Author: Steve

Is the thought of keeping the books for your hot dog cart giving you bad dreams? No more worries my friend.

Hi Steve,

I am in process of building a hot dog tycoon business and have been pulling my hair out trying to figure out how to do my bookkeeping. I’m so glad I came across your video “Cash Tracker” I have been putting off buying over $500.00 in Q@ Books and software on how to use the program.

I don’t have a degree in accounting and really don’t have them time to take a 6 month class with kids half my age. (nothing against young people in school)

My question is this: It looks simple in your short video, (so does the $ 500.00 software) do you offer any kind of money back guaranty or technical support with the software? I have not used the code to try the software for 5 day’s yet because I think deep down that it’s going to be as confusing as all the other software and I don’t want another set back or excuse to put a halt on my startup.

The bookkeeping is the number one thing that is keeping me from going forward and it’s frustration as hell. I look forward to hearing from you and put my worries behind me and moving forward.

Thank You In Advance;

Michael

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Hi Michael,

I had the same problem as you do when I first got started in the hot dog biz. Bookkeeping was a nightmare. That’s why I hired a software developer to create a custom bookkeeping program just for us hot doggers.

The big problem with Quickbooks (or any other program out there) is that it comes completely blank. You have to set up all the accounts. Well, if you don’t already know accounting how are you supposed to do that? It’s a catch 22.

Hot Dog Cash Tracker comes completely set up right out of the box. We pre-loaded it with all of the accounts you will need to get started. Just install it, open it, and it’s ready to go.

All you need to do is put in your income after a day of vending, and your expenses when you buy food or propane. That’s it. Cash Tracker takes over from there. It will generate a Profit and Loss Statement with the click of a button. This make tax time a breeze.

It is totally customizable too. If you want to add accounts, you can do it simply and easily. Do you sell shaved ice? Add it in, no problem. The video tutorial walks you through it.

We do offer full tech support from both myself and the actual developer. You are never alone.

Take the free trial and play with it. You will see that it’s not the least bit confusing. In fact, I bet you will breathe a sigh of relief when you see how simply Cash Tracker solves your bookkeeping worries. It will reduce your time spent doing the books from several hours a week to just minutes.

You are right Michael, bookkeeping used to be frustrating as hell for hot dog tycoons in the making. But now there’s the very affordable Cash Tracker software. Take it for a free spin. You’ll love it.

Get your free trial here: http://HotDogCashTracker.com/cash_tracker.zip It comes with a full 18 minute video that shows you how to save a ton of time and headaches when keeping your books, plus a list of tax deductions that you can use in your hot dog biz.

-Steve

P.S. As always, let me know how else I can help you!

 

Hey Slingers, both current and future!

Of all the emails that I get, two questions seem to come up the most.

1. How do I get a commissary?

2. How do I get a location?

Over the years I bet I have sent out the following answer to several hundred individuals, but I don’t believe I have ever shared it in an article. Well, today’s the day! And I have good news.

This Hot Dog Profits Technique will get both commissaries and locations RENT FREE.

A commissary is nothing more than a health department approved kitchen. All you need is a letter to show the inspector that says the facility agrees to let you use their kitchen.

Here’s how to get that commissary letter, or permission to set up on that piece of property that you’ve had your eye on.

If you approach a local business and just ask to set up there, or if you can use their kitchen as a commissary, what’s in it for them? Not much. Even if you offer to pay them rent, the tiny additional income doesn’t make it worth it.

The whole key is to remember everyone’s favorite radio station, wii fm (what’s in it for me?)

What does every business want? MORE CUSTOMERS!!!
What do they have to do to get more customers?
They have to advertise and that’s expensive!

You just have to think about it a little differently – from their perspective. What’s in it for them?

Don’t even talk about rent, talk about how you happen to have advertising space available on your cart and promotional materials…

On the fliers you distribute, on the rear window of your tow vehicle, and on the menus that your customers will post on bulletin boards in their break rooms at work – all over town!

Tell them that thousands of people each month will see it and ask them how much that kind of exposure would cost them in traditional advertising?  Thousands.

And you’ll do all this for them FOR FREE in exchange for letting you set up there or for giving you a commissary letter.

That’s the winning pitch.

If you’re tired of trying to figure all this stuff out on your own, consider joining my premium membership club. You’ll get instant online access to all the mobile food vending books, videos, audio recordings, and other training materials that we have ever produced. It’s a truly HUGE repository of mobile food knowledge.

You can look it over here:
http://HotDogProfitsPremium.com

It’s a small investment in your future that will save you thousands of dollars and months of trial and error.

Let me know how else I can help you!

Steve

P.S. I’d love to hear from you all you slingers.If you have any location /commissary tips or strategies to add please share them in the comments below!

Hot Dog Cart Breakfast?

Hey Hot Dog Profits Slingers,

I’m looking for suggestions on serving a yummy hot dog breakfast.

Here are the hot dog items I have so far; hot dogs, all beef please, sausage links or patties, shredded cheese, bacon, onions, hash browns, coffee, orange juice , scrambled eggs.

I need suggestions on the gravy to put on the top. Serve it up early in the morning, where foot traffic is heavy, in a Styrofoam tray.

Let me know any ways to perfect this breakfast, or any hot dog slingers out there that serve up the hot dogs early in the morning.

Happy hot dogging to all of you!

Gary The Hot Dog Man

P.S. I hope I made you all hungry!

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Those hot dogs and scrambled eggs at the top of this article are looking pretty good to me. I hope the comments below give you some great ideas for serving breakfast from your hot dog cart. For a complete education on making money with mobile food vending please consider joining Hot Dog Profits Premium.

All right slingers, let’s hear you in the comments. Gary needs us!

-Steve

To steam or not to steam? That is the question! There are a million different ways to prepare a hot dog on a hot dog cart but there is one thing that divides us slingers into two camps.

Do we steam the buns or not? Some say that steaming the buns is completely unnecessary. Others wouldn’t think of serving a hot dog on a cold bun.

Here are some pros and cons regarding steaming…

Pros of steaming:

• The bun is softer.
• A hot bun helps to keep the whole product hotter, especially when adding a lot of cold condiments.
• Steaming shows the customer that you are giving them something special.

Cons of steaming:

• Steaming adds a step in the preparation process.
• It requires a dedicated pan on your hot dog cart which means you can’t use that pan for something else – and pan space is always at a premium.
• Steaming can slow down your serving time, especially at big events.

Do I steam my hot dog buns? Yes, I do. However I use a special brand of bun, Mary Ann’s by S. Rosen Bakeries. Mary Ann’s are the authentic Chicago Style hot dog bun and they are meant to be steamed. The bread is actually a bit heavier and denser than your standard hot dog bun which allows it to hold up well under steam without getting mushy. They are Dee-licious!

Mary Ann’s come in a cardboard “cake box” which makes them really simple to steam. Just cut some slits in the plastic wrapper and drop it in the steamer. I stack two boxes in my steamer, one on top of the other. The bottom one steams while I serve from the top one. When the top one is empty, I grab another cake box of buns and place it under the now hot and steamy ones. I keep rotating like this all day and it allows me to keep up, even during big rushes.

My Regular Steamer Set Up. This is the set up that I use on my personal E-Z Built Hot Dog Cart for daily street vending. I have a half size pan over one burner on the left which I use for boiling the hot dogs. I have a full size 6″ deep spillage pan over the other burner with two 4″ deep half size perforated pans inside it. I put an inch and a half of water in the spillage pan, just enough so that the water is just below the bottom of the perf pans. I use the left perf pan for hot holding and the right perf pan for bun steaming. A hinged dome lid keeps the steam in.

My Steamer Set Up For Big Events. When I do big events where I know I will have a long line, I set up an auxiliary steamer. I use a two burner camp stove with a 6″ deep full size steam pan. I put about an inch and a half of water in the pan and place a wire rack in the pan which sits just above the water level. I top it off with a hinged dome lid. This set up lets me steam up to 4 boxes of buns at a time if necessary.

I hope these tips help you decide whether you want to steam your hot dog buns or not. For a complete education on making money with mobile food vending please consider joining Hot Dog Profits Premium.

What say you, slinger? Are you a steamer or not? Let us know in the comments and give us any tips that you may have.

Thanks!

-Steve

This just in from Hot Dog Profits Premium member James Nitz, a.k.a. “Jimbalaya”…

Hi Steve,

Something I thought I would pass along…

A recent study in the Journal of Marketing Research found that when a business has a large, dominant competitor, it benefits from highlighting that fact in its marketing.

People are more inclined to support a small brand when they’re told the business is faced with a competitive threat from a large brand. The authors pointed out, “this support translates into purchase intention, real purchase and more favorable online reviews.”

Jimbalya

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Right on Jimbalya! It’s a modern twist on the old David and Goliath story. But it won’t work unless we are worthy.

When I say worthy, that means giving our customers the BEST food and the BEST service and the BEST experience possible.

Every single time.

If you are already doing those things, then go ahead and point out that your small size is what makes it possible to pay attention to every single customer. It’s your small size that allows you experiment, offering new and daring culinary creations without the need for a 6 month R&D cycle.

It’s your small size that lets you provide truly personal service independent of location. McDonalds won’t cater a family reunion at the local park, but you can. Sonic won’t set up at the grand opening of a new hair salon, but you can.

Let folks know that by eating at your cart they are supporting the American Small Business Man/Woman. Make it known that you appreciate them and that you need their continued patronage in order to compete with the national food chains.

This is also a great angle to use if you want the local newspaper to do a story on you. Supporting local business is an easy sell, as most folks are tired of the Walmart experience. They are eager to cheer for a local hero who dares to challenge the establishment!

Slingers (and wanna be slingers too!), if you believe that supporting local business is important, type “YES” in the comments section below.

And a big thank you to Jimbalya for a great and timely topic.

-Steve

Hey Slingers,

I have some questions for those of you who are up and running. The answers will benefit all of us, including those who have yet to get started.

How are you promoting yourself? What are you doing to make sure that the people in your community know you exist? How do you make folks aware that the dogs from your hot dog cart are waaaaay better than those nasty gas station roller dogs?

What say you?

-Steve

P.S. The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

Thanks so much to all of you who answered my impromptu survey last week. I didn’t post the answers publicly but rest assured that I read each and every one. Lots of good suggestions.

One that popped up more than once was, “How can I find more info on a specific subject?”

Ask and you shall receive.

I have personally written well over 600 articles on the hot dog cart and mobile food vending business for you to learn and profit from. They are all free, and they are all right here:

https://hotdogprofits.com/hot-dog-cart-news-back-issues.html

The fully updated article database is now searchable too. You might want to bookmark this and share it with your slinger friends.

I hope you find this info helpful in your quest to start and/or grow your own hot dog biz!

-Steve

 

The following is a guest post by “Happy” Jack Meeks. Great info. If you want to hear more from Happy Jack and how he grew his hot dog biz to three carts, you can listen to the interview I did with him for Hot Dog Cart Radio by clicking here.

Here is the best tip you are ever going to get regarding ice usage and coolers.

I have had the same coolers (Coleman) for 5 seasons now. First you need to store your coolers completely filled with canned products and ice for the next day in a walk in cooler.

Also keep all your spare beverages in the walk in as well. Never put warm beverages in your cold coolers, it will reduce your ice by 50%. We have the coldest beverages in Indiana and that’s how we do it.

Hope it helps,
Happy Jack’s Hot Dogs, Greenwood, Indiana.

P.S. If you don’t have a walk in cooler get a used refrigerator off of Craigs List specifically for your hot dog business. Store all your beverages in the fridge and keep your coolers indoors in the air conditioning whenever you are not using them.

and

Fellow Doggers..we are in a contest for best hot dog in Indianapolis and we are currently in 2nd place we need to get 60 votes today to move into 1st and we are hoping that you would cast a vote for us at the link below. Please consider voting for us at the link below. Thanks, Happy Jack

http://theindyalist.cityvoter.com/happy-jack-s-hot-dogs/biz/663118

Happy Jack

One of the best parts of being involved in the hot dog vending business is the opportunity to make new friends in the process.

Long time readers will be familiar with two characters who comment here regularly, Robin “Dixie” Delancy who own the Lakeside Lunch hot dog cart, and “First Mate Jim” from the hot dog boat Weiners On Water.

Well it looks like Robin decided to visit Jim on the Connecticut River last week in her kayak!

Jim captured the moment on video. Looks like a LOT of fun…

Here is a video of the Weiners on Water Hot Dog Boat:

And here is the link to an interview I did with Robin: A Hot Dog Cart At The Beach? Dream Job Becomes Reality For Robin Delancy.

Selling hot dogs and making friends in the process. I love it!

-Steve