Author: Steve

Dear Slinger,

I’d like to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at Hot Dog Profits. I hope you had a great year, and may your 2015 be even better!

Blessings,
-Steve

If you want to be able to charge higher prices for your hot dogs, you must sell the customer an entire experience, not just food. Here is a guy who absolutely nails it. Even though he sells ice cream, we can all learn from this master showman.
-Steve

This has been passed around for years now but it was originally written for us at HotDogProfits.com by Chef J. Gagion, (a.k.a. Pocono Hot Dog).
Merry Christmas slingers – Enjoy!

“Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the streets, were carts upon carts, selling Country smoked meats,

I stopped in Chicago to sample their wares, but when I asked them for ketchup, I got nothing but Stares,

Just Hot Vienna Sausage Loaded with fun, Sport Peppers and Tomato ON A POPPYSEED BUN??

On to Baltimore City that Inner Harbor Town, at J. Gagions Cart I plunked two fifty down,

For his Chesapeake Dog my taste buds were achin, 100% beef with Old Bay and Smoked Bacon,

The slaw that he served was not on the side, but right on the dog, between the buns it did ride.

On to New York to see what they Know, but first, just two stops in the Grand Mountains Pocono,

The Worlds Largest Chili Dog was the Point of their Sign, and the eyes in my stomach were much bigger than mine,

I feasted for hours before I went on my way, for I had Lunch and Dinner and Breakfast the next Day.

Headed East through the Water Gap, with My stomach a fill, We stopped by the Roadside of all places, Buttzville

With Fresh Buttermilk I toasted my My server Big Bonnie, and wolfed down a Classic from the Hot Dogger Named Johnny .

On Dasher and Prancer Lets take off in this rig, we are headed to Broadway in the Apple so big,

Where Hundreds of carts serve no Regrets, just Traditional Weiners with the name of Sabrett,

You can get em with Chile and Onions and Kraut, but I favor the specials the Vendors put out,

Some favor the Chile of Coney Island Fame, Like Nathans Famous, but what’s in a name.

Some Like Mustard and Ketchup and Relish instead, I chose the Latter with Onions of Red.

I head now to the Border, Be in Canada by Night, But not before sampling HOTS of red and white.

MERRY Christmas to all…..and to all a good BITE….

Premium Member Dan Bradley built an all metal E-Z Built (see pics below) and is slingin’ dogs in sunny California. He writes…

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Steve, I just wanted to send you a few photos of my cart. It was built by a friend and myself and passed the strict Kern County California with a 100 % score.

I have been working it in front of the Ace Hardware store in Calif City. I serve Costco dogs, tamales, churros, corn on the cob, and what ever else I can get people to buy LOL.

Thanks for the help that Hot Dog Profits Premium gave me in getting set up and wanting to do this. It has been good for me. Got me off the couch.

Thanks
Dan Bradley, HDP Premium Member.

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Good for you Dan! I’m proud of you.

I love what you did with the cart. It’s a thing of beauty for sure. Let me know how else I can help you!

-Steve

P.S. For those who want to build their own metal cart, our E-Z Built plans are just the ticket. If you have basic metal working skills, all you need to do is substitute metal angle for the frame members, then attach the sheet metal of your choice. The firebox, tanks, plumbing, electrical, sinks, and everything else is built just like in our video instructions.

Click the pic for a larger version.

Now that the weather is getting cooler I’ve been receiving a lot of questions about stand in hot dog carts.

It seems that those who have regular hot dog carts all aspire to a stand in cart. They believe that a stand in is something to “graduate” to.

However, those who have stand in carts have a little different take on them. Yes, being protected from the elements is really nice when it’s cold out, but there are some downsides too.

Many stand in owners have told me that their trailers get awful hot in the summer. I can see that. But they told me something else that really surprised me.

A lot of them told me that when they went from a regular hot dog cart to a stand in hot dog cart their sales decreased.

How could that be?

One word. Visibility. Think about it. When you sling dogs from a stand in cart or trailer you remove your biggest customer draw – visibility. People love to see their food being cooked. They love feeling like they are a part of the experience.

Standing right next to the slinger as he works his magic is HUGE fun for the customer. A stand in cart hides the whole show.

Many of my stand in owners report that customers often look intimidated when they walk up to the window. It might sound silly to us, but there is a lot of psychology going on during the buying process. The customer doesn’t know what they are going to get because they can’t see it. This feeling is  especially strong if it is their first time visiting your hot dog biz.

That being said, there is definitely a place for the stand in cart. I have personally had more that one day when I thought how great it would be to be slinging indoors. Perhaps the ideal would be to have both a stand in hot dog cart and a regular hot dog cart. If you have the budget then fine, but if you can only have one I would probably stick with a regular cart.

I guess what I’m saying is that a stand in may not be the holy grail that so many of us think it is.

So all you regular ‘ol slingers, please don’t feel like you have to step up to the stand in hot dog cart someday. You may not be missing out on all that you think you are.

Always remember – YOU are the show. We don’t sell hot dogs. We sell an experience.

Thoughts? Comments? What do you think?

-Steve

 

Thanksgiving is gone. Christmas is around the corner followed closely by New Years Eve.

I was wondering what your plans are for the coming year?

Do you want to get into the hot dog biz for the first time? Are you planning on growing an existing slingership (I just made that up, like it? LOL)

Share your BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal – no I can’t take credit for that one.) with us in the comments!

-Steve

Steve, I just finished your book Carts of Cash (Hot Dog Biz 101) it is great thank you.

I’m thinking about building a cart just to do events, something bigger than what we’re allowed on the street.

Here’s my question – can you or any of the slingers make any suggestions as to what I should include.

I’m going to build in a double steam table and 2 boiling pots.

My coolers will stand seperate from the cart. It wont be a stand in trailer.

Thanks for what you do,
-Joe Longstaff

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Hi Joe,

Glad you liked my book!

What should you include on a big event cart? Wow, where to start…

I would strongly consider three steam tables if you have the room. It seems like a slinger never has enough steamers, especially if you steam buns or have chili and cheese that you want to keep warm.

On board mechanical refrigeration is a plus if you are going to have access to electric, which many big events provide.

A flat top grill.

Perhaps an open area where you can swap out different equipment such as an ice shaver, lemon squeezer, coffee pots, stuff like that.

Those are the things that come to my mind.

How about it slingers, what say you? If you could build a custom events cart what would you want on it?

Let Joe know in the comments.

-Steve

My wish for you and yours is that you may have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I will be spending it with some of my family that I haven’t seen much of for several years. Very thankful for that.

I’m also very thankful for YOU dear slinger, (whether past, current, or future) for hanging out at HotDogProfits.com.

I love helping you in any way that I can and I also love learning from you too!

What a great community of positive, supportive, and respectful professionals we have here! Top shelf. High class. That’s you, all the way.

To those who responded to last week’s post on our new marketing program, I’ll be making those calls soon. Sit tight!

But today I just wanted to take a moment to say, “Happy Thanksgiving!” to you, and to give thanks to Him from whom all blessings flow.

-Steve

P.S. Check out the Hot Durkey from Oscar Meyer!

 

If you ask a hot dog cart business owner if they have enough customers, 99 percent will say no. And 1 percent will be lying.

What if I told you that I’m pretty sure I can get your hot dog biz on the first page of Google?

Recently I have been doing that very thing for a few local businesses near me. You see, word has gotten around in my town that I’m “the guy who knows all that internet stuff” and business owner friends of mine have been asking me to help them with their online marketing.

When I think back I have to laugh. When I started my first hot dog biz in 2006 I could barely spell computer. I taught myself how to build a website because I wanted one for my business. Then I wanted to put my hot dog training online so I learned how to do that. One thing leads to another I guess.

Anyways, after a lot of trial and error I came up with a strategy that is putting local businesses on page one of Google very consistently. Sometimes multiple listings on page one.

I think it would be fun to test this brand new method with a few of my hot dog slinger friends. If you want your mobile food business to be ranked high on Google so that customers in your town can find you, then this is for you.

• This works even if you don’t have a website yet.
• There is no work involved on your part.
• My marketing team and I will do everything.

If you are interested leave your name, phone number, city, and state in the comments below. Tell me a little about your business too. I won’t be publishing these comments. No one will read them but me.

I will select a few slingers from the list. If you are one of these, I will personally give you a call to see if we are a good fit.

If chosen, I will create an online advertising package to promote your business. It will include a video commercial, a recorded audio interview with me on Hot Dog Cart Radio, a transcript of that interview, links to your Facebook page and website (if you have them – NOT mandatory) and any customer testimonials that you have collected (again, not mandatory).

There will be a small fee to cover my costs, but I think you will find that it is more than reasonable. It will be waaaay less than a local newspaper ad. If the price is OK with you then I will get started.

Ready?

Name, Email, Phone, City, State and a little info about your hot dog biz.

In the comments below.

This is going to be awesome!

-Steve