Recent Posts - Book to Cook - Book to Cook http://booktocook.com.au Tue, 19 Mar 2024 04:17:38 +0000 Joomla! - Open Source Content Management en-gb Top 10 tips for starting a food business http://booktocook.com.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=16:top-10-tips-for-starting-a-food-business&Itemid=173 http://booktocook.com.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=16:top-10-tips-for-starting-a-food-business&Itemid=173 Top 10 tips for starting a food business
We have put together a top 10 checklist of things…




1.Nail your product and processes

Know your product well and be able to make it consistently. Work on refining the most efficient process in terms of ingredients you purchase (in bulk etc.) and production of the product to save you time and money.

2.Research your market

Find out what already exists in that area. Look at the successful and unsuccessful businesses and attempt to identify why they did well or what they didn’t do so well that determined their success. Find out who your target market is and what they are looking for.

3.Register your business

Register for an ABN and Business name. It is important to make sure you are handling the legal side properly so you do not run into trouble down the track. Find the government link here.

4.Create a brand image.

Pay someone to do your branding. Do not buy a $5 logo off a website, work with a graphic design firm or freelancer who will help you achieve the look you really want. This is the face of your brand, it needs to look good. It is essentially the difference between wearing a dapper suit or a pair of trackies and singlet when you meet your customers - you need to look your best. We work with Walker. for our own and our customers branding.

5.Get online

It doesn’t have to be a twelve page website with an in-depth history, gallery and extensive information about your business, just get a basic webpage designed that has some information about your business and information on how to contact you.

6.Have a social media presence

Particularly for food businesses, social media like instagram and twitter can be a fast way to spread the word about your businesses. Make sure to do some research or look at our post on "3 Essentials to Kickstart your Business on Social Media" on how best to approach this.

7.Network and use who you know

Get on Linked In and network with those who you already know to make connections and help build and grow your business. You can also network by attending food related events, and getting involved in the community.

8.Work out costings as exact as possible

Work out your costings taking everything into account. Ingredients, packaging, labour, kitchen hire, transport, market stall, marketing. It all adds up, from here, you can work out how much you will charge your customers as well as situating your price well within the market. It’s an important balance to get right but crucial to making sure you succeed. The best price is when you as the seller sees more value in the customers money than the product, and the customer sees more value in the product than the money they are handing over.

9.Set up your finance or get an accountant

Use a program such as MYOB or Xero to manage your finances. It is important that you keep an eye on your books to track your spending so you have a better idea of what you need to do to improve and what seems to be working. An accountant can be great, and if your budget allows for it, I would definitely recommend it, but don’t hand it all over to them. Make sure you keep an eye on what is going on.

10.Get licensed

Register through the council for your Food Licence. You will need to be registered to a premises or commercially licensed kitchen. If you are using a kitchen hire company such as ourselves, we will often have a contact within the council or a reference number that allows you to get your licence approved faster. By completing these steps, you will be well on your way to your first production of your product and getting out to the world.
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info@booktocook.com.au (Super User) Blog Wed, 18 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000
The top 5 Benefits of Hiring a commercial kitchen for your food business http://booktocook.com.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=15:the-top-5-benefits-of-hiring-a-commercial-kitchen-for-your-food-business&Itemid=173 http://booktocook.com.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=15:the-top-5-benefits-of-hiring-a-commercial-kitchen-for-your-food-business&Itemid=173 The top 5 Benefits of Hiring a commercial kitchen for your food business
I was talking to Lani from Yelp Brisbane the other…



1. You are more productive
Lani and I were discussing this after she used our office spaces for hire the other day. When you take the time to get out of your home, change your environment and hire a space to use, your productivity increases dramatically. Not only does the physical change of environment stimulate your mind, but your mindset will change with the introduction of a definitive start and end time. Many articles I have read over the years have all recognised a similar concept of key triggers. Over time, just by walking through the door to the kitchen and unpacking your ingredients, this will trigger your subconscious to go “ok, now it’s time to work”. At home, there are distractions such as pets, kids, tv and chores that disrupt our routine and play havoc with our focus.



2. Professional Equipment means Professional Product
Just as good quality ingredients mean a great quality product, professional equipment will ensure your product is as good as it can be. There are areas in your business where you can cut cost to save money, but when it comes down to the product you are selling, you only get one chance with a customer. Get it right and not only will they keep coming back, they will spread the word and help build grow your business.



3. Protect your carefully built brand image
You have and will spend many hours building a loyal customer base and strong brand image that your customers will come to love and trust. They trust that you are producing a high quality product that is produced in a high quality environment. If there was an incident to occur in relation to a businesses food product such as food poisoning, and their customers found out that their processes did not meet regulations, it would be much harder to rebuild trust and loyalty with the brand than if they followed council regulations and could claim they were doing the right thing.



4. Your insurance will actually mean something
Public liability insurance is something we unavoidably need to have when owning a food business. It protects us in the rare incident of food poisoning or a similar case, however failing to follow regulations would mean that money would be wasted. Insurance will be helpful unless you are unable to prove that you have been following the correct procedures.



5. Scale with ease
Studies have found that one of the biggest fears of small business owners is that they will not be able to handle rapid growth if it were to occur. Let me assure you, like Guy Kawasaki said in his awesome talk “The top 10 mistakes of an entrepreneurs”, this is the best problem you can have. With a commercial kitchen, this will make the process much smoother. Increase your hours of hiring and double your staff if necessary to meet demand, other than this, you can fine tune your process methods to ensure they are as smooth as possible. No need to look for a venue, then have to wait while your food license is approved before moving premises and having to adjust to new equipment and all the hassle that comes with moving.
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info@booktocook.com.au (Super User) Blog Fri, 27 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000
4 Habits Of Persistence Every Entrepreneur Should Have http://booktocook.com.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=14:4-habits-of-persistence-every-entrepreneur-should-have&Itemid=173 http://booktocook.com.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=14:4-habits-of-persistence-every-entrepreneur-should-have&Itemid=173 4 Habits Of Persistence Every Entrepreneur Should Have
Startup companies can seem fun. Working for yourself, in your…


Stay true to your dream, don’t dilute it.
A chef I used to work with told me this during a busy service whilst telling her my plans for the future. She told me how people will say “You need to do this”, “You need to do that”, and if you listen to them you will dilute your true goal and dream of heading where you want to go. Only you fully understand your vision because it’s in your head. It’s like someone trying to drive your car from the passengers seat while you are in the drivers seat. Only you have full vision and control of what is really going on, anything they might do or suggest may lead to disaster.



Consistency.
This ties in with staying true to your dream. Once you have written your business plan, be consistent. If your initial customer base isn’t as big as you first hoped or response to your product is not to the extent of what you imagined, that is OK! Humans take time to try and adjust to new things. It might take a while to catch on, perhaps longer than you had hoped, but be consistent. Stick to your guns and keep doing what you believe in, by changing how you do things every few weeks, you will confuse your customer and not convey a message of strength through your brand.



Try, try, try again.
As with consistency, you must continue to persist with what it is you are doing. Persistence is the key to success. If it was fast and easy, everyone would be doing it and making it. As William Edward Hickson so brilliantly stated, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again. Don’t give up, often the toughest times come just before a major breakthrough. It is that persistence and thirst for your goals that will ultimately bring you success.



Fail wisely - learn from your mistakes
Failure can be one of the most valuable learning experiences in business, if you use it correctly. Of course no one sets out to fail, but it has been proven over and over again that failing is the best way for humans to learn something the right way. Naturally we have a fear of failing, and fear is one of the biggest motivators. If you are running to come first in a 100m sprint, or running from a savage dog snapping at your heels, I can guarantee which one will have you running faster and harder. This is why failure can be helpful, it drives us to be better, more than the motivation of reaching for our goals. So by failing once, we can assess how and where we went wrong, and out of fear, we make sure we don’t do it again.

As I mentioned before, I encourage you whole heartedly to start something, take on that idea you have been toying with. Just make sure you equip yourself with the knowledge and tools to set yourself up for success.
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info@booktocook.com.au (Super User) Blog Thu, 19 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000