Oh my gosh, it’s been waaaay too long, but we’re back and we have a great show for you today.
Most folks don’t think about selling their hot dog vending business when they are just starting out. But that is exactly the right time to start planning your exit strategy!
Check out James’s E-Z Built Hot Dog Cart. It’s a side serve beauty with a lot of cool mods.
James writes…
“Hey Steve, I thought you might get a kick out of seeing some of the modifications that I did with the cart. Knowing someone would accidentally walk into the license plate and tail light and I moved the lights to the back of the trailer. This also made fitting the skirting easy. The jack wheels needed a stabilizer to keep from collapsing. Like a dummy I put the Continue reading “More Pics of James Hot Dog Slingin’ Machine Extraordinaire”
I built an E-Z Built Hot Dog Cart from your plans and videos. After just a couple days of slingin’ I was approached by a city official in one of the beach front cities near me.
She was so impressed with the cart and the taste of the dogs that she asked if I would like to set up at the beach this summer!
This beach only offers one permit. I have to write a proposal and get it in to the department of parks and recreation by the 11th.
It is with great sadness that I bring you this news.
Debi Dunaj passed away yesterday from complications arising from cancer and pneumonia.
She ran a hot dog cart in Florida and was the very first slinger that I had the pleasure to interview for this blog. That was many years ago but it seems like yesterday.
Debi was a wonderful person with a huge heart for the underdog. She was always there to help anyone who needed it.
Our prayers go out to her friends and family. May you find the peace that passes all understanding. God bless you.
Debi, on behalf of all your hot dogger friends, we will miss you very much.
-Steve
HOW YOU CAN HELP: One of Debi’s cousins started a fundraiser page for her when she first learned of the cancer. They are now accepting donations to help the family. Here is the link: http://www.gofundme.com/szdj4c
How important do you think it is to have a grill with a portable cart? Do you personally use or have used a grill? If so, why or why not?
Thank you,
Abebe K.
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Hi Abeba,
I think of a grill as an accessory. You don’t have to have one but it gives you more options.
A grill is great for putting char marks on the hot dog and tightening up the skin. You can also grill bacon if your local health codes allow it.
Another benefit is the ability to prepare grilled onions. Put a skillet on the grill, heat up a small quantity of oil and add your chopped onions. Put a splash of Dr. Pepper in the pan about half way through and let the heat cook it off. The sugar in the soda will carmelize the onions and add a nice sweet flavor. Yum!
The biggest benefit of a grill is the smell it creates. The aroma of the hot dogs, bacon and onions will draw folks in like crazy. The sense of smell is a powerful trigger.
I don’t have a grill on my E-Z Built hot dog cart but I do set up a small camp stove and use it to grill onions in a skillet.
I would never trade my steam table for a grill. If you have to choose between one or the other, go with the steamer. A grill by itself will dry out your dogs really quickly and you’ll throw a lot of them away. If you want to use a grill, grill the hot dogs for a minute or two then throw them in your steamer where you can hot hold them for a long time.
The only situation I can think of where a grill would be an absolute necessity is in certain geographical areas. There are places where the locals expect hot dogs to be grilled. Period.
I always say “Give ’em what they want.”
It is possible to educate folks to a new taste sensation but it takes time and effort. I did this when I brought Chicago Style hot dogs to rural Missouri ten years ago. At first people thought it was weird, putting all those vegetables on a hot dog.
But after they tasted it they were hooked. Still, it took a while for word of mouth to spread and demand to build. But build it did!
I just got off the phone with Gary Working, a.k.a. “The Hot Dog Man with the Hot Dog Plan”. Gary is a long time slinger and Hot Dog Profits reader in Indiana.
Gary was brainstorming with me about how to turn a station wagon or mini van into a catering rig for industrial park hot dog vending. Interesting!
I prefer a mini van because of the sliding side doors but Gary is partial to station wagons for sentimental reasons. I do remember riding in that backward facing rear seat as a kid. That was super-duper cool!
Anyhow… here is a quick drawing I put together to illustrate the concept. Click the picture for a larger version.
Click for a larger version.
If I were to do something like this I would build a box that would fit in the back end of the vehicle, accessible with the rear door open.
The box would actually be a short version of the E-Z Built hot dog cart (with no wheels of course). It would contain a steamer set up with condiment trays behind it. It would be built just like in the videos.
I would place a separate cooler behind the cooker box to store my meat.
I would cobble together some kind of a bun rack that hangs from the clothes hanger hooks.
I would need to run the burners on one pound propane bottles unless I could figure out a way to safely mount a 20 lb tank outside the vehicle somewhere. Suggestions anyone? Leave it in the comments…
Then I would build another box and make this one a self contained sink unit complete with battery, pump, fresh water, and waste water tanks per your local code. Again, built just like in the videos. This box would sit inside one of the side doors.
The other side door would slide open to reveal the drink cooler.
The beauty of the box system is that you could easily remove them, put the seats back in the van, and use it for family truckster duty when you’re not slingin’.
Now if I still had enough money in my budget I would have a vinyl graphics wrap applied to the vehicle but that wouldn’t be necessary to get started.
I would definitely make some sort of huge obnoxious hot dog or at least a big sign for the roof. Something to get a lot of attention as that is the first step in the sales process.
I would also add a PA speaker and maybe one of those Dukes of Hazard horns to announce my arrival when I pull up to the factory.
Remember, we don’t sell hot dogs – we sell an experience! Give everyone in that industrial park something to talk about!
Suggestions? Improvements? Let’s brainstorm this idea in the comments section!
Just wanted to say thank u so much and I wanted u to see our finished E-Z Built Hot Dog Cart. The only thing we have to do is attach the letters to the cart.
-Jason Griswold
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Wow Jason – that is one AWESOME E-Z Built Hot Dog Cart!!! (more pictures below…)
I really love the layout. Drink cooler on the customer side, two and a half full steamers (wow!), a nice grill, plus a huge fold down table.
I have been selling the E-Z Built Hot Dog Cart Video and Plans since 2009. I have seen a LOT of customer carts – but it never, ever gets old.
I am always amazed at how folks take the basic plans and run with them, creating the cart they always dreamed of for thousands less than a manufactured cart. Then they take their custom hot dog cart to the streets and become their own boss. It doesn’t get any cooler than that.
American ingenuity is alive and well.
Those letters are going to look great once you get them installed. Nice custom touch. Oh, I almost forgot – the bread box with a customer facing menu? Genius. Pure genius.
You certainly did a great job Jason. Congratulations and good luck with your hot dog business. Please let me know how else I can help you!
-Steve
P.S. Let’s hear it for Jason in the comments section below!
P.P.S. If you want to see more than 300 customer built E-Z Built Hot Dog Cart photos go to BuildAHotDogCart.com and click on the Customer Carts tab. You will be amazed at what these slingers have accomplished with our plans and you’ll get a bunch of great ideas for your own cart too.
How do you determine if I should be doing this full time or part time? Also, the location of my cart. how to you determine if it is good / bad ?
Thank you, Jerome K.
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Hi Jerome,
If you already have a job, I recommend starting out part time and working into a full time income if you wish to go that route. It takes the pressure off.
If you don’t have a job then jump in with both feet!
As far as locations go, it takes a while to develop regular customers but you will know within a few weeks if the spot is a producer.
A HUGE advantage is that we have wheels under our restaurants. If one location proves to be a dud, we can move on to a new one. No biggie.
Compare that to a brick and mortar restaurant that must invest tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars into a permanent site. They MUST pick the right location on the first try. And that is not so easy to do!
As you can see, the risk associated with opening a hot dog cart is tiny. The only way you can really fail is if you give up, because there is always another location to try.
If you want to get started, I want to work with you personally. Me and a whole bunch of other nice folks hang out and help newbies at HotDogProfitsPremium.com. We’ll see you over there!
Hey there Slingers, it’s Hot Dog Cart Radio time!
I really need your input on this one Steve.
Good afternoon Steve,