Posts Tagged ‘donut franchise’
General Donut Shop Questions
February 27, 2011 | 
Author Here are some more questions I have been recieving over the past several months.... I am going to do a posting once or twice a week of all the questions I have recieved.. Don't worry I will not post your name or give any identifying information.. If you don't want your questions published, let me know. You can click on the Ask A Question tab to ask your question.
Richard asks…
I gotta have some ideas to increase sales for my donut shop.. do you have any ideas? Especially around the holidays?
I was trying to ask this on the forums but was locked out for some reason and I have had no response from admin... I purchased an established donut business and would like to find out how to drum up business... and bring more attention to my shop... I would like to keep it clean since it is a family business and town..
John answers:
First I'd like to congratulate you on your donut business.. I should be asking you questions not hte other way around.. 
But how about having some holiday donut decorating classes, how to make donuts and the fillings that go in there... Have some special holiday only specials.. really decorate your store for the holidays.. Maybe you could do somethng for the kids as well.. like have a coloring contest with a prize from the store.. perhaps maybe even sponsor some senior or children's events at your store.. I know that a store (not donut) does that around my area and seem to be quite successful with it...
Linda asks…
I work for ( manager) for a donut shop and need some ideas?
I am trying ot think of things i can bake and sale for halloween i am going to try candy apples but is there anything else u think would be good or u would like to see in a donut shop???
John answers:
I would try anything with nuts and candy corn, add some orange color in there... always a hit..
Robert asks…
I am looking for a donut cutter in madrid?
John answers:
I don't think donuts are cut.
Maria asks…
I am a student and am looking to find out the percentage percent charged on gross sales by a franchise (for a donut shop)
I am doing research for school and am purchasing mock businesses... I chose to start a donut shop.. I am going to use your blog (with your permission) to get some ideas and mention in my assignment... thanks so much!!!
John answers:
That is very interesting... good luck on your project.. We still have a ways to go, but we are well educated (we feel) in the area of donuts.. To answer your question, not all franchises charge a percentage of sales..
I emailed you some links about franchising, specifically donuts, and yes you can use our blog in your research. Good luck!
Posted in Donut Business Questions | 
Tags: bake, basis, bread, business, business plan, candy, climate, customer, cutter, Decorate, donut business, donut franchise, doughnut business, doughnut franchise, doughnut recipe, event, family, flower, foot, General, good, goodwill, halloween, help, holiday, how to start a donut business, how to start a doughnut shop, hte, industry, Information, luck, machinsJohn, madrid, manager, margin, Nuts, orange, percent, permission, Pretzels, prize, project, reason, sale, shop, something, store, student, tab, Thanksgiving, time, town, work | 
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Doing it Small or Going Big
Do you want to have a small business or do you want to go big? There is basically two things you can do when starting a donut business, you can start small or start big. When you start small, you buy a basic donut making machine from someone, set up at a church or local event, perhaps even a fair or festival. You could travel around to different places close to your area and probably do very well. It would not take very long for people to fall in love with your doughnuts. People fall in love with your doughnuts if you have a good recipe and they follow you, and perhaps tell their friends all about you. You could even set up little doughnut boxes in local businesses.
If you do not want to start small and you have the capital and resources to do so, you may want to go big and buy into a donut franchise. There is an enormous amount of capital required in order to start a donut franchise as you can imagine. The rewards can be great plus you have the backing of someone who is experienced in the industry. This experience can be very valuable as you work your way through the business. You do not have to worry about trial and error, making mistakes as they have your back. I personally was always leery about franchises in other industries. I had once thought about opening up a cleaning business using a franchise system. But luckily I was talked out of it. If I was not talked out of it could be several thousand dollars in debt to this day. Thank goodness I never went through with it that started it on my own. We have a blog about that as well you may want to look into it.
Look up donut franchise on the Internet and you will see several resources regarding this industry. Be sure that you have your financial house in order though, because it will be required in order for you to sign on the dotted line. This is pretty much the case with all franchises, you need to have your financial house in order. You can most definitely make it without a franchise, sometimes it may be even better.
Importance of Having a Business Plan – Update
I realize we've discussed this before but I found some really good business plans on Ebay the other day and I wanted to share them with you... they are below... a few things to look for when purchasing a donut business plan:
Is it specific to the donut business?
Is it customizable and includes a template?
Does it automatically calculate spreadsheets, tables and graphs?
The above are important to make your life easier when developing your plan.....
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Donut Shop Business Plan Bundle |  |
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US $39.95 | 1d 36m |
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Donut & Bagel Shop Start Up Business Plan NEW | |
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US $19.95 | 28d 17h 8m |
| Powered by phpBay Pro |
|
Donut Shop Business Plan Bundle | |
|
US $39.95 | 1d 36m |
|
Donut & Bagel Shop Start Up Business Plan NEW | |
|
US $19.95 | 28d 17h 8m |
| Powered by phpBay Pro |
Benefits of a Donut Franchise
Opening a donut business can be very frustrating and time-consuming. Going at it alone can be intimidating and overwhelming. Although we have made the decision not to invest in a good franchise, we can see where it could be beneficial. The startup cost and net worth requirements are very high for a good donut franchise. Many times you can pool the resources of two or three people to adhere to the requirements of the donut franchise. These requirements can be very high at times.
One thing the doughnut franchise will give you is support and market research. They will also advertise your store and give you a budget for advertising. Of course they will take a royalty from your revenue, but that is the price of doing business. There are few businesses where I would recommend a franchise, but anything having to do with food, is not a terribly bad idea. Another thing that the doughnut franchise will give you his brand recognition. People will be familiar with the brand and will come into your store simply because they are familiar with the doughnuts that the brand sells. You'll be miles ahead of people getting to enjoy your doughnuts. You will not have to spend years of getting the word out about your brand, because it will pretty much already have been done for you. People are very particular when it comes to food, and if you have an established done that franchise to back to you, you'll be way ahead of the competition. The donut franchise will also give you good ideas on where to locate your doughnut business. They will have extensive experience on where to locate the doughnut shop. This experience can prove to be invaluable, and keep you from making big mistakes.
If you have the money to invest, and are financially fit, then the donut franchise model may be best for you. You'll need to look closely into each one, and decide which one best suits your situation. Some of the donut franchises will require a Hands on approach where others will let you simply be an investor. Again you will need to look closely and find out which one best suits your situation.
Benefits of Having a Donut Business
There are many benefits to having a doughnut business. We are focusing on the small doughnut business, and not the franchise donut business model. The franchise donut business model Is not an effective way to sell small doughnuts, which typically are just one product. People who sell small doughnuts may sell milk, coffee or a different flavor donut but that is the extent of what they sell.
One good thing about the doughnut business are the low startup costs. You can typically buy the equipment anywhere from $5000-$20,000, depending on the route you want to go. If you just want a small fryer to set up shop at flea markets or even in your kitchen selling doughnuts, then you can get by with investing $5000 or less. If you want a concession type stand for your doughnut business then you will spend $20,000 or more on start up cost. Donut stands are good if you are selling your doughnuts at festivals, fairs, carnivals, sporting events or any other outdoor activity. Having a doughnut concession stand is a good way to generate a lot of revenue very quickly.
Doughnuts sell! As long as you have a crowd or an audience for your doughnuts, they will pretty much sell themselves. It is hard to avoid the smell of the doughnut, this is what gets them to your stand. Once they are there people can barely resist buying your doughnuts. The overhead is low for making doughnuts. You will have very little cost on the ingredients and equipment. The return on investment can be quite high.
If you can find a good place to sell your doughnuts, with a lot of traffic, you will make money. You will need to keep in mind the rent you are paying and how much you pay your employees for their time. As with all business endeavors, you will need to keep check of all expenses. Another thing that you will need to find, is a good donut recipe. You can try the recipes that can be found on the banner below this post, that website also will teach you how to start and operate your donut business. It is an excellent way to get the support and ideas from someone without having to purchase a franchise. It is well worth the money to invest in the system.
