OT OT A rolling business opportunity

[BobT-47P15]

You could make a few extra bucks in the evenings and on weekends.

The neighborhood kids would love ya.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ICE-CREAM-TRUCK_W0QQitemZ200330069633QQihZ010QQcategoryZ6210QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[JerseyHarold]

You can make some serious money with a rig like that. Back in the sixties, my father's friend had a hot dog unit in the back of a Rambler wagon. Easily took in $400. per weekend with it (big $$ in those days).

[hkestes41]

A guy I used to work with left a position as a Regional Sales Manager for Panasonic and bought a Roach Coach and now follows NASCAR around the country selling Hotdogs, Hamburgers etc.

Said he makes more now than he did in the corporate world and basically takes Dec and Jan off.

[Bingster]

I've said this before on here, but the classic cars we have can make extra money on weekends by hiring them out for weddings, prom nights, special dinners, etc. etc. If a person got a good PR plan worked out (an ad in the local paper) you could pay back a loan to fix your car up. You'd either have to be the driver or hire somebody you trust.

Another idea would be to simply hire the car out to drive around your area on a weekend with a magnetic sign on your door advertising the opening of some store or special event. Our cars naturally attract attention just by driving down the street.

Of course, if you bought a small enclosed trailer to hitch up to your car, you could sell "whatever" out of it. Got a minor league baseball team near you? Parking lots.

[JerseyHarold]

One of many business ideas that has danced in my head is to buy an older station wagon or small truck (a Dodge Route Van would be ideal), dress it up with a big plastic hot dog on the roof, and become a food vendor. The beauty of this idea is that all the restoration costs would be a deductible business expense!

[Norm's Coupe]

My car is a hobby, not a business venture. If you use it for a business, you then also have to keep track of everything you spend on it, mileage, keep track of the profits and losses, for tax purposes, etc, then that becomes a job, not a fun hobby. For myself, I don't believe in mixing my hobbies with business. A business requires constant work on that business to keep it up. A hobby is supposed to be relaxing so you only do it when you feel like it.

I also don't mix business with any type of social event. If someone ask how business is during a social event, I simply say, "OK" and change the subject right away. If someone ask about a problem our products are supposed to solve, I will usually say something to the affect, "I'll check on that and get back to you during the week", and again immediately change the subject.

As far as adding a sign (magnetic) or otherwise, you are also now using the vehicle for business purposes and the insurance rates go up. (Ask BobT). Not only that but you are a target for the scam artist with a sign on your vehicle. Those looking to make a fast buck may try to get in an accident with you so they can sue you. If the vehicle has a sign you are telling them it's a business and the pockets are deeper. You're better off without a sign on a vehicle.

[randroid]

Gents,

I've been iin food service most of my life and really enjoy it, which is a good thing because I've been in it most of my life. I'm not particularly happy with my present situation, however, and see little opportunity for advancement because (as I've been told to my face by the owners of fine dining establishments) "I'm too old and too experienced". I also own a Ford van with an extension on the roof, dual batteries, etc.

I'm going to check into the costs of licenses, insurance, and used restaurant equipment to see if such a venture is feasible. I'll get back to you on this one.

-Randy

[JerseyHarold]

Randy,

Check local auction listings for restaurants going out of business...there are equipment bargains out there if you look hard enough.

[Norm's Coupe]

Gents,

I'm not particularly happy with my present situation, however, and see little opportunity for advancement because (as I've been told to my face by the owners of fine dining establishments) "I'm too old and too experienced".

-Randy

Randy,

In short, they are saying: "You are making too much money and they want to hire some young whippersnapper, so they don't have to pay him as much.";)

But.......since they used the words "too old" in that statement, you may have a discrimination suit waiting to happen if they do let you go.

[randroid]

Norm's Coupe,

I've heard the 'Age Discrimination' concept before but restaurants run under a completely different set of rules than other businesses. Our minimum wage ($4.26 in Colorado), the way we pay taxes (we pay our share, just differently) and 'Age Discrimination' being a a few of them. A waiter doesn't get any more out of the owner's pocket than does a newbie, but with my experience and training I average about 22%, whereas the newbie might struggle to get 15%, and I can handle more tables at the same time. I might be able to force them to give me a position but they can't be forced to give me a decent schedule or any decent tables, so that's a can of worms best left unopened. Everyone wants a 25-year-old's energy and enthusiasm (myself included, lol) but they aren't going to stick around too long and evidently that's too far in the future for most employers to conceive. I could babble about this for hours but it isn't interesting, not even to me. My present employer hired me because she knew my original employer from 25 years ago and the fact that he taught me was recommendation enough for her.

I hope to make writing my final career but I also want to have fun with food using the materials I have at hand, hence the concept of a roach coach. I've worn a tuxedo during my most lucrative time in restaurants but I have no qualms against donning jeans and a tee-shirt and slinging the odd gut-bomb.

There are many aspects of being a migrant vendor that most folks would never fathom and I'm already trying to assess the cost of licenses and insurance and materials. I don't sweat the health department because I've always exceeded their standards by a great enough margin to have them start asking me how to do stuff. I tell them not only where they're weak but how to easily remedy the issue, but few bureaucrats want to learn more than what they need to know. They have a degree in some sort of Public Health and start with a secure position in the bureaucracy of their availability and they'll stay there until they learn the ropes and discover new roads to travel, at which point most will shun their previous profession for one that doesn't require them to look anybody else in the eye. There are many Health Inspectors I have held in high esteem and from whom I've learned , but they are growing fewer and farther between.

I feel as though I'm hijacking this thread so I'll start a new one called "Gut Bombs", because there are some strange and delightfully simple ways out there to stop being hungry.

-Randy

[Captain Neon]

Randy, with your outgoing personality you could do very well in Loveland and the surrounding area with a "roach coach." Good food and a good personality go a long way in the food business, but I'm not telling you something that you don't already know.

[Norm's Coupe]

Randy,

Just thought I would throw that age thing out there. It does work in the restaurant business, at least it did here for some waitresses. About a year or so ago an old time local restaurant wanted a new image to attract the younger crowd. Most of their waitresses were over 50, so they wanted to let them go and get some good looking young things in there. To get around the age discrimination thing, the owners closed the restaurant down completely and laid off the waitresses. Then about a month later the same owners reopened and did not call back the old ones, just the one or two young ones. When the new ones tried to get their jobs back they were told they didn't fit due to their age. So...........they sued the owner, and won. Then the restaurant had to either pay them a settlement amount or rehire them. So........it does work in restaurants too.

[Captain Neon]

A co-worker told me about his recent visit to Hooter's where the waitress was pregnant. He told me that he lost his appetite with her still wearing the midriff exposing tight tank top and short orange shorts.

I realise that she needed to keep working to support her soon-to-be born child, but perhaps Hooter's could have found something else for her to do? Tips could not have been good there in her condition. A pregnant woman may get good tips at other restaurants, but not at a place like Hooter's. There is a certain amount of fantasy that patrons are going for, and a pregnant waitress kind'a throws a bucket of cold water on it.

[Norm's Coupe]

I don't know about that Ben. I've never been to Hooters. But........if I were and that waitress had waited on me, I probably would have been tempted to give her a little better tip to help her out.