A 90-Day Way to Test a Food Idea

People may keep asking you to sell your food.

At first, that feels like a compliment.

Then it becomes a question.

Could this become something real?

That question can be exciting. It can also be intimidating.

Continue reading “A 90-Day Way to Test a Food Idea”

A Smaller Way to Sell Food Without Opening a Restaurant

Opening a restaurant is expensive.

Rent.
Equipment.
Utilities.
Employees.
Insurance.
Inventory.
A dining room.
A full menu.
Long hours.
Daily pressure.

For many beginning food operators, that is too much too soon.

But that does not always mean the food idea should be ignored.

Continue reading “A Smaller Way to Sell Food Without Opening a Restaurant”

One Good Food Item May Be Enough to Begin

A beginning food operator may think the first menu has to be big.

That is understandable.

Restaurants have menus.
Food trucks have menus.
Catering companies have menus.
Meal-prep services have menus.
Customers seem to expect choices.

So the person with a food idea may start adding too much too soon.

Continue reading “One Good Food Item May Be Enough to Begin”

When People Keep Asking You to Sell It

A food business does not always begin with a business plan.

Sometimes it begins with a question.

“Do you sell this?”

Or:

“You ought to make this for people.”

Or:

“How much would you charge?”

Or:

“Can I order some next week?”

At first, those comments may feel like ordinary compliments. Somebody liked the sauce. Somebody liked the BBQ. Somebody liked the chicken salad, the casserole, the dessert, the taco, the meal-prep plate, or the coffee.

That is encouraging.

But if the same question keeps coming back, it may become something more.

It may become a small signal.

Continue reading “When People Keep Asking You to Sell It”