“Success!”, she cried.
She had finally done it – she had achieved success with her hot dog biz.
She folded her umbrella down for the day, packed up her cart, hitched it to the mini van with a satisfying “clank”, checked her safety chains and lights, and climbed behind the wheel.
It felt good to sit down.
The dark green van had been running for 15 minutes with the AC on while she finished her tear down so it was 20 degrees cooler inside. The tinted windows cut the glare and she took off her sunglasses, throwing them in the passenger seat.
She rubbed the bridge of her nose with her left hand and popped the top on a frosty can of Coke with her right.
She took a long drink, breathed a satisfied sigh, put the van in gear and headed for home.
The $287 in cash in her left back pocket made her sit a little crooked in the seat but she didn’t mind.
It was a good kind of uncomfortable.
It hadn’t been easy getting to this point, but it hadn’t been as hard as she thought it would be either.
Her mind drifted back to that winter day when she decided to pursue her dream of starting her own hot dog business.
She had been dreaming of doing this for more than 15 years.
When she announced her plans all of her friends supported her.
Her mother looked at her a little funny.
Her son told her not to do it. Too risky he said – which was really his way of saying that he didn’t think he would ever have the courage to embark on such an adventure. He had always been the fearful type.
But she started in anyway and never looked back.
Little by little the pieces of her business came together until one day there was nothing left to do.
So on a beautiful sunny day in late March she hitched her cart up and drove down to the location she had staked out those 15 years ago.
As she set up her rig and fired up the burners, butterflies the size of small birds fluttered about in her stomach.
Then – fourteen minutes later…
It happened.
A smiling teenage boy wearing a Red Sox ball cap walked up, scanned her menu, and ordered two hot dogs, a bag of chips, and a soda.
He fished some crumpled bills out of his jeans pocket and handed them to her.
She blinked back the small tears that welled up in her eyes as she placed the hot dogs in the buns with imperceptibly shaking tongs.
In the 81 seconds that it took to serve the boy, she realized that it wasn’t a dream any more.
It was real.
She was so happy. And grateful. And excited. And hopeful.
As the young man walked away with his lunch, she thought about all the years she had waited to do this.
Why had she waited so long?
She turned turned her back to the cart for fear that tears of happiness would come down for real this time.
But she didn’t have that luxury.
Someone else was approaching the cart.
Smiling.
That first day she made less than $60 but it was one of the most wonderful days she had ever had in her life.
She had made money.
Her own money.
Not from an employer.
Not from a company.
She had offered something of her own creation to the world and the world had been happy to pay her for it.
It was official – she was now a business owner.
Fast forward a few months.
She now has a crowd of regulars who follow her around which really means that she has made a hundred new friends.
She is working less and earning a lot more than at any other job she had ever had.
And every day at 1:59 (she always leaves one minute early to remind herself that she is the boss now) she heads for home in her air conditioned mini van and does what ever she feels like doing for the rest of the day.
And her son is proud of her.
So proud.
**************************
What does success mean to you? Let me know in the comments.
-Steve
P.S. If you want to live the dream I’d love to help you. Let me know what I can do for you here.
When I got that first phone call they said, “We were at the Hendersons and your hot dogs were incredible! Can you do our party too?” I don’t want to sound flippant but I was never in it for the money. I was able to show my kids that doing something you love is more important than a paycheck. While we have sold our Top Dog cart, I’m currently designing my own custom cart to start up again at retirement. Thanks Steve!
That feels pretty good, doesn’t it! Congrats!
Beautiful Sentiment I have a 11 year old daughter (I am 47) that has wanted her own business for 3 years…. This is the way I am showing her how it is done. She sells with me when she can school gets in the way… But she sit with paper and pen and was figuring profits expenses and all of the accounting (By hand No Calculator) on what we could make. She sold her first Hot Dog two weeks ago and my and her first dollar will be framed and hung on our cart. Her’s on top mine on the bottom!
I hope that when I am gone she will be slinging! and making millions from the many carts she runs!
To me success means not having to worry about going places with my kids and grandkids, having them want a lemonade, or ice cream, digging into my pocket and not having the money to get them some. That is the WORST feeling in the world. Success is working when I want, where I want, go in at the time I want. I have so many really good ideas for small businesses, many of them add-on businesses from the hot dog biz, and no matter how long it takes to get that 1st cart, I will .
Yes you will.
Years ago my daughter now 22 wanted an ice cream from the ice cream man I did not have the money I swore that someday this would change… I actually went inside and cried cause I could not get my daughter a two dollar Ice Cream. I mean Cried for like 30 minutes…. Now I got a little money every day… I now have a grandson and he has a T/VCR Combo in his room he is 8 months old I got this for him. Grandpa Did it… He can watch all the old VCR tapes we have… He loves Lion King. I sing dig a tunnel to him whenever I see him. I amnot rich but I am happy as a slinger and my grandson has more …..
Exactly that!! It is never about how much (though at times) I have earned. It is that I got up and finally did what I wanted. Not what someone else wanted. That I answer to only myself. Because I am the BIG DOG in my house.
Nice!
To me success means doing something that you enjoy and love while the money comes in nice sized chunks. My business has got off to an extremley slow start i began around the begining of november. I love doing it but i find myself very frustrated with the office peaple it is not doing well, but i will see better days. I never give up i will be there all winter.
You show a lot of desire starting out in November. You’ll do just fine!
Having my own business is one form of success in itself. But the knowledge that the town hall loves to have me there, and gets upset at rumors (JUST rumors) that I might leave is also a great feeling. The money is good and I hope to do better each year. But the greatest feeling I get is when people come to realize that money isn’t everything in emergencies. I don’t turn away thirst or hungry kids. And an act of kindness or compassion has brought me a lot of great friends. Last summer, kids made boats out of their hot dog foil and gave them to me. I also got pretty beach pebbles from a little girl, a new CD from a musician customer and much more. To me,
THAT is success! Being my own boss is a big part of it too. ;o It’s all around wonderful.
” Last summer, kids made boats out of their hot dog foil and gave them to me. I also got pretty beach pebbles from a little girl, a new CD from a musician customer and much more.”
That says it all Robin. Good for you!
It might sound kind of funny to some, but Hot Dog carts change lives.
I’ve seen it over and over Matthew. Owning your own business is powerful stuff.
If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. Its all about choices. You never know if you dont try!
True.
Success to me means being able to do something that makes you so happy that you don’t mind getting up at 4 or 5 in the morning on Saturdays just to get ready for an event that starts at 9am or so. You don’t mind staying up late at night both before and after an event because you know that what you do can bring a lot of happiness to those who come to rely on you. Working for the man, it gets tough to roll out of bed that early…..I know I have a hard time sometimes. But, come Saturday and I know that I’m heading down to Round Rock to sell my dogs, burgers and cheesesteaks to both vendors and visitors alike, I have a smile already built in. I’m not at the point with the business to where I can quit my job and start doing this on a fulltime basis but I am growing the business and building great relationships with all my customers! I was even voted “2012 Readers Choice Award” for Best Hot Dogs by the readers of the Belton Journal! So like I said, success to me means doing something you love, meeting great folks and just having fun.
Well said mi hermano!
I remember my first day selling hotdogs, way back in 2009, I made $30.00 wow but the first $2.00 hotdog was the best, I knew that I had succeeded. Now it is 2013 and I know that I made it because when I came home today from my regular spot I got a call from the local bank asking me if I would be available every friday for the month of February to give away hotdogs. They want to give a hotdog meal to every customer that comes to the bank from 10 am to 2 pm. Last year I had to turn down and or give some events to another Hotdogger because I was over booked. I get calls all the time wanting me for events. Success to me is when a little kid comes up and is excited to see the “Hot Dog Man”. A 10.64% increase in sales from 2011 to 2012 helps too..
DUGGS DOGGS
GOOD!! GOOD!!
Good for you Michael! I mean Good Good!!!
The rest are good but we are “Good!! Good!!”
Waaaaaaaaaaaay to go!!! Keep going and never look back. Take care, Jim
Right on Jim!
hi steve thanks i bought you’r program and learned a lot and i was going to do a cart and i thought i was going to be out there 6 days a week rain, shine,snow ,wind,hail, and what ever else comes on because i want my customers to know im going to be there no mater what it is like outside so im doing a trailer hand built so i can be inside thanks to you i have a great idea how to start and what to use from your vids great job so many people can learn so much from u and your felow slingers and in about 1 month i to will be one I hope . i will have success and i will have succed in the bissness because i have lots of support at home and here with all the slingers and you thanks and every one dont ever give up on a dream you only fail if you dont ever try thanks
“You only fail if you don’t ever try.”
That’s awesome Jack Dog! Thanks for the kind words.
Don’t know where you live, but don’t forget the insulation in the ceiling…we did!
Success, appreciation and gratification…that is what I felt on one spring day in May of 2010. That is the day I sold my first hot dog and gained independence ! After spending several years in the corporate world and the IT industry I’ve have found a home with customers who look forward to me being there for them every day. It took me a while to get adjusted to not worrying if I was going to be ‘late’ for work but I soon got over that when I realized that ‘I’ was now in control of my future and didn’t have to depend on some manager giving me a good ‘performance appraisal’ in order to get a raise…maybe.
Now that I’m running the show all of the effort that I put into my business comes back to ME 100% ! Face it…no employer, especially now days, is really going to pay you for what you’re efforts are really worth. My customers appreciate doing business with me and ‘thank’ me all the time for being there for their convenience ! Heck…some of them even want to help set up so that they can get their hot dog a bit quicker…lol !
Do you think that if I would have put a ‘tip’ jar on my desk that upper management would have ever put something in there ? NOPE…but my customers do that for me now and I don’t have to depend on a ‘performance appraisal’ to increase my income. I provide a service to them from a business that is ‘mine’ and the rewards continue to roll in !
A tip jar on your desk – you should have tried it just for grins.
Success === Streams of income
1. daily location m-f
2. special events
3. weekend nites location
4. always having something for sale
5. back up help
6. plan B
Nice systematic approach Joe!
Steve,
Thanks for this story. I have been planning my own “escape” for the last ten years or so. I just placed my order for logo’d polo shirts and will be putting my cart together soon in anticipation of my “early retirement” (I’m only 55 y/o) in a few months. I have dreamed of slinging since my undergrad days in the 1970’s. Unfortunately, I’ll most likely be slinging alone. My wife and friends think I’m crazy. But…my son is definitely in my corner and provides all of the outside motivation I need. In fact, he’s considering entering the business, as well. Thanks for being the person that you are.
Rev. George J. Willis
(HOMETOWN HOT DOGS)
You can do it George. Hot doggers are entrepreneurs to the bone. That’s why so many of our friends and relative don’t “get” us. Part of the journey is learning to listen to your own instincts and tune out the advice of “normal” people. We are a different breed, no doubt about it.
Go get ’em George!
I figure Success is peace within one’s self. I work a very manual job going on 62yrs of age and feel every year of it when I get up in the morning. Thanks to Steve’s programs Carts of Cash and his DVD’s for the EZ built cart, I have built my own little business for a local Farmers Market on Saturdays and I just love it. I have developed a good following and built a fan base one Saturday at a time. I’m closed for winter and a day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about my cart and can’t wait for spring so I can open for business. Making extra money is nice, but the gratification from the compliments is priceless !!! Steve helped me with my website and slowly but surely people are registering and giving me some Great Testamonials !!! This is what Steve can do for you !!!
I figure when I leave my present job and start Dog’in full time, peace will be within !!!
Thanks Steve,
Bruce of ” Bruce’s Hot Dog Cartel “.
Peace brother!
My hotdog cart is called Bada Bing (no one knows my name,when I’m set up you can hear the people say hey Bada Bing). Anyway I live in ca by the orgeon border. Its cold and we have lots of snow. Last weekend I drove to a favorite sledding spot and set up with hotdogs,chili and hot chocolate. I sold out in 2 hours..whew its great even in the winter.
That’s cool Dennis! Bada Bing!
I read something a few days ago, intended for a different audience, but thought I would pass it along anyway, it seems relevant here.
“The miracle isn’t that I finished …
It is that I had the courage to start.”
Thank you Steve, for all the “miracles” that you preform every day in peoples lives.
Skip
Thank you Skip but nothing happens until the individual takes action. Just like you did with your web business. I’m proud of you and what you have accomplished!
Steve,
This story should be printed in every newspaper in this country…..
All of these vendors and you, in particular, are what this country is really all about….
Happy to be a Hot Dog Vendor!
Larry
Thank you Larry.
I love a great success story. When we cheer on fellow slinger, it has a way of coming back around. You are what you speak. Do you speak SUCCESS, or do you speak FAILURE ?
Hey Chappy! How ya feelin’?
Thanks for the reminder, Steve about why I vend food for a living! You ROCK!
Back at ‘ya Wanda! 😉
I love success i have worked hard to get it, and after making the bucks i have i dont think of turning back now. i got my kids and grandkids into it. they at first said no they wouldnt work the trailer for me it would be to embarassing but after they saw the money flow and that it was fun they like the idea and want to join me when ever i need them. so now we are going to a antique show and they are stoked about it. they want to join in but i know i cant take all of them with me. the more money you make the more you want to do it. i love the people out there they are who really make it fun. thanks steve for the little push you give to get us out there. keep slinging them folks
I’m glad you’re doing so well Debbie! Awesomeness!!! I love that you are getting your kids and grand into it – what a great life lesson you are giving them.
I could not have said it better myself…. My roommate asked me when I had to be at work today…. “Whenever I want to be” was my reply… and it felt so good to say those words. I realized I am no longer stuck to a schedule…. I want to be there at certain times but if life does not allow me to make it oh well I am not out of a job. I am still in business I apologize to my regulars and tell them stuff happens and The love and forgive me cause Steve showed me how to serve an awesome dog!
Building my 5th cart only to end up selling it again to embark on a new design. I do mostly fests, But realizing that selling my creations to help others with their dreams was when I knew I’d never work again. Because none of this is work to me it’s all pure joy! I love feeding people. I always have but I realized I love helping people as well FEELS GOOD
Indeed!
I am very happy for you……..keep going!!!!!
Aye mateys ! The real rewards arrrrr just as Robin described !!
Couldn’t said it better.
1St Mate Jim.
Nice
Wow! I can say I have “almost” the same.story. although I worked in aerospace for 30 yrs. And then quit and started my hot dog cart! !!
So awesome to be my own boss
Good for you Kim!