you propose to bridge the gap? Perhaps you will need to carefully siphon small portions of your existing income into your new venture. Do you have enough income from a source other than your concession that will pay the bills until your concession becomes viable? Are your financial resources such that you can afford the appropriate booth, equipment and vehicles to operate the concession you envision? Or, perhaps you will need to equip your business conservatively and expand slowly as your business grows?

What are your capabilities of logistically seeing your plan through? Will you be juggling your time and energy with other responsibilities such as parenting small children, or working another job? Are you physically able to manage a long, grueling season of long hours on your feet, and lifting and carrying heavy objects? Do you have a partner, or are you willing to hire and manage adequate help? What type of skills do you have for driving large vehicles, pulling trailers, conducting vehicle and equipment maintenance, and managing the business?

These are the types of questions you need to ask before you get started. The answers to these questions will define the type of concession you will start with and strive for. Your answers will also determine how long it will ultimately take you to reach your goal. If your goal is to supplement your already adequate income, then any profit made in the concession could be considered a success. On the other hand, if you yearn to entirely replace your current fifty thousand dollar a year salary, it could take a while longer. And, depending on your resources, capabilities, and opposing responsibilities, may or may not be achievable. ! Though we would all like to make that kind of money from our concession, most vendors go through a process of learning while growing that eventually gets them to the point where they reach a personal balance between logistically comfortable, and adequately prosperous. That said, if your goal is to earn a large income from your concession, you will likely have a difficult time reaching that goal if you aren t both capable, and willing to strive for a high volume operation.

A concession business with moderate expectations or financial and logistical limitations may be one that utilizes a small, inexpensive, and easy to manage booth to sell a small, easy to manage menu at small inexpensive events. On the other hand, a concession operator whose goal is to make enough money to entirely replace an existing income may need to operate several high volume booths through an entire season of large fairs and events. Many of these concessionaires spread their risk and optimize their returns by booking several different booths into different events on the same date.

Edition details

• Publisher: Carnival Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0976570300
• ISBN 13: 9780976570301
• Binding: Spiral-bound
• Number of pages: 228