Hot Dog Vendor - A Day In The LifeHot Dog Vendor –A Day In The Life

This is a day in the life of me –a hot dog vendor.

If you want to know more about how I set up my business –read Steps 1-5!  It will tell you everything you need to know!

After just three weeks of operating my hot dog stand,I had landed up setting up shop near a construction site that was opposite a factory.  The construction guys come into work around 6am and the factory shift changed at 5am,so I set up shop early and take advantage of the early morning work traffic with breakfast rolls and hot dogs.   Since then the construction site has become an office block,so some of by clientele is different,but the location is probably better than ever.

I work from 4.45am to Midday –Chosing Your Own Hours is Great!

At 11am the factory guys get a break and I usually sell a lot of coffee and buns then and then I pack up shop and fetch my kids from school and run them around for sport and stuff.

Setting up the cart is really easy.  When I started,I bought quite a small second hand cart,but after two months,I’d made enough money to get a much bigger and better trailer cart.  I have all my stock ready from the day before and usually set about sizzling some dogs to get the aroma working.  This always attracts more attention.  I’ve even used a fan to make the smell waft that little bit further to grab peoples attention.

photo credit:AbiznessDigital

Cool Ideas to Draw The Crowds That ALWAYS Work

Another great way to get people interested is the smell of coffee,especially early in the morning.  Roasted coffee beans smell great,so fresh coffee is a big seller.  I’ve cheated a little by finding a small roasting device that you can put a few coffee beans in and create that coffee shop smell really quickly.  -  It would only be cheating if I didn’t have good coffee available.

Once I have my cart set up with condiments in clear sight,smells wafting in the air and signage advertising my specials,I usually start to get my regulars in.   One of my biggest selling points is the variety of condiments that I offer and the way that I cook my sausages.  I boil them in beer and onion which gives them a really distinctive flavour.  Some of the relishes that I have are homemade which has made them very popular.

photo credit:Daquella manera

Things I’ve Included at Clients Requests

Because of the office block and the people working there,I’ve added a few other items to my menu.  One of the girls there asked if I could have pretzels as a snack and I’ve included some diet sodas too at their request.  I always ask people if there is anything they would prefer me to stock.  I can’t always do it,but I do try and I know they appreciate it.

On an average day I’ll have three main rushes.  One first thing in the morning when the factory guys go off shift,again when the office workers come in and just before normal lunch when the factory staff have their break.  Recently I’ve even had some of the office staff come over just before I leave to ask for some lunches that they can eat later.

They have asked for me to stick around longer for their lunch break,but I have two kids at school and I love having the time to fetch them and have lunch with them.  It also helps that we don’t have to worry about sitters in the afternoon.

Cleaning Up for FREE

Once I’m done for the day,I have a commissary five blocks down the road where I can clean up and get ready for the next day.  It’s a community centre where my daughter does here ballet lessons and I help out with functions,so they don’t mind me using their kitchen facilities for free.

After cleaning and re-stocking,I store my cart in the community centre garage and head on to get the kids.  On school sports days I sometimes set up shop at the fields,making a bit of money while being able to be there for them.  When they are sick,I can take the day off to be at home with them.

Although I’m up at 4am every day that I open up –the time that I spend with the kids and the freedom of being my own boss and being able to spend quality time with my wife is worth the early morning rises –and if I ever get tired of waking up so early or the kids get old enough not to need us in the afternoon,then I’ll change my hours –because I can!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.