Posts Tagged ‘donut business’
March 5, 2010 | 
Author 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.
Should You Start a Donut Business in a Slow Economy Part One
As you drive home from your current job do you ever wonder what it would be like if you would not have to do that anymore? You may think that you are lucky to even have a job when so many people do not have one. After all, these are bad times and having a job is a good thing and knowing you have a paycheck coming in is definitely a plus. You may even have the chance to move up in your company and make more money.
You may have often thought about starting your own business and all of the perks that come along with it. You could take advantage of the tax to deductions, Be your own boss, and all of the other things that you always hear about working from home or having your own business. It is true, when you work for yourself you do not give Uncle Sam an interest-free loan while you earn money, you pay the tax man after you have already earned it and take out your deductions. The doughnut business could afford you a lot of deductions and peace of mind knowing that doughnuts will always be in demand and people love them. But you question the timing of starting your own business. You have reason to be afraid, change is always a hard thing to do.
You have all of these things going through your head, But how could you live with yourself if your family lost their home and their life savings because of your business venture. That would be a very difficult pill to swallow, especially if you have a family. You feel trapped and go to work daily Thinking about the way life could be. It is much easier to be told what to do and how to do it than venture out on your own and try to make something of a business. You have probably heard all the horror stories of opening up a food related business. One of the good things about having a donut business, especially a small donut business, is you are selling one product and the overhead can be quite low. We will talk more about that in a bit. Stay tuned tomorrow and we will continue our discussion about starting a good business end is poor economy.
Posted in Starting a Donut Business | 
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Getting Donut Equipment
So where are you plan to get your doughnut equipment? This is a good question, you need to know what kind of equipment that you will need and of course your business model.
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" BELSHAW " DONUT ROBOT MARK X DONUT FRYING CONVEYOR FRYER WITH TABLE + MORE |  |
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US $2,999.00 | 20d 19h 58m |
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NEW BELSHAW TG-50 THERMOGLAZE PRE-FRIED DONUT SYSTEM | |
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US $2,500.00 | 10d 12h 40m |
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Belshaw Bakery Donut ThermoGlaze TG50 with TZ-6 Proofer | |
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US $2,245.00 | 23d 10h 56m |
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BELSHAW THERMOGLAZE DONUT GLAZING MACHINE ON CASTERS | |
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US $1,950.00 | 12d 8h 49m |
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Belshaw Bakery Donut ThermoGlaze TG50 with TZ-6 Donut Proofer | |
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US $1,850.00 | 6d 16h 42m |
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Are you simply making small doughnuts and keeping it simple? We have focused our attention on this blog about making small sized doughnuts. But you may want to make other sized donuts with different flavors. You also need to be concerned about supplies along with donut equipment. You'll basically need a manual donut cutter, donut fryer, proofer and perhaps a glazing table. You can use manual cutters for manual frying doughnut machines. Always purchased mixes and doughnut droppers When you go to buy supplies.
Doughnut cutters are important because they allow you to create nicely shaped doughnuts each time you make them. You will not have to worry about creating donut holes and putting a lot of extra work into it. There are lot of sizes of donut cutters from small to large but they create nicely shaped doughnuts every time. If you have seen one of our videos you will notice how difficult it is to have a nicely shaped donut. They often turn out to look like hush puppies or other irregular shapes. They are not pretty, so it is important that you have the proper equipment to make nice, pretty doughnuts every time.
Doughnut droppers allowed just the right amount of doughnut mix to get through so you have a good shape once it gets to the fryer. They save time and energy and are well worth the price that you pay for them.
Another thing that you want to keep in mind is what kind of donut equipment you will need for your business? Donut machines come in about every size imaginable. Do you want a small tabletop doughnut maker to sell doughnuts at fairs and flea markets? Or do you need something full service, to sell doughnuts perhaps at a sporting event? Maybe a mobile donut concession stand will work for you? And just depends on your needs. If you are taking your donut business on the road, you would need something mobile.
Be aware of all the warranties on your donut equipment, especially if it is used. You will need to verify that the equipment works and get something on paper before you purchase it that it does indeed work as advertised. There is nothing worse than spending a lot of money on a commercial doughnut machine only to get a home and it does not work. Get everything in writing.
Posted in Donut Equipment | Tags: bakery equipments, bakery machines, commercial dough mixer, donut business, donut cutter, donut cutters, donut dough, Donut Equipment, donut fryers, donut machine, donut machines, donut machines for sale, donut shop equipment, donut supplies, dough mixer, doughnut equipment, doughnut fryer, doughnut fryers, doughnut machine, doughnut machines, doughnut making equipment, food processing equipment, food service equipment, mini donut machine, mini donut machines, mini doughnut machine, mini doughnut machines, used donut equipment, used donut fryers | No Comments »
To Sell or Not to Sell – Should You Sell Something Besides Donuts
As we have already discussed the donut business can be quite profitable. When you are selling mini cake doughnuts there is a high profit margin and low overhead. Depending on where you are selling your doughnuts, the overhead can be very low or very high. We are planning on starting small, Getting a machine that makes the doughnuts, and finding a place to sell them. We are focusing our attention on two places, a popular entertainment area that has movies, restaurants and some smaller shops. It is one of the open mall concepts where everything is outside, and people walk around the complex.
Another place we are thinking about selling our doughnuts, is the flea market in our local area. As you probably can imagine there is a lot of traffic that flows through the flea market. Anywhere there is traffic you can be assured that you will sell a lot of doughnuts. The problem is, or what we have found, is getting into these places to sell the doughnuts. Once we get into the place of our choice, we plan on purchasing the doughnut machine and setting up shop there. That is the only thing that has stopping us from continuing this project. There are other ways we can get the doughnuts out into the marketplace, but we would rather have somewhere to sell the doughnuts right from the start.
So now that that is out of the way, should we sell anything else but doughnuts? We have thought about this, and each one of us have varying opinions. We all do agree however, that the menu should be very limited. We will not sell 100 varities of doughnuts, we all agree on that. It is just not in our business model, the more choices you give the consumer, the more overhead that you have. We have studied other businesses that offer small doughnuts, and they have a very limited menus themselves. We will probably model Our donut business After what they are doing. We have noticed that the doughnut shops that are in business today have been around for quite some time now. None of them have changed much, and have not added things to their menu. They offer one or two varieties of small doughnuts, and perhaps a couple varieties of drinks to go along with the doughnuts.
We have facts about offering milk, juice or coffee to our menu but we have mixed feelings about this. We are leaning toward just producing the doughnuts and offering two different kinds of flavors. We will most likely have sugared and cinnamon flavored doughnuts. Depending on our location, we may offer milk or coffee but we are afraid of the overhead cost of adding these drinks to the menu. We may do it as a market test and see how it goes. But as mentioned the more items you have on the menu, the more overhead that you incur. If the doughnuts do not sell as well as we anticipate, we could potentially have a lot of waste as far as the drinks go. If the doughnuts sell well, then the drinks will complement the doughnuts and we can start selling drinks as well. Basically, selling drinks will depend on the net sales. Then we will go from there.
Getting Your Donut Business Legal
When starting your doughnut business, it is important that you comply with all state and federal regulations. There are legal issues and every business, and you want to prepare yourself for anything that arises. Anything from employee issues, problems with customers, and organizing with the state and federal governments, can pose a problem if not done correctly. Especially, when you are in the food business you need to be very careful on the laws that you may be breaking. It is a matter of public safety since you are serving food. The good thing is you will only be serving one item in your donut business. We are focusing on the small doughnuts on this blog and not the many variations and flavors of doughnuts that can be found in traditional donut shops.
Before starting any business endeavor you will want to find a competent attorney to help you along the way. Just as you do not want to put trust in any one person, you will not put all your trust in this one attorney. You will need to get a second opinion at times, it is just wise to do so.
The first thing you will need to do is organize your business with your state. Most businesses are better off being organized as either an LLC or Corporation. These structures will put a barrier between your business and your personal affairs. Never take someone's advice, whether they be professional or not, as gospel. Learn each business structure and their benefits, downfalls for each one. Depending on who you talk to, you'll get different answers as to what your business structure should be. Many accountants will tell you that a corporation is better and attorneys will lean toward a limited liability company. Find out which one is best for you and go from there.
The operating agreement for your donut business will outline how you will operate, regulate and rule the business. It is especially important to have your operating agreement if there are more than one person in your company, for example business partners. You do not want any misunderstanding about how your donu business is run. A lot of conflicts can be resolved when you have a carefully crafted operating agreement. There have been many failed businesses that were a good idea but failed because of misunderstandings with the business partners. What if your partner goes bankrupt, dies, or perhaps becomes a compulsive gambler? What will you do and how will your business handle this situation? What happens if he or she just quits? These are all legitimate questions that need to be discussed in the operating agreement. You need to pay a lot of attention to the operating agreement, it can save you a lot of trouble in the future.
Be familiar with any contracts that your company may be involved in. It is worth hiring an attorney to review and make any contracts that are necessary for you to run your business. Do not wait until your company is sued to deal with contracts, learn all about them from the get-go. Contracts can be very technical and when things go awry you can find yourself in serious trouble.
Employment law is one of the big things that gets small businesses in trouble. Employment law can be devastating to your business is not done correctly. Everything from employment taxes, terminations, recruiting and hiring employees can cause a lot of trouble if not done correctly.
This is not meant to scare you from opening your donut business, These are just facts that you need to be aware of before venturing into the world of business. Pay mind to the old cliché, don't quit your day job. Always have a backup plan, perhaps have some money saved before you start out on your own.
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.
Donut Bagel Shop Shop Gourmet Bakery BUSINESS PLAN + MARKETING PLAN = 2 PLANS!
US $24.97
2d 15h 10m
Specialty Bakery Bread Pastries Donuts BUSINESS PLAN + MARKETING PLAN = 2 PLANS!
US $24.97
2d 15h 10m
Mini Donuts Vendor Cart Stand BUSINESS PLAN + MARKETING PLAN =2 PLANS!
US $24.97
2d 16h 48m
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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.
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NEW 8.5 x 29 GOOSENECK ENCLOSED CONCESSION FOOD TRAILER OLE HICKORY SMOKER | |
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US $49,895.00 | 4d 15h 45m |
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NEW 24' CONCESSION CATERING FOOD TRAILER WITH APPLIANCES & FIRE SUPPRESSION | |
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US $37,999.00 | 23d 11h 42m |
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AVAILABLE NOW "NEW" IN STOCK 8.5x20 CONCESSION TRAILER | |
0 Bid | US $32,995.00 | 10h 33m |
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8'6" WIDE x 28' LONG CONCESSION / CATERING TRAILER | |
0 Bid | US $31,990.00 | 10h 33m |
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NEW 8 x 24 ENCLOSED Concession Trailer with Grease Hood | |
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US $28,999.00 | 22d 11h 20m |
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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.
Some New Hope
Two of our partners were at Pullman Square over the weekend and started talking to one of the vendors there.... he is manager at one of the restaurants on the property so it was not clear (to me anyway) whether he owned the concession stand (which was selling beer) or if someone else did.. In any event, he was very generous with our partner regarding sales, etc. From all appearances, he is doing very well during the 13 week season.... We are using him as a resource to get our foot in the door there... We have a few months before the season picks up, but we are most definitely not giving up.
On another note, I have recieved 2 very informative calls'/emails of late from Lil Orbits, I must say I am very impressed with them thus far.. I am going to email him back to see if he has any advice on how we can get our foot in the door at these locations... He sent me a listing of places we could possibly sell the donuts; fairs, carnivals, etc. Very informative..... I will keep you updated as we move forward. We would really like to have a location ready to go before we invest in the equipment.. We don't want to be out the money then have to struggle to get the location setup. My advice to anyone reading this, try to line up a location before you purchase your equipment, that is what we are doing...
