Posts Tagged ‘concession business’
The Importance of a Business Plan for Your Donut Business
April 26, 2010 | 
Author We have discussed this before several weeks ago but I wanted to bring out a couple more things about the importance of a business plan when you start out your donut business. The business plan of your doughnut business is how investors will see your company if you need them. It also includes your marketing operations and sales process. It is the blueprint of your business.
When you meet what the committees that runs at fairs and festivals in your area or other areas, or you are trying to negotiate a lease for your donut shop, is your business plan that would do most of the talking. Your business plan will let everyone know your projected sales and expenses and what you plan to achieve with your business. You can also look at this later to see if you are actually realizing the goals you have set out in your donut business plan. In your business plan you will also want to take note of who your competition is, this is something that we did not mention before. We will do a blog post about competition and how it relates to your donut business in the next several weeks. Competition is an important factor in how much money you make. But I think everyone knows that, they just don't think about it when they open up their business.
Your business plan will give you focus on your development. It will also provide a logical framework for which you to work and establish goals for your company. Your donut business plan will provide information to investors, banks and shareholders if you decide to go that route. As we have mentioned before, it also will let you know how well you are doing as you move forward in your business.
Not having a business plan, is like driving somewhere you have never been, without a roadmap. Is never a good idea to start or operate a business without a business plan. It is no exception for your doughnut shop, be smart and develop a business plan. The time it takes now to write one will save you a lot of headaches later.
Posted in 
Tags: 
The Downfalls of a Donut Business Franchise
We talked yesterday about the benefits of having a doughnut businessness franchise. Today we will discuss the downfalls of having a doughnut franchise. There are many reasons why going with a franchise may not benefit you or be best for your particular situation. The first reason why having a donut franchise May not be the best idea are the very high startup costs. Not only will you have a high startup costs, but the donut franchise will expect you to have a reasonable cash flow and high net worth. These two things alone will keep many people from being able to afford a donut business franchise. Opening a good business franchise usually requires that you have been successful in either another business or your job. Often times you can pool the resources of a few people in order to meet the requirements. It is never a good idea to get into a business, especially a franchise situation, when you are strapped for cash or do not have your financial affairs in order. Another downfall of the franchise system is you lose some level of control over your business. You will be told when to do it and how to do it, after all is not your brand, and you do not own the brand. If the franchise wants you to change the look of your restaurant, you will have to comply with their request. Anything that the donut franchise would want you to do, you will need to pretty much do what they say. You have little if any control over what they may request. You are at their mercy most of the time. Not only will the donut franchise control how you run your business, but they take a chunk of your revenue as a royalty. This royalty is rarely negotiated and is Told to you up front before you buy into the franchise. The cost of doing business under a donut franchise system is very high. You have the cost of the building, utilities and several employees to be concerned about. We want to keep things small and simple, this is why we are going with the single menu item donut business model. The cost or low end of profits can potentially be very high. When you start having to build buildings and being involved in a franchise it gets very expensive very quickly. You will need much more money in order to survive opening a franchise.
Should You Start a Doughnut Business in a Slow Economy Part 2
A lot of potential would-be business owners face the dilemma of starting out on their own on a daily basis. They know that they have a good product, doughnuts, but they are afraid that the slow economy will prohibit them from doing well in the donut business. They fear they will not be able to make it through the very difficult startup period When overhead is high and revenue is low.
The first thing you should do when starting a new business or thinking about starting a new donut business, save your money and get debt that you have currently paid off. If you are overrun with that and have no savings, when you experience bad times in your donut business, they will be amplified. If you are having difficulty making ends meet and have additional bills related to donut business venture You'll be in very bad state very quickly. If I don't give you any advice that you do not take, be advised that you need to have savings and most of your debt paid off before venturing out into having your own business. This becomes increasingly important when you have a family to support and only one income. If you do not do anything else before you start your done the business, get your debt paid and build your savings.
If you have enough money to live for two years saved, then you will have a very significant amount of money to help you when times are tough. Keep in mind you need to have enough money saved to pay your mortgage, utility bills, and any other debt that you may have. These bills have to be paid every month, you really do not have much of a choice.
The next thing you should do when contemplating starting a donut business, is setting up a timeline. You can use this timeline to set your goals of where you want to be and when. You can also use the timeline to develop a strategy for your donut business. Use the timeline to determine the amount of time you'll spend on developing and marketing the business. You will use it to plot times when you will work on the business. Do not set unrealistic goals, like working in the middle of the night if you do not have a history of doing something like that. Setting unrealistic goals when starting your donut business will only push you that much closer to failure. Be realistic and setting your goals And you will set yourself up for success in business.
Another thing you will want to do is analyze the opportunities you have in your area for setting up a donut business. Are there a lot of schools and churches that you could possibly sell your doughnuts to, maybe set up charity events to help push your doughnuts. The more people that taste your doughnuts, the better chance you have of people falling in love with them and wanting them. You want to make sure that there is a market for your business. How many people in your area are selling donuts? Have they been in business for very long? Do you have a unique donut recipe that you can share? Do you have a passion for what you are selling? All of these questions will get you closer to having a successful donut business and keeping you happy And a wave from your job.
Update on Our Venture
Per John Reid;
So, I bet your wondering why we haven't talked about our own progress towards starting a donut business. The answers are procrastination and not enough time. Starting this business is still on our radar as we talk about it at nearly every one of our weekly business meetings. But the four of us have our hands in many different pies business wise of which the donut endeavor is only one. Other projects have been taking most of our attention lately, but we beginning to come back to this one.
AutoCAD 2012 Video Tutorial DVD (download/online included) 14:24hrs, 224 videos
US $54.99
13d 20h 38m
Specialty Bakery Bread Pastries Donuts BUSINESS PLAN + MARKETING PLAN = 2 PLANS!
US $24.97
18d
Donut Bagel Shop Shop Gourmet Bakery BUSINESS PLAN + MARKETING PLAN = 2 PLANS!
US $24.97
18d
Powered by phpBay Pro
Fairs and Festivals–Ideal for the Donut Business
Donuts can be an ideal food to sell at fairs and festivals for a number of reasons. The main point is that you are selling something different than the competition in the other trailers. People get tired of seeing the same old offerings like hot dogs, corn dogs, nachos, and pizza. Marketing research has consistently indicated that to a consumer, seeing something "different" in a background of "same" will at least bring you attention. Then it's your job to hook them on the product.
People at fairs and festivals are a captive audience. Do they usually bring their own food from home to eat while they walk around? No! They look for something tasty. When they get hungry they buy food rather than leave. And the donuts you will sell will be small, bite-sized delicious morsels of flavor. People buy a bag and walk around eating them one at a time. Think about these questions. Which is easier to eat while on the move? A piece of pizza, a funnel cake, a hamburger, nachos, or a bite-sized donut? What can be easily wrapped up to eat later if the person doesn't want to finish the food item? A corn dot, a fried pie, a turkey leg, or a bag of bite-sized donuts? Which of those previously mentioned foods is less messy? Say for a mother feeding her young child? Why, donuts of course! You're selling convenience as well as a high quality product.
Fairs and festivals generally have lower rent compared to storefront establishments. Below you will find some trailers to sell your donuts in, they can be quite inexpensive.
 |
NEW 8.5 x 29 GOOSENECK ENCLOSED CONCESSION FOOD TRAILER OLE HICKORY SMOKER | |
|
US $49,895.00 | 20d 33m |
 |
NEW 24' CONCESSION CATERING FOOD TRAILER WITH APPLIANCES & FIRE SUPPRESSION | |
|
US $37,999.00 | 8d 20h 30m |
 |
NEW 8 x 24 ENCLOSED CONCESSION EVENT BBQ CATERING FOOD TRAILER | |
|
US $28,999.00 | 7d 20h 7m |
 |
NEW 22' CONCESSION SMOKER FOOD TRAILER WITH APPLIANCES AND A OLE HICKORY SMOKER | |
|
US $27,999.00 | 19d 23h 46m |
 |
New 8.5 x 24 ENCLOSED FOOD CONCESSION TRAILER MAG WHEELS SILVER FROST COLOR | |
|
US $24,700.00 | 24d 23h 22m |
| Powered by phpBay Pro |
Here's a very important tip for anyone looking to sell fair and festival concessions--do what you can to get your foot in the door with your business. I was surprised to find that the older ones only let in a certain number of food vendors and that they typically give preferential treatment to those that have been coming the longest. Sometimes there's a waiting list just to set up shop. But, this is another advantage of selling donuts--it's original. I was informed by more than one concession planning committee that if I had something different I would get more consideration. You could also target newer fairs that haven't been in existence for very long and therefore don't have an established clientèle.
