Start Your Own Specialty Food Business: Your Step-By-Step Startup Guide to Success
162
Start Your Own Specialty Food Business: Your Step-By-Step Startup Guide to Success
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Overview
Fueled by growing consumer demand for new tastes, cleaner ingredients, health benefits, and more convenient ways to shop and eat, the business of specialty food is taking off at full speed. This step-by-step guide arms entrepreneurial foodies like yourself with an industry overview of market trends, useful research for your marketing plan, and insight from practicing specialty food business owners. Determine your key growth drivers, opportunities, and how you can differentiate from other food businesses.
Discover how to:
- Find the right avenue for your specialty food business: home-based, retail shop, production, wholesale, or distribution
- Create a solid business plan, get funded, and get the essential equipment
- Get the right licenses, codes, permits, insurance for your operations
- Gain a competitive edge using market and product research
- Find a profitable location, partnerships, and in-store shelf space
- Promote your business, products, and services online and offline
- Attract new and loyal customers using social media platforms to build your community of foodie fans.
- Manage daily operations, costs, and employees
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781599185835 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Entrepreneur Press |
| Publication date: | 02/09/2016 |
| Series: | StartUp Series |
| Pages: | 162 |
| Sales rank: | 703,704 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d) |
About the Author
entrepreneurs and small business owners. We’ll teach you the secrets of the winners and give you
exactly what you need to lay the groundwork for success.
Table of Contents
Preface xi
Chapter 1 Who Puts the "Specialty" in Specialty Food? 1
The Current State of Small Business in America 2
The Small Business Administration (SBA) 3
Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) 4
The Specialty Food Industry as a Whole 4
Homebased 5
The Retail Store 6
Production and Distribution 7
Production 7
Marketing 10
Distribution 10
Other Specialty Food Venues 12
Strictly Special Order 12
Food Truck 12
Personal Chef 14
Retail Food Store Regulations 15
Sites to Know 16
Chapter 2 You Like to Eat but Is this Business Right for You? 19
Test Yourself 20
Small-Business Personality Traits 21
Other Things to Consider 22
The Pressure of Perishables 23
Deadlines 23
The Waiting Game 24
Chapter 3 Meet Your Mentors 27
Confectionately Yours Toffee 28
Kitchen Debauchery Jams and Jellies 29
Lincoln Olive Oil Shop 30
Yummy Yammy Salsa 31
Winnipesaukee Chocolates 32
Judy a la Carte 34
Chapter 4 Pass the Salt and Pepper: Business Basics 37
Its All in a Name 38
On a Mission 42
Choosing a Business Location 42
Business Types 44
Sole Proprietor 45
General Partnership 45
Limited Liability Company 45
Corporations 46
Licenses and Permits 46
Choosing Insurance 47
Forms 48
Proposals 48
Agreements 49
Invoices 49
Receipts 49
Chapter 5 You've Been Chopped!: Market Research 51
Industry Research 52
The Specialty Food Business 52
The Specialty Food Association 52
State of the Industry 53
Packaging 53
Packaging Market Research 54
Retail Market Research 55
The Research 55
Determining Store Size 56
Production Space 57
Special Diets 58
Retail/Production Combo 58
Mail Order 58
Focus Groups 59
What Makes You Stand Out? 59
Chapter 6 The Necessary Ingredient: Financing 61
First Things First 62
Don't Forget Life 62
Finding Financing 64
Get Your Credit in Shape 65
Networking 66
Your Business Plan 66
The Components of a Successful Business Plan 67
Buying Equipment and Inventory 68
Essential Equipment 69
Inventory 73
Chapter 7 Home Is Where the Stove Is: Location 75
Cottage Food Industry 76
Supplies for Your Homebased Food Business 77
The Commercial Kitchen 78
The Retail Shop 81
Outside 81
Inside 82
Special Display Needs 83
Back Office 84
The Retail Provider 84
Staging Space 85
Getting Product to Market 85
Mailorder 85
Shipping Service 86
Special Considerations 86
Distributors 88
Food Labels 88
Chapter 8 All Things Digital 89
Mobile Websites 90
Setting Up a Website 90
Design 91
Website Must-Haves 92
The Homepage 92
Drilling Down 93
The Rest of the Site 94
Contacting You from a Website 94
Updating 95
Marketing Your Website 95
Your Website URL 96
Keep 'Em Interested 97
Choosing a Web Host 98
Chapter 9 Chef, Sous-Chef, and Kitchen Help: Employees 99
Who to Hire 100
Reaching Out to Candidates 101
Advertising 102
Interviewing 104
Interviewing Strategies 104
Pay 104
Training 105
Letting Employees Go 105
Seasonal Workers 105
Layoffs 106
Termination for Reason 106
Vendors 107
Professional Help 108
Chapter 10 How to Not Cook the Books: Accounting 111
Financial Statements 112
Paying Vendors 113
Pricing Your Products 114
Gift Certificates 115
Markup 115
Maintaining Cash Flow 116
Break-Even Point 116
Taxes 117
Deducting Expenses 119
Chapter 11 When "To Market" Means Something Else 121
Why Marketing? 122
Networking to Business Success 123
The Ins and Outs of Advertising 123
The Small but Mighty Business Card 124
Information Brochures 124
Direct Mail 126
Newsletters 126
Press Releases 127
The Power of Customer Service 127
Retaining Customers through Top-Notch Customer Service 128
Giving Back to Your Community 129
Building Your Image 130
Traditional Media with a Digital Twist 130
Enewsletters 130
Press Releases vs. Event Listings 132
Chapter 12 Social Media 133
Blogs 136
Facebook 137
Linkedln 138
Twitter 138
Photo-Sharing Platforms 138
Pinterest 138
Instagram 139
Snapchat 139
Appendix: Specialty Food Resources 141
Books 142
Conferences 142
Consultants 143
Magazines 143
Organizations 144
Packaging 145
Glossary 147
Index 153