Surving the enconomic down turn....

[marvsbbq]

What are YOU doing to survive this economic down turn???

We have been able to save some $$$ from our catering business and plan to keep it. So here are just a few things we are doing...

Business wise.....I dropped the full coverage insurace on all of my equipment down to just fire/theft on everything except 1 smoker and 1 truck. The equipment will sit in wait until the economy changes for the better....saving over $300 per month.

We will drop our yellow page add this year after more than 15 years and just go with internet presence....saving $175 per month.

I took a 50% pay cut from my business. I was paying $759.00 a month in payroll taxes on just MY pay. I will take cash as needed from the business as "draws" thereby saving payroll taxes.

We have unplugged our comercial fridge to help save on electricity bill....not sure of savings but know it will be a good savings.

Personally....We now PLAN our weekly meals and shop with a LIST instead of just wandering through the store and buying what ever "looked good" as we have done in the past.

We plan our trips around town to get things done in one day rather than over several days therefore driving less miles per week....saving gas.

We have turned our heat down to 65 and use throws over us to help take off the chill.

We both love soups, stews & beans so we have been (and will continue to) eat more of these. When we make them we make enough to last 2-3 days.

We have dropped our weed spraying service for our yard saving over $500.00 per year.

And last but not least, we don't buy ANYTHING unless we feel we absoutley NEED it.

[mutha chicken bbq]

Don't know yet Marv,

Loosing my Job on Dec 8th, Looking at trying this full time but the "times are a scary" to say the least. Looking at getting a roadside gig going trailer for about 30 grand, But now they are not only closing the Chrysler plant here. They are also closing the GM plant that I had hoped to set up near. Most of the industry in this area is banking, But they are doing a whole bunch of cutting also. There was a total of 8 jobs in the want ads today.

So right now I am clinching both Cheeks and hoping for the best!!
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[Harry Nutczak]

I am not changing a thing, We have always maintained a frugal lifestyle.
and bought our home with cash several years ago to not have payments hanging over our head.

We do not have a mortgage, or car payments. and only 2 payments left on the Bobcat loader.

The restaurant is doing well for this time of year much to my surprise, The busiest place in town served 3 people on Monday, and I had one of my best days the same day.

The only thing I wish I would have done differently is to have more working capital stashed away before opening, But the opportunity happened by surprise after paying off my new equipment we purchased for this season. I would like to add some signage to the building and get a few signs up along the highway to draw a larger crowd.

I already have 4 dates booked for next season, and a few people wanting to book Christmas parties this year, so overall I am feeling pretty stable right now.
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Just remember that the toes you may step on during your climb to the top will also be attached to the a$$es you'll be forced to kiss on your way back down!

[BBQMAN]

Pretty much the same here Marv, and I did post our marketing efforts on the other post....................

I normally cater 12-15 events in December, and currently have 6 on the books with one pending.

Business is good, but not great.

I don't owe a whole lot in monthly payments, and carry a zero balance on my CC. Business expenses are paid in full each month.

I'm really glad that I went the route we did with the mobile kitchen while I still had the cash, and I'm also fortunate to have not gone the raunt route this year as we had looked into.

I do currently own a second home, but my primary residence is paid for, and my taxes are low.

Harry good to hear that you are "feeling stable right now". I hope you continue to do so!
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BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
Providing "IMHO" Since 2005.

[BBQMAN]

[mirv]

I too have been looking at starting a catering rig her in North GA, but it was going to be more of a weekend thing until we, my business partner and I, could build up enough to go full time. The biggest challenge we see is finding kitchen space big enough to work in.


Dan...sorry to hear about your job loss, but I am firm believer that everything happens for a reason. You could just get a smoke trailer, and pop-up canopy, get permission for a gas station owner to set up in their parking lot, and just have like 4 butts and 6 slabs of ribs, and maybe some chicken. When it's all gone, you go home. Do some simple sides, beans, slaw, bagged chips, bottles or cans for drinks. This could also be a good test to see if you are ready to handle bigger projects. Just a thought!

[hoverlover]

[mutha chicken bbq]

[marvsbbq]

Some states/towns are easier to work in than others, here in WA roadside vending is not allowed what so ever.

I say that and then think about the "taco wagons" but from what I hear, there is a BUNCH of hoops to jump through to get approved.

I did what I did (as mentioned in the first post of this thread) because I don't know nor can I really feel that I can count on business being what it has been. Therefore, the money I have, I want to hang onto as long as possible. Then if/when things change for the good and business picks up to what it was (200-250+ events a year, I can reverse the steps I took and life will be great.

I did not pay cash for my house ($500K kind of hard to come up with all at one time.. ) and I have static bills (insurances, electirc and a few others that go along with any business. Some of those I can reduce seasonally and some I can't. I figure I might as well save a few dollars where ever I can.

Today we started a refinance our house and will go from a 6.375% rate to a 5.25% rate and save more than $200 a month there. Our property taxes run just over $3500.00 a year.

I also changed insurance companies for both my business (vehicles) and my personal things and saved a BUNCH and retained the same coverages.

My insurance agent just told me yesterday that he has a client that owns a landscaping business and he just lost ONE account.....$15,000 PER MONTH!! He had to lay off 4 guys and idle 4 trucks...He was also looking to lower his insurance bills.

[Bub-Ba-Q]

The food service industry has been taking it hard this year over all, along with several other areas. I personally have been pretty fortunate. We are still with in 10% of last year. I have made a few changes, but for the most part running biz as usual.

Unfortunately, food is a luxury for most people and is the first place the fat is trimmed in budgets. I believe that a smart operator does keep up with the times and is always coming up with news ways to keep people coming in the door and pulling out their wallet. Perceived value goes ALONG way with consumers. If you can operate with a little less profit and keep the volume, well that's better than nothing. I have been dealing with the food biz 17 years and closed minded people will fail, unless you really have a bunch of money. Survival becomes the name of the game and look for the light at the end of the tunnel.

I am sorry to hear of the ones that have lost jobs and hope that things work out asap. Those that are still in biz, just keep your heads up and think of what you do as a consumer spending money.

[BBQMAN]

Hoverlover/Dan/Marv good point, that method won't fly here either (sorry mirv, but welcome to the ring either way!).

We have some fly-by-nighters that do roadside like that here, and get away with it........... at least for while anyway. Guess you can't blame a guy for trying to make a buck these days!

1st offense is usually a warning and they take your I.D. information. 2nd offense is a $1,000 fine. 3rd offense you are subject to having both your cookers AND tow vehicle confiscated. Yeehaaaw, were makin' money now.

Bill, thanks for joining us, been a while! Yes indeed that is good advice. We have not raised prices since spring of 2007.

Your place in Jasper is an excellent example of how if the food and service is great, and the prices are reasonable, you can make it just about anytime.

We stopped in this past October for a late lunch on a weekday, and there were still a bunch of folks eating away.

Nice job, and all the trophy's along the walls looked good too!
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BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
Providing "IMHO" Since 2005.

[Bub-Ba-Q]

thx Mike. I think I was on the way to the Jack when you came in. I am glad that everything was ok. Another note to those watching their rears here, Be VERY careful when "adjusting" your product quality. You can make some minor adjustments, but don't change things that your customers notice. For example, if you use Bush Beans, odds are you can cut some cost with another product and save some money. Bush gets top dollar for the brand. We changed to the US Blue brand from US foodservice and saved $7 per case. For use that is $28-$35 a week in savings. Tastes the same just costs less. Now let's look at Ketchup. I have always used Hunt's. $22 a case. We tried Us brand and uggg. It would not even of been worth it if it was half the cost. I even had customers ask if the ketchup had gone sour. Definately not worth the $5.5 savings a per case.

I once had somebody tell me that -- a whole lot of littles make a hole. By making some small changes wherever you can really add up. Did you know that pilot lights cost about $5 a month to burn?

[Harry Nutczak]

[lantern]

I'll chime in as a customer if that's OK.

And I'll back up what Harry said about ketchup. Around here(including myself) if you don't serve Heinz ketchup you better have a great homemade ketchup or some magic sauce or you WILL lose sales. And last I checked losing out on orders like fries really sucks.


BTW Harry. I like the cup idea. Does that cut time down in eyeballing as well as fumbling around with the sammich replacing chunks that fall?




Now, on topic. My electrical and plumbing business has seen a massive decrease in calls. Around here most folks are employed by plants and we've had TWO of the biggest shut down and layoffs galore in the others. What that means is that people don't get anything done unless they HAVE to and they try to get by as cheap as possible. So not only are the calls coming in slower, but they are wanting the cheapest guy they can find. That means a quarter of the calls at half the profit and they still aren't happy to see you.

Thing is, other than staying the heck away from amazon.com and feeding my OCD most of the money saving things I can do were done over the last 4 years. So, it's just ride it out like I've done before.

[BBQMAN]

I've used Heinz ketchup from the start, and am not about to switch brands.

We also foil ribs and butts. Sure it's a $25.00 roll of HD foil to buy, but one of the things that keeps me in business in consistency.

I'm not about to start cutting corners now,, not doing so has built our business into what it is today.

I'm really blown away at the cup method with no scale Harry. Why not tare out the weight of the cup (since you like the presentation) and then KNOW that you have 8 Oz's of meat in there?

Sorry, but this reminds me of the Kitchen Nightmares show when the raunt owner was serving salad that had been packed into a funnel.

I've served THOUSANDS of PP sammies, and an once here and an once there makes a huge difference in yield to the bottom line. Your worried about saving an once of sides but not an once of meat?

Furthermore, I have found that a nice pile of loosely PP LOOKS like a bigger sammie on a roll, and easier to apply sauce to.

A PP sammies at the market is 4 oz. A Jumbo PP Sammie is 5 oz. (25% more).. Works for me every time, and I make a higher profit on "x" amount of pork.

Of course YMMV, and I'm OK with that.
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BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
Providing "IMHO" Since 2005.

[Harry Nutczak]

So just for clarity, your ok with portioning side items in a cup, but I cannot do meat portioning in a cup? I guess I forgot to check with you for permission to make sure it is ok in the world of BBQ.


Think what you want, and when you reach that goal and have 1/3rd of the experience that I do instead of just 25%, Maybe I'll take your jabs a little more seriously.
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Just remember that the toes you may step on during your climb to the top will also be attached to the a$$es you'll be forced to kiss on your way back down!

[marvsbbq]

Are we going to start this crap again???????????

[BBQMAN]

[bbq boy]

[lantern]

BBQMAN.

Do you scale every sammich you do? That's a lot of time when all is said and done. At the end of the day my time would probably work out in the positive considering Harry's method. If the cup is 8 oz and some are missed by.5 on the heavy side and others .5 to the light side the money is close to square. Considering we're talking about a half pound post cook sammich I doubt anyone eating would care or notice.