The following is a guest post by Tim Van Dusen of Get Grilled Foods…

Well the weather outside is frightful. Business expansion is delightful! For those of us that are in cold weather states, we have a choice in the winter. We can try and brave the cold or we can shut down for the winter. Some of us get winter time jobs and those of us that have good enough revenue, during the summer, can hibernate.

But as i found out if your business isn’t growing then it is shrinking. The winter is the perfect time to expand your footprint on the market next year. As all business is an investment, the hot dog business is a real money maker. My personal goal has always been to grow my business to the point that I can sell it for a nice fat profit. Then start a new hot dog business and do it all over again.

I expanded my business last year to include two carts. I fell on some hard times and was able to sell part of my business to bank some and still pay the bills. If I had not thought of expansion I would have been out of the business completely. As it was I had the assets to keep going, and the extra cart to continue my revenue stream.

Last year I looked at buying a cart or building a cart. I had a few thoughts on the cart I needed. One was indoor use during the winter. I found absolutely nothing on the market that fit my desires. So that left building, and that is where E-Z Built came into play. The plans for the cart are extremely adaptable to any plan you have.

While we have the down time building a cart is the perfect way to become a hot dog pro. Once I built my own cart the knowledge I gained about hot dog carts was invaluable. I can look at a cart and tell you more about it then I ever could before. I built the E-Z Built bigger to include an electric steam well so i won’t need to worry about the fire marshall. And I won’t need to worry about what the weather outside is doing. So while you have the extra time, now is the a perfect opportunity to prepare to make that extra dime.

Building a hot dog cart during the winter is a perfect way to grow your business. This winter I will be taking my cart inside, and still dogging. Indoor craft shows around here are big, flea markets have a few indoor spots and I can park my cart in a garage and still serve those winter birthday parties. And I use their electric and eliminate my propane cost.

So build it bigger and make more money. Here are a few shots of the process from last winter. And remember Keep Doggin!

– Tim

 

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