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What if you had a food truck, but it was a drive up food truck? Then you wouldn’t have to worry about a building. Like two sketchy cars driver window to driver window in a Walmart parking lot, but you’ll own the parking lot and there’s donuts.
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Nov 10, 2022 01:56
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Tnuctip posted:Like two sketchy cars driver window to driver window in a Walmart parking lot, Don't step on the tamale woman's turf.
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Nov 10, 2022 05:07
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Admiralty Flag posted:Who the hell is waiting 10-20 minutes for donuts? Is this 1996 and Krispy Kreme signs are new and popping up everywhere? Tim's does a lot of business through drive-through in the suburbs. If they're building a stand-alone shop (not putting it in a mall or airport), it's going to have a drive-through if they can get one permitted, even if it's a really stupid location for one. But this is also because Tim's is one of those businesses, like Starbucks, that will drop a store wherever and eat the loss in order to drive their competition out of business. So is Dunkins, afaik. So there's a serious question that OP needs to answer: if there's two Dunkins in either direction, 15 minutes away, why isn't there one where he's planning to set up? Why isn't there a Starbucks or something? But OP is not gonna bother answering that.
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Nov 10, 2022 06:51
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Rationale posted:Yeah good point I can get the ball rolling so I don’t poison a whole Cub Scout troop It’s pretty simple but very important yes
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Nov 10, 2022 12:41
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tinytort posted:Tim's does a lot of business through drive-through in the suburbs. If they're building a stand-alone shop (not putting it in a mall or airport), it's going to have a drive-through if they can get one permitted, even if it's a really stupid location for one. He's actually already answered it, to the thread's complete satisfaction: Tarnop posted:Have you researched why there are no competing businesses within 15 minutes of the location? Rationale posted:A bakery actually opened back up nearby but it’s gonna have a
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Nov 10, 2022 14:57
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Literally what can I do if they set up across the street? Stop them? Pivot to Tex-mex? Maybe it wouldn’t actually be a death knell and people would be like “ooh let’s try the local place instead!”
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Nov 10, 2022 15:35
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in'
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I think the issue is less that we're worried what might happen if a national chain decides to set up shop right next to you after you've put in all your work, it's more that people are wondering why they aren't there already. These chains to a lot of very detailed business analysis and market research. So if they aren't in an area, there are a few possible explanations: - Maybe it's because they haven't taken a close look at this area. (Best case scenario for you, as it means you could be sitting on undiscovered gold.) - Maybe it's because the area is changing and their analysis is outdated. (A good scenario for you, though if that is the case I think you'd have mentioned it be now.) - Maybe it's because they've taken a close look and decided that the demand/customer base isn't strong enough to justify their costs. (A potentially-okay case for you, as you can come in at a lower cost thanks to already having your building.) - Maybe it's because their analysis is current and saw that there are some major factors that would make any attempt at this unprofitable. (The worst-case scenario.) To use a fishing analogy: Pro anglers can spend extravagant amounts of money on their gear. Boats, lures, reels, etc. If I were to suddenly be given tens of thousands of dollars of free pro-level fishing gear, I could start to do some serious fishing. But if I'm trying to fish in a swimming pool, no amount of gear is going to help me catch anything. You want to make sure that you aren't trying to fish in a swimming pool here.
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Nov 10, 2022 16:50
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What are you, some kind of spreadsheet nerd or something?
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Nov 10, 2022 16:57
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Rationale posted:Literally what can I do if they set up across the street? Stop them? Pivot to Tex-mex? Does your area have a good success rate of mom & pop stores and cafes against large chains? Like some hipstery areas can prefer non-chain establishments, but is your area generally more comprised of chains or mom&pop places? If there are none, there probably were a couple decades ago.
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Nov 10, 2022 17:01
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LanceHunter posted:But if I'm trying to fish in a swimming pool, no amount of gear is going to help me catch anything. But Rationale swims in a pond that is full of fish, so checkmate.
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Nov 10, 2022 18:43
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Op if you have a warehouse and want to make money the correct answer is self storage units.
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Nov 10, 2022 19:15
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I really do. All summer long we hang out by this one strip mine. It’s about five acres I think. We throw old bread in for the bluegill to stop them from nibbling at us. Little kids can catch them in perforated buckets. If you spit in the water 9/10 times a bluegill will race over and gobble it up.
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Nov 10, 2022 19:25
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54 cars in ten minutes
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Nov 11, 2022 13:35
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 OP, I just did the math on your first post, and realized your estimates involve every single car that drives by stopping to buy a coffee and donut from you. I'd guesstimate that one in every 1,000-5,000 would be a more accurate figure. Anyway pls hurry up and build your shop so you can get it out of your system. You seem committed to it. Owning the property without selling it, renting it out, or having an operative business there is wasting money, and you've wasted a phenomenal amount already. You could sell donuts and coffee from a freakin' truck. Rent a food truck to do so, or buy one and sell it when you're through with it, and you'll be making interim income as well as getting an indicator of customer interest before you waste more years and money fitting out the building. Maybe read the old Doobie threads for some good tips, he had his business up and running within a few months. You'll be able to buy a used vent hood for penny's on the dollar. But don't emulate the Doghouse's opening hours or prices. Edit: Oops, I confused your thread with a similar but much older one. Unless you're the same guy as the OP of that one, you might not have spent literal years so far on your project. Good luck! Please have an eat-in area too, or you'd be losing customers. BigBadSteve fucked around with this message at 16:32 on Nov 11, 2022 |
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Nov 11, 2022 16:19
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Rationale posted:54 cars in ten minutes A car every eleven-twelve seconds? I'm no traffic engineer, but this does not sound like a very busy location. What percentage of those cars would have to stop to earn you 37.5% of your daily target profit? (I'm saying half of 75% -- half because we'll be generous and say that half your rush hour business will come from people driving out of their way to buy donuts, and 75% because you'll get most of your revenue from rush hour; it won't be spread throughout the day, of course.) If that percentage is higher than 1% (and even that is generous), then your numbers are hosed. (Do 1% of the people driving past McDonalds or Dunks stop in? Probably not. But note they're on high-traffic streets, because their owners are forced to do business plans by the franchising agreement. Irrelevant tangent, because being on a less-busy street is unlikely to get you a significantly higher % of cars stopping in. Am I sounding like a spreadsheet nerd? Tough. Successful businesses are run on numbers, not on gut feelings.) Of course, you only spent 10 minutes during one rush hour looking at traffic and counting cars, said good enough, and bagged it, probably because it was cutting into your time looking for vent hoods at auction. I mean, gently caress it and yolo, it's not like this property has any intrinsic value other than as a donut hut. Finally, did you do it today? If so, why are your numbers invalid? There's a very good reason why they are.
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Nov 11, 2022 16:56
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I too would love to see pictures of this place. Beyond the simple logistics of running the business it seems like this building is as ill-suited for the project. Old mills can be charming for a business like this but an old warehouse seems like it might be an eye-sore people won't go in. I also have a feeling that roof could have some major problems lurking under the surface. But I do hope you keep going, I want to see the warehouse donut shop.
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Nov 11, 2022 18:38
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I’m gonna make a bunch of doughnuts and nobody will stop me.
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Nov 11, 2022 19:26
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Rationale posted:I’m gonna make a bunch of doughnuts and nobody will stop me. Cool
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Nov 11, 2022 19:31
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Rationale posted:I’m gonna make a bunch of doughnuts and nobody will stop me. I really hope you do but I would love to see the building.
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Nov 11, 2022 19:43
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He is never going to post a picture of the building because beholding the horrors will force a lock and goldmine.
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Nov 11, 2022 19:49
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I’m not gonna post it til it looks less like poo poo
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Nov 11, 2022 20:16
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Rationale posted:I’m gonna make a bunch of doughnuts and nobody will stop me. I'm going to cook chicken paprikash and nobody will stop me. Like, I don't see how they could or why they would want to. Home cooking for the win, gently caress the haterzzzzz
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Nov 11, 2022 20:23
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Rationale posted:I’m not gonna post it til it looks less like poo poo It's going to take a long time to set up a successful business and own all of the doubters in here. But if you post a picture of the place now you'll be able to gloat at how nice the place turns out after, long before the business is fully up and running.
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Nov 11, 2022 20:37
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vs Dinosaurs posted:He is never going to post a picture of the building because beholding the horrors will force a lock and goldmine. if this thread had been locked and goldmined after the first "no" it would have been enough.
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Nov 11, 2022 20:38
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Rationale posted:I’m not gonna post it til it looks less like poo poo Just put a potted plant in the corner somewhere
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Nov 11, 2022 21:55
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I think I’ll go cut my pothos into ten pots
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Nov 11, 2022 22:04
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Rationale posted:I’m gonna make a bunch of doughnuts and nobody will stop me. If you are dead set on this, then there's nothing we can say to stop you. However, given that the traffic numbers do seem pretty low, you're going to have to work on generating demand from people who aren't normally in the area so that they are willing to take a trip specifically to your place. That probably means shifting to a different strategy. It may make more sense to go for higher-margin "gourmet" donuts that will get up-market folks from further away to be willing to give you a shot. Though this brings up an important question: How far away is the nearest batch of up-market customers? You may need to set up a food trailer in a trendier area first, so that everyone can taste and fall in love with your doughnuts. Then your current space can serve as a storage for larger equipment and prep-kitchen handling things like making your dough (so that the food truck can mostly just do the frying/baking before serving). You might want to look at this place in Austin. They differentiated themselves from all the regular doughnut shops (both all the big chains in town and a number of well-established local spots) with a bunch of super-deluxe doughnuts like these: Hipster Doughnut Shop Menu posted:FLYING PIG $8.90 And it worked. They had enormous lines at their food trailer, made a lot of money, and eventually managed to get a physical location (that also became a pub and is making them a lot of money). Now, they had some advantages: They were in a city with a median household income just over $75,000/year. But they also made a lot of smart decisions: They also put their food trailer in a spot in that city that was itself slightly richer than the median, and where the customers would see a $7.75 PB&J doughnut and think to themselves "that's weird, I'll have to try it out!" Is there a spot like that near you? Is that spot near enough that if you set up a food trailer and it becomes a breakout hit, customers at that food trailer would be able to drive for 30 minutes or less to get to your current location? If that's the case, then I think this is a viable strategy (this strategy does mean you also need to make some extremely good doughnuts, but I trust you can figure that out). If that is not the case, then you've got to think about what other ways you can operate with a much smaller customer base or with a lot of marketing to get in customers. Maybe you don't do full gourmet donuts, but just do regular-but-oversized doughnuts. Then sponsor some little league teams and do other small-time, super-locally-focused outreach so that people know about your "twice as big" (or whatever the gimmick is) doughnuts. Then people will have a reason to go to your place instead of the major chains. Your food cost will also be higher than those chains, though, meaning your margins will be thinner. There are clearly a lot of things to consider, so it really comes down to strategy. What will your strategy be?
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Nov 11, 2022 23:42
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PILED HIGH
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Nov 12, 2022 00:09
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You could be the angry doughnut guy. Think soup nazi. Oh you want a triple mocha whatever no coffee for you. Not ready to order when you get to the front? Banned. I never stop at the McDonald's that I drive by twice a day because there's always a 20 minute line since a bunch of fat fucks need special burgers just for them. Or target the food picture influencer market. Ring lights in every booth! Professional photographer on staff to take that picture for you. Club members get sent retouched photos within 15 minutes. Hire the influencers. Pay them in exposure. Pure profit.
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Nov 12, 2022 00:32
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Why are you waiting for a building or a food truck? Get some foldable tables, make some donuts, and sell them lemonade stand style THIS WEEK. Just do it, go, see if people start paying you money for donuts now. Not a joke post!
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Nov 12, 2022 01:07
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I don't know what state you're in, but you probably have to be a certified food handler, have an appropriate kitchen, and get a business license first
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Nov 12, 2022 02:14
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i like nice words
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I’m low-key proud of my tailgate rig but I really need a proofing cabinet to make it sing. . They’re getting better but they’re not good enough for money yet. the buttermilk recipe will only go so far. Once I’m making consistently nice donuts with fuckin cream and fruit all over them I’ll switch over to a paid model. Sugar is more addictive than heroin. We’ll call it the business development phase when it’s not from an official kitchen so I can’t charge money. Short term I’ll work on frying a bunch of donuts every weekend. I can do seven at a time so it shouldn’t kill me to make and disperse twenty dozen or so. You’re supposed to be real precious about the shortening so it makes sense to do big batches rather than hoping it’s still good in a week. Once they start looking good I’ll get branded boxes. Hopefully by the time people are asking for doughnuts I can make them two dozen at a time.
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Nov 12, 2022 02:17
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Rationale posted:I’m low-key proud of my tailgate rig but I really need a proofing cabinet to make it sing. Assuming you’re not trolling, even if you are kudos very committed. Just sell the donuts. Now. Do it. Would you need a business permit and food safe certs? Ehh maybe? If you ethically made safe clean food, cops won’t bother you with a cutesy folding table in a parking lot. Give them a donut, and say you’re trying to break in to the donut biz. 100% truth. Either your donuts can make you cash now, or they never will. Then post pics.
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Nov 12, 2022 02:36
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I think this is the year I try to make pfeffernusse. The good kind with a hard glaze instead of powdered sugar
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Nov 12, 2022 02:38
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BigBadSteve posted:
This actually seems like a really good idea. Start with a food truck and do experiments. Generate some buzz and go outside bars on busy nights take it to sports games.
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Nov 12, 2022 02:58
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Rationale posted:I’m gonna make a bunch of doughnuts and nobody will stop me. Motronic might
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Nov 12, 2022 07:16
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On the food truck idea - the area you're thinking of having a drive thru, can you rent this bit out to a food truck? See how much traffic you get to your location with an established food truck there? Then either start giving your donuts away as testers to the 10000 people per minute that are driving up, or start advertising your stuff or something
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Nov 12, 2022 20:06
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Tnuctip posted:Assuming you’re not trolling Let me stop you right here.
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Nov 12, 2022 21:13
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Putting all the coffee stuff in my basement so it doesn’t freeze and burst E: https://imgur.com/a/S3LHsyO E: https://imgur.com/a/5C0Ivaz E: https://imgur.com/a/O815yvE E: https://imgur.com/a/TRPE4Xl Rationale fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Nov 13, 2022 |
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Nov 12, 2022 23:29
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Is everything you own dirty and disgusting???
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Nov 13, 2022 07:38
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