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HOW TO START YOUR OWN HIGHLY PROFITABLE CATERING SERVICE
People with money seem to be on a binge to prove their status and flaunt their wealth by staging large, catered parties. As a matter of fact, in some circles of affluence, a party or social get-together isn't considered an event of any significance unless it's a catered affair. With the same kind of reasoning, businesses of all sizes are using catered lunches, cocktail parties and dinner meetings to build their images and increase company sales. It's a matter of keeping up with the competition in promoting a company and/or product. On a smaller, but just as busy marketing scale, more and more working mothers are paying to have catered birthday and graduation parties, as well as wedding receptions handled by caterers. The reasons are simple to understand - if she's working outside the home, today's mother just doesn't have the time or the energy to do all the planning and staging of a memorable party. Besides those reasons for turning everything over to a caterer working mothers feel a little guilty about the time away from their children they lose because of their jobs. Thus, they're ready and willing to make it all up to them by paying for a lavish party the child will remember for years to come. Caterers handle everything from birthday parties for children, to breakfast in bed and intimate candlelight dinners for two, to company dinner parties for 50 and wedding receptions involving a thousand or more guests. This kind of entrepreneurial business is definitely growing and becoming more popular with people of all income levels. Related Sites An imaginative caterer in a large metropolitan area can
easily gross $150,000 per year, while a small, part-time caterer in a small
town can count on at least $10,000 to $15,000 per year. One small, but very
ambitious caterer is reported to have grossed $250,000 after only 2-years in
business! You don't need special education or training to become a
successful caterer. You do need an affinity for people and a kind of intuition
as to what people enjoy in different environmental settings. A quick survey of successful caterers across the nation
shows that many began with zero capital by working out of their homes. The
basic start-up investment would appear to be around $500, with some big
spenders capitalizing their idea with as much as $15,000 in order to get off
to a fast start. This seems to be an ideal business for an ambitious
couple to start and operate with very little capital investment required. One
person can spend his time hustling up business while the other would do the
planning, organizing and actual catering. As with any business, your success will be directly
related to the soundness of your planning, and the working of that plan.
Understand exactly what your client wants, and give him what he wants in the
way of service that reflects upon the client in a complimentary manner. Basically, you can start with an advertisement in your
local newspapers. This advertisement need not be much more than a simple
announcement: Creative Catering - Specializing in personal service - We can
handle any party or special event from start to finish - no idea too small or too large - Your
satisfaction is always guaranteed! We can handle everything for you... Call
us, and let us make your parties worth remembering... Naturally, the first thing you want from anyone calling
to ask about your services, is that person's name, address and phone number.
Then you want to know what kind of party or event they have in mind. As soon
as you have this information, relax a little bit and inquire to find out about
the person or the company - the people - sponsoring the party and their
ultimate goals or reasons for the party. If it's to celebrate a birthday, graduation, anniversary
or a wedding reception - finding out about the interests, background and
ambitions of the guest of honor will be of value to you in your planning.
Taking a few minutes to learn everything you can about whoever the party is
for, and the people giving the party, will also make it much easier to close
the sale than any sales pitch or special persuasive tactics. People like to talk about themselves, and they
especially like to tell everyone why they're honoring someone, even when they
pretend to keep it a secret who initiated the idea. So, it's important that
you be a good listener, that you have the ability to get people to talk about
themselves, and that you take notes on the things they tell you. This same principle applies to business people,
regardless of who's talking to you or the purpose of the catered affair. The
more polished and adept you can become in getting your prospects to talk about
themselves, the more information relative to their background you can elicit
and the more you listen; the better your parties will be, and the greater
success you'll attain in the catering business. You take the information you glean from this first
interview and plan/organize the event on paper. This means you're going to
have to have contacts or at least working relationships with innumerable
service businesses. If your client wants to stage a birthday party for a
12-year old - he or she greets the guests as they arrive, makes sure everybody
knows who he is - then what about party favors - a soft drink and a
conversation leader until all the guests arrive - the opening of presents -
ice cream and cake - and games to play, a thank you gift for coming, and a
reason to end the party at a pre-determined time... Do you greet the guests, does the mother or father, or
the little boy or girl? Where do you come up with party favors at less than
regular retail prices? Where are you going to get the soft drinks - your cost
- and the glasses or paper cups to serve them in? What about ice? What kind of
games to play? Who will be the conversation leader? Will there be a clown or
someone special to keep everything moving according to plan? Where do you get
the ice cream and cake? What games to play? How to get everyone involved? And
finally, a feasible and polite reason for ending the party and sending
everyone home... Related Sites All this takes planning, organization, and if you're
going to make a profit, a definite awareness of cost control. Get it all down
on paper as a proposal to the people who want to pay you to carry it off.
Figure out your costs, the time involved in putting it all together, and then
get back to your prospect. Always leave room for changes in your proposal. In fact,
expect them - invite input and suggestions from the client - and always have
an alternate idea in your mind for each of those on your written proposals.
Discuss your proposal with the client just as you would a script for a
television show, make the suggested changes and ask for a 50-percent advance
deposit. From there, it's just a matter of following your plan. Regardless of size or type of party - whether your
client is a working mother or a giant corporation - the format is always the
same: initial inquiry, interview, your proposal, second interview for any
changes, agreement, deposit, staging the party itself, and your final payment.
As mentioned earlier, success in this business comes from your planning -
having a lot of contacts - and working your plan. An important word of caution: Try not to get "boxed
in" to setting or even revealing a tentative price until you've had a
chance to listen to what the prospect wants, to study your own capabilities,
and to make a formal written proposal. If a customer wants to know how much
you charge - and if you feel it necessary in order to eventually close the
sale - you can tell him 50 to 100 dollars per hour, plus expenses, and of
course, depending on the type of event the customer wants. As for how much the average party costs, again tell him
that it varies anywhere from 50 to 5,000 dollars. Always keep in mind that you are a professional, and
that if the ordinary person had your knowledge, contacts and ambition to do it
himself, he wouldn't be calling you on the phone. He needs your help for any
number of reasons. You specialize in this kind of work or service just as a
doctor specializes in medicine and a lawyer in legal matters. Therefore, you
should, and do expect to be paid accordingly. Something else - this business thrives on word-of-mouth
advertising - referrals - and thus, is a direct "freeway" to the
kind of customers where money is of no concern. However, in order to gain
access to this market, your business emphasis has to be on service. This means the capability of handling everything for the
customer, from having the invitations printed and sent out to cleaning up
after the last guest has left. Businesses and people in the upper income
brackets, like to pick up the phone - tell someone that they want a party on a
certain date - and then forget about it, knowing everything will be taken care
of without further worry or time involvement from them. Once you've developed
your expertise and clientele to this level, you'll have a business in the
$200,000 to $250,000 per year range. Definitely arrange for a display ad in the yellow pages
of your telephone directory. You will probably get 40% of your inquiries from
this source alone. Generally speaking, radio and/or television advertising
will be too expensive when compared with the immediate results. However, it is
recommended that you consider these media prior to special holidays. Working with restaurants, supper clubs, bridal shops and
the entertainment business in general, can bring in hundreds of referrals for
you. Rubbing shoulders with, and circulating as a part of your area's civic
and service clubs, should also result in more business for you. Keep your eyes and ears on the alert. Wherever you go,
and with whomever you associate, always be ready to promote and sell your
services, if not on the spot, at least make a note to follow up when
conditions are more in your favor. Promoting and selling your services will require at least half your time, and
that's why two people operating catering services are so successful from the
start. The actual selling is quite simple so long as you
emphasize the service and time-saving aspects. The more time-consuming work you can handle for the
client, the easier it's going to be for you to close the sale. Handing out business cards is one of the least expensive
ways to advertise, promote and sell your services. One enterprising caterer
makes arrangements with the sponsors of all his parties, to see that each of
the guests gets one of his business cards. Another gives each of his clients a stack of his
business cards, and tells them he will pay them $25 for each prospect they
refer to him. He tells them to write their name on the back of the cards, and
to hand them out to their friends. And then, whenever a person tells him that
John or Jane suggested he call, and he presents the card with John or Jane's
name on the back, this very successful caterer sends John or Jane a $25 check. Another very successful caterer pays commissions to a
group of housewives and college students who solicit - via their home phones -
interviews for him with brides-to-be. They get their leads from announcements,
and pictures of brides-to-be in the local papers. Many caterers pay sales people a commission for letting
them know when they hear about a party or special event being planned by one
of their business customers. The possibilities go on and on, and are seemingly
unlimited. Time is becoming more valuable to a lot more people every day,
which means there are more and more opportunities for great wealth and
personal independence as a professional caterer. In reality, the success for
just about any person entering this field, will be limited only by his or her
own imagination and energy. There is definite opportunity for great wealth within
the catering field. Anyone with a sense of service to others can succeed. Very
little "ready-cash" is needed to begin. Therefore, the only thing
standing between you and the realization of your dreams, is the action it
takes on your part to get started... Home
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