Hot Dog Cart News

Hi Steve,

I would like to do a hot dog eating contest at my hot dog stand.

I remember seeing something on one of your emails of someone doing this and his pointers.

It was a year ago and I cannot find it – which surprises me since I save all your emails.

Anyway –can you help me on the correct way to do a hot dog eating contest? I would like to do it early spring instead of the typical July 4 weekend .

Bryan

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No problem Bryan. This was a very popular article because it also talked about competing with other food vendors at big events. Or maybe it was the fact that it featured “The Best Looking Hot Dog Man in Georgia”. I’m not sure…

No matter what made it famous, you can read it and watch the video here:

Hot Dog Eating Contest

If any of you have photos or video of a hot dog eating contest that you put on to promote your hot dog biz, please send them to me. I’d love to put you in Hot Dog Cart News.

-Steve

P.S. To all my Freedom Fighters – I was totally overwhelmed with your emails. I have read them all but I’ve only responded to about half of you so far. If you haven’t heard back sit tight, I’ll get to you! Good gracious, your stories confirm the message.

Streeeeeeetch it out if you want to…

This just in – another E-Z Built hits the streets! Be sure to check out the photos below…

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Well Steve, it’s been a pretty good while since I contacted you for anything.  I have finally finished my cart after 10 months, which was due to money and time constraints.  As you asked I am uploading some finished photos of the RockinDawgs Cart, except for signage.

I have appreciated your help, plus your EZ built videos gave me the insight to create and build my first cart. Next Health inspection, then Find that location!!

Thanks, Take Care!

Steve Hampson
RockinDawgs

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Great job Steve!!!

Looks like you stretched the cart body a bit to make room for the cooler (turned 90 degrees) and on onboard sink set up. Nice mods brother! Plus, you know I love anything painted in our great country’s colors.

Now get out there and start creating raving fans for RockinDawgs!

Let’s hear it for Steve H. in the comments people,

-Steve S.

Click the picture for a larger view

What would you do if your doctor told you that you couldn’t sling hot dogs for 6 weeks?

That is the dilemma facing HDCN reader Paul “Chappy” Chapman. Like so many of you, Paul started out as a customer and turned into a good friend of mine. He slings dogs from a really nice E-Z Built hot dog cart (with on board refrigerator, see pics below) in Stockton, California.

Chappy sent me an email two days ago that I forwarded to the subscribers of this newsletter. If you missed it, here it is again…

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Hey there Steve:  Just a quick note.  Tommorrow (12/5) at 7:30am at Sutter Heart Institute in Sacramento, CA  I will be undergoing a 4 plus hour surgical procedure to correct a heart defect called “Atrial Fibrillation” AF for short.  I will be out for 4 to 6 weeks.  The timing could not be worse, this is happening right when I am starting my busy time of the year.  But I know that I serve, and love a Great Big God.  Let my fellow slingers know, I need all the prayer that I can get.

Chappy
Hot Diggidy Dog
Stockton, Ca

UPDATE 12/4: I got called last night 10:00 pm from my surgeon, he had just finished close to 24 hours of emergency surgeries, and felt he would not be on his “A” game for me with 6 hours of sleep.  So he felt it would be best to hold off until the first of next week.  As much as I wanted all of this over with, I have to agree.  I will let you know the new date and time.

Chappy
Hot Diggidy Dog

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Paul has a really great location at a flea market and has built up a loyal following. He LOVES slinging dogs and talking with his regulars. Having to hang up his tongs for a month or more is going to be tough. This really made me stop and think…

I, of all people, should have a plan in place for something like this. About a year and a half ago I contracted a neurological condition called Guillain Barre Syndrome that left me with a lot of nerve damage in my lower legs and feet and some paralysis in my left hand. I got off easy from what I hear, and it happened during my off season. I was able to recover enough to get back behind the cart by the time the cold weather broke.

But even after that happened, I never stopped to think about what I would do if I had to take a break from doggin’ for a month or more. I guess I’m pretty good at denial.

What about you? Do you have a contingency plan in place for a time when you might be laid up for a while? Let’s brainstorm on this and see what we can come up with.

If you are a praying person send one up for Paul. If you are not, please keep him in your thoughts next week when he has his procedure and during his recovery time.

We’re with you Chappy!

-Steve

Click the pictures below for a larger version.

Steve,

I wondered if you could tell me how we would sell our business that we have had for 6 years and is doing very well.

I have 2 very interested people and not sure how to set my price. We have events that we do every year and every Thursday for 11 weeks in the summer.

Would really appreciate your knowledge on this matter.

Thanks,
Sue
2 Friends & A Hot Dog

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Hey there Sue,

I wrote an in depth article on this subject some time ago. Perhaps it’s time time to dust it off. You can read it here:

21 Questions to Ask When Buying or Selling a Hot Dog Cart Business

I think you will find it quite useful. Let me know how your sale goes!

-Steve

Sometimes it’s fun to open a can of worms. I hope this is one of those times 😉

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Hey Steve,

I plan to relocate somewhere warmer in the winter season and sling dogs and return in spring to the Chicago area. Maybe you or my fellow slingers could give me advice on cart friendly states or not so friendly states ? I have had Arizona, Nevada or New Mexico in mind, but any other ideas would be welcomed.

It doesn’t have to be hot just cool or comfortable. Come ‘on slingers chime in with any ideas !!!

Bruce of ” Bruces Hot Dog Cartel “

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There are two things you should never ask a hot dog vendor unless you know them really well.

1. Is this a good business to get into?
2. How easy is it to pass the health inspection here?

The reason I say that is because you are just begging to be deluged with misinformation at best and outright lies at the worst.

Some vendors will see you as potential competition and want to discourage you with horror stories. Some have a bad relationship with their health inspector which makes it “unfriendly” no matter what state they are in. And some are out there illegally and don’t have a clue what the code requires.

There is sooooo much misinformation out there. 99 times out of 100 getting your hot dog biz to pass the county mounties is way easier than you’ve been lead to believe.

No matter what state you are considering doing business in my advice is always the same. Meet with the local health inspector in person (or at least speak with them on the phone) to find out what you need to do to comply with local food codes. Second, get a printed copy of the code and read it cover to cover.

I have found that in the states with the most strict (sometimes ridiculous) health codes, many inspectors realize that the code makes some impossible demands and they will be willing to “work with you” to get your cart passed. As my own health inspector said, “Here’s my rule. Don’t get anyone sick.”

There are a few states that are “tougher” than others but all 50 states allow food carts. You just have to jump through more hoops in some than in others.

North Carolina requires NSF certification and so does Minnesota. Having said that, I do have customers in both states that are slinging dogs from non-NSF carts. It’s really up to your personal inspector whether they want to enforce every single sentence of the food code.

California requires on board refrigeration and four sinks with bigger water tanks. I have a lot of E-Z Built customers who got their cart passed in California with the addition of those components. No need to fear the CALCODE.

Georgia code requires an “enclosed” cart but that is easily complied with by building a “fish tank” style sneeze guard over the serving area. Just make a box out of plexiglass with doors to access the serving area.

As far as business permits go, that is really an individual city thing, not a state thing. Talk to your local business licensing department at city hall and they can give you the scoop.

OK, now I’m going to pry the top off of this can of worms. I wouldn’t do this but for the fact that we have the smartest and most courteous slingers on the web. You folks are pros. I know I can trust you dear readers.

Even so, take everything with a grain of salt and remember to talk to your local inspector to get the straight story. It will probably be so much easier than you were lead to believe.

-Steve

P.S. If you are thinking about getting into the hog dog biz, now is a great time to get started. We just put all of our training materials into our Hot Dog Profits Premium membership. Check it out here.

Plus a gig post for my Pennsylvania hot dog slingers…

Happy Thanksgiving to all my slinger friends.

I’m so very thankful for your friendship and support over the years. It’s something that I don’t take lightly.

I’m always humbled by the number of folks who come to HotDogProfits.com to learn and share.

I’m always amazed by the high quality of interaction and mutual respect everyone gives each other here. That is truly rare these days. Bad manners seem to be the status quo, especially online, but you folks are top shelf. A real class act. You should be proud.

I hope today’s theme of thankfulness brings you peace and blessings.

As always – it’s my pleasure to serve you.

-Steve

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Gig Post

Here’s a great question about how to keep your hot dogs hot when it’s cold outside…

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Hey Steve would you ask your hot doggers a question for me? I would like to know what is the best way to wrap up your dogs you serve. I have seen a foil like paper and a open box. Is there something out there that you can wrap them up so they stay warm? I will send picks to you when I get started. I can’t wait to get started! Everyone in town knows that I’m building this and they can’t wait either. I have already had them ask me to set up at their locations. I think that I am going to be busy!
Thanks!

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Congrats on your start up! Sounds like you are building up some pre-opening excitement. Good for you!

I use these wax sheets from Sam’s Club but they don’t do much to keep the dogs warm.

When it get’s cold out you can ask the customer if they want a foil wrap to keep it warm or are they just going to eat it right now.

If they are eating it on the spot just cradle the dog in a wax sheet and hand it to the customer. There is no reason to waste a foil sheet in this circumstance.

If they do want a foil wrap, I still wrap the dog in a wax sheet first, then wrap that in the foil. This offers an extra layer of insulation.

OK slingers, your turn. What are all y’all doing as far as wrapping methods? Let us know in the comments!

-Steve

Everything you need to start and succeed in the Hot Dog Biz is now in one place. HDP Premium.

Derek Falk of Hawaiian Hot Dog Co writes,

Steve, could you tell us how to market our cart services for special events. I’d like to work more of these types of events.

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Hey Derek,

Before we get started I want to let you know that we were absolutely deluged with positive comments about your E-Z Built cart. Folks were raving about it! And for good reason. It’s one of the nicest I’ve seen.

Marketing your cart for private parties and special events is a bit different than marketing your daily location. The reason is that if someone is looking for a hot dog cart to cater a private event, they are going to go to Google. Every time.

Knowing this, the best way to market your cart services for special events is by having a website which contains pages that come up in Google when someone searches for the type of service that you offer. You need a page that tells folks you are available to do private parties, catering, store grand openings, liquidation sales, political meet and greets, auto dealer hot dog giveaways, etc.

For those who don’t have a website, we can build you one for free (we now have a sponsor so we don’t have to charge you anything). Your site will come pre-built with a page like I described above so you can market yourself for special events and private gigs. Shoot me an email if you want one (steve@hotdogprofits.wpenginepowered.com).

Now I’m going to show you how to optimize your free website for local visitors, meaning that you can do some things to your website so it starts showing up in the search results when local folks do a local search. For example “hot dog cart rental Galesburg, IL” . Suddenly your website will not only generates daily location sales, it also brings new customers in for your private party and special event services.

You have to think “local”. I’m going to show you how to get your free web site ranked in Google for “geo-targeted” search results (geo-targeting is just a fancy schmancy word for local).

There are two separate strategies for accomplishing this. We’re going to cover both “on-page” and “off-page” methods. On-page means doing things on (or to) your website. Off-page refers to things you can do on other websites, or even offline.

Let’s start with on-page local search engine optimization.

The first thing you should do is put your address and your phone number (with area code – remember, this all about local) at the bottom of each page on your website. This tells Google where you are. Google will take note of that and rank your site higher in the results when someone from your area performs a search using your keywords. By the way, if you are based out of your home and want to preserve your privacy just put your city, state, and zip code in.

We show you how to do all this in the video training that comes with your free website – it’s easy and you don’t need to know anything about computers.

Next write a new blog post that has your local info in the title along with your primary keyword of keyphrase. (Yes, we give you your own blog along with your free website.) You could create a post in your blog titled, “Hot Dog Cart for Birthday Parties In Muncie Indiana”. Then in that post write a paragraph or two about how you are available to do private parties, being sure to include the phrase “hot dog cart for birthday parties in Muncie Indiana” one or two more times in the article. Don’t overdo the keyword insertion or it will appear spammy and Google will dock you for it. Just write naturally and you’ll be fine.

Again, we show you how to do this in the training videos.

Next create separate posts with your local info in the title for each of your secondary keywords or phrases. For example, if you do private parties I’ll bet you do car lot promotions too. So make a blog post titled, “Auto Dealer Hot Dog Cart Promotions In Beautiful Muncie Indiana”. You want to be able to be found locally for all of the search terms your customers might possibly type into Google. Possible secondary key phrases might be hot dog cart catering, hot dog cart birthday party, hot dog cart bachelor party, etc. Each of these terms needs it’s own locally optimized blog post. When you sign up for your free website I’ll tell you what the number one key phrase is for local search. If I forget, just email me and remind me.

Class Assignment: Go ahead and get started on your on-page optimization. Don’t be surprised if you start ranking very high for local + keyphrase searches within just a few weeks. When you get your free website we’ll show you the off-page tactics, including what I believe to be the fastest route to page one Google results.

Again, if you want us to build you a free website that does everything you just read about and more, including the ability for your customers to subscribe to your website with their email so you can automatically notify them of where your food cart will be, what your specials are, and what contests you are running – any time you want to, shoot me an email. My address is: steve@HotDogProfits.com

-Steve