I’m calling Bull$&%#!
Ever notice WHEN the big stores start putting out the outdoor items? You know the fun stuff, outdoor games, water sport items, fishing equipment, hiking, sporting goods etc…?
Ever notice WHEN the festivals, fairs, outdoor events, concerts etc. are held?
Spring Summer & Fall Ding ding ding – yup, you are correct!
But…Why oh why? Because you won’t freeze your freakin nose off!!! It’s the months that the weather welcomes many of us
outside. And when do you want to be slinging dogs, when there are tons ofpeople or when all the people are indoors? What months do you see the most used hot dog carts for sale? Winter months! Why? Do I really need to say it again? Less crowds, less pedestrians, less outdoor events, less anything outdoors going on. This ain’t rocket science, them’s the facts brothers and sisters, the plain and simple facts.
So what do us doggers do in the winter? Well many of us brave the cold and find the best spots. If your chances are 10% of stopping a traveling vehicle and having them pull off the road for a hot dog in the good selling months, then in the winter months I can promise most of them sitting in their warm toasty cars aren’t gonna be pulling over.
We have to find locations that still have walking traffic. I know vendors at Corporate Centers, like a huge office complex and they still do well in the cold months. Some vendors will put up a pop up tent with sides and continue on slinging dogs. Me; once it gets below freezing, I’m done, but there are many, many vendors whom will put up a blow heater and continue to serve the crowds. Remember the video I did, this was well below freezing and we served dogs to the drunk partying college students at the University of Illinois.
Winter months are a great time, if you haven’t already, to find some better locations. To search for those tucked away hidden spots where people frequent but just not as obvious as Walmart. In my area, the factories are good all winter long. Racing kicks up in the winter months in the south and some of those welcome vendors. I have many other location ideas in my book.
Successful vendors in the northern states close up and live off the bucket loads of cash they made through the summer. Some get jobs over the harsher winter months. Fortunately from TN south, the weather doesn’t really stop us vendors that often, but I know in the Northwest, Northeast and upper Midwest, it gets scary cold. These are the months that one needs to have a plan. I also know some vendors that move south for the winter and set up in Florida.
As you know I manufacture hot dog carts and I know several manufacturers whom would agree, sales are slower in the winter months. It can’t be because the winter months are the best months to sling dogs. In fact, if you want to get burnt out quick, start your vending business in one of those colder Northern states during the winter months. I’d rather take a beating.
I’m not trying to discourage you, I just don’t want you to read something somewhere that encourages you to jump on in and find out, crap, where’s all the people, wheres the crowds? I don’t want you to believe it’s the “best in the winter”. Vendors still get started in these months, but in my 4 year manufacturing history, it’s the southern states and southern countries that are buying carts the most.
A special thanks to John for pointing out an article that spouted out this non-sense.
