I’ve worked in the food industry for quite a while, 16 years I think, often in kitchens but sometimes in other areas. About 20 months ago I launched my own food business. I’m the only employee. The few products I sell should be served fresh, so I go to the kitchen 364 days a year to prepare and deliver fresh goods. In some ways I can relate to Tyson Ho, in others I can’t, the difference being only how our work is similar or divergent.
He’s had much more attention than I’ve had. I’m not certain what he did to garner it, but I’ve worked hard to fly under the radar. From following the tech industry (and others) for many years, I’ve made it a point to not grow too fast, to avoid taking on more than is possible, physically or economically. I’d rather under-promise and then over-deliver. Or, as is often discussed in places like HN, I want to manage customers’ expectations.
One result is that I’ve done no marketing beyond some occasional use of Twitter. I don’t even have a website yet. In fact, I haven’t solicited one customer. Speaking to one person in food retail led to that person carrying my products when I launched, and every customer since has come by word of mouth. Since I only wholesale, my customers are not the people ultimately buying my products for consumption. So I do everything to keep my customers happy, word gradually spreads about my products, and other retailers find their way to me.
Still, I can understand the tight economics Mr. Ho describes. I was profitable within weeks of launching, but I’m not rolling in money by any stretch. I’d hate to know what I make on an hourly basis. But I don’t know because it’s not one of the measures I use for gauging whether this is succeeding. I measure myself by my performance in the kitchen —things like punctuality, product quality, sanitation. I measure customer service by my customers' satisfaction with how I handle their needs. And I measure the bottom line simply by whether or not the bank balance is going up.
He discussed balancing work with other aspects of life. I’m content with how I’ve done there. Mind you, I’m single and childless, so it’s not fair to compare me to him. But I’ve maintained some social life (that was never too big for me), and I’ve continued the long-distance friendships I’ve long been part of.
All told, I’ve never understood why people get into this industry. It’s physically brutal, mentally endless, hard to make decent money, and customer expectations are brutal. On that last one, I’ll note that every industry has its odd customer expectations, but food is one of the oddest I’ve ever noticed. Example: You have a date with your significant other. The restaurant darn well better seat the two of you within minutes of your reservation time. In contrast, the doctor’s office has a waiting room you’re likely to sit in no matter how punctual you are. Another example: Unless something sells out from popularity, food customers usually don’t tolerate things being unavailable. “I’m sorry, there’s no bread for the table because the oven broke” isn’t something you hear, and that’s because customers, and in turn restaurant owners, won’t tolerate it.
The best description I’ve ever heard about restaurant life is that it’s like working in an emergency room but without the life and death. But you can bet anyone worth their salt in a kitchen treats it like like and death. Still, I enjoy what I do and find both the work and customer service rewarding. I don’t blame anyone for trying this industry and fleeing it as fast as possible. And since it sounds like Mr. Ho is doing good work, I certainly hope he’s able to make his business work.
Whatever thing you're selling, it's obviously good, and people like and want it.
I don't know if you care for my advice, but that's what I would start with:
* Website, a very simple one where one can order your stuff, wholesale and small amounts (priced differently). This kind of thing doesn't require any coding these days.
* Automate as much as you can.
* Make sure you learn how much you make per hour, because this will pay for the salary of the person doing what you're doing.
* It sounds like you're close to being maxed out, and your only options are A) Raise prices B) Expand. I would try both.
* When you know how much you can pay, start expanding. Hire people, one at a time.
Not everyone measures success by money and leisure time. Especially in more creatively-derived industries, like culinary arts, I find that money has little to do with what people judge as success. Many simply want to make the best food they can.
It's true what you are saying (not everyone..) but I am not sure that there's so much creativity in 99% of the food industry. Take NaOH, he makes pretzels, using a very good recipe that he probably doesn't want to change, how much innovation can he put in that? Please note that I'm not critizing or bashing his work,not at all, I've upvoted his posts because I found them very interesting, it's just that I think that when you move to "professional" food production, at some point what you are asked is delivering with consistency, and you have less space for being creative.
I like cooking, I am not bad at it, and when I moved to this country (Luxembourg, coming from Italy) I was unemployed and so I was joking with friends saying things like "if I don't find a job I could open a restaurant" but of course it was just a joke, first of all because you should really have worked in that sector before starting to do something on your own, and second because one thing is cooking a good Risotto for your family once a week, another thing is doing it for 10 tables every single day...I think it can become quite repetitive and not enjoyable
On the food side, I agree with you about there not being much room for creativity in my setup. I'm comfortable with that. I like it, even, since coming up with new items or menus was never a part of the work I particularly enjoyed. Plus, that work complicates ordering and increases the risk of food waste. Sure, I do some of that, but not much and not on a regular basis.
Yet there is plenty of room for creativity. I focus on trying to bring that to customer service. I've worked diligently to make it so that all my customers know I will do whatever I possibly can to help them, pretzel-related or otherwise. Some things are across the board, like not requiring specific lead times for orders (in this field it can be up to 48 hours). Others are customer-specific, like getting an order at 9:15AM and delivering it by 11AM (fresh-baked goods, remember), or doing dishes for three hours because I've got time and my customer's dishwasher decided to no-show, or bringing a customer a giant 5-pound pretzel to help that group of people celebrate its first anniversary of being open.
All of that contributes to my business doing okay despite the lack of marketing on my part. People rave about the products I make, and the businesses to whom I sell are comfortable recommending me to other businesses. I mean, we all know word of mouth is the best marketing—not just for its low cost but mostly for the weight it carries—and since I’m a wholesaler my best opportunity for generating word of mouth is through customer service for the businesses buying from me. That’s an area where there’s always room for creativity since circumstances and the people involved provide diverse opportunities for me to respond well.
I love programming, and think I'd do it even if it didn't pay well, but I'm not sure you can do that forever. Most people get married, have kids and so on, and can't keep up the intensity with low pay.
Also, there's a lot to be said for creating a viable business - "working on your business, rather than in your business" as the quote goes, that can run without you.
I'd add that a website can assist with the 'pull' aspect of the business, in planning and being as forward looking as possible through the entire supply chain, rather than responding, 'push' like, to requests.
But agree, keep it super simple. Perhaps review some online classes in operations management, LEAN or similar.
Good luck to the OP. The business can be brutal, but it sounds like some initial hurdles are cleared. :)
I intentionally omitted that information. I wasn't commenting on the article to promote my business, so I left out the specifics of what I do in favor of focusing on the article and the industry. But I don't see much harm in adding that I make Bavarian soft pretzels and a couple of other soft-pretzel products. I had the good fortune to train under a German chef whose pretzel recipe is what I use.
From that, I'll note that my strict focus on soft pretzels is another thing I learned from following tech industries. That is, do something really, really well. Don't try to do too much or be all things to all people. People I meet often seem surprised when they learn I only do pretzel products. I tell them I'm not out to become a bakery—randomly making cupcakes for someone's child's birthday, decorating cookies for some other random order, etc.
People then often say that what I do is very simple (in the basic sense, not in the easy-to-do sense). I tell them it's focused.
It's been a long time since I've had a decent Käse- or Butterbrezel. Good on you for knowing what you want out of your business and sticking to it. You remind me of the German fisher and tourist: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anekdote_zur_Senkung_der_Arbeit...
What you are saying is similar to philosophy of Jiro from "Jiro dreams of Sushi". If you haven't seen it then you should. He also focuses on very specific type of food, and after some tests with trying to introduce more products he decided its not worth it. Amazing documentary.
He’s had much more attention than I’ve had. I’m not certain what he did to garner it, but I’ve worked hard to fly under the radar. From following the tech industry (and others) for many years, I’ve made it a point to not grow too fast, to avoid taking on more than is possible, physically or economically. I’d rather under-promise and then over-deliver. Or, as is often discussed in places like HN, I want to manage customers’ expectations.
One result is that I’ve done no marketing beyond some occasional use of Twitter. I don’t even have a website yet. In fact, I haven’t solicited one customer. Speaking to one person in food retail led to that person carrying my products when I launched, and every customer since has come by word of mouth. Since I only wholesale, my customers are not the people ultimately buying my products for consumption. So I do everything to keep my customers happy, word gradually spreads about my products, and other retailers find their way to me.
Still, I can understand the tight economics Mr. Ho describes. I was profitable within weeks of launching, but I’m not rolling in money by any stretch. I’d hate to know what I make on an hourly basis. But I don’t know because it’s not one of the measures I use for gauging whether this is succeeding. I measure myself by my performance in the kitchen —things like punctuality, product quality, sanitation. I measure customer service by my customers' satisfaction with how I handle their needs. And I measure the bottom line simply by whether or not the bank balance is going up.
He discussed balancing work with other aspects of life. I’m content with how I’ve done there. Mind you, I’m single and childless, so it’s not fair to compare me to him. But I’ve maintained some social life (that was never too big for me), and I’ve continued the long-distance friendships I’ve long been part of.
All told, I’ve never understood why people get into this industry. It’s physically brutal, mentally endless, hard to make decent money, and customer expectations are brutal. On that last one, I’ll note that every industry has its odd customer expectations, but food is one of the oddest I’ve ever noticed. Example: You have a date with your significant other. The restaurant darn well better seat the two of you within minutes of your reservation time. In contrast, the doctor’s office has a waiting room you’re likely to sit in no matter how punctual you are. Another example: Unless something sells out from popularity, food customers usually don’t tolerate things being unavailable. “I’m sorry, there’s no bread for the table because the oven broke” isn’t something you hear, and that’s because customers, and in turn restaurant owners, won’t tolerate it.
The best description I’ve ever heard about restaurant life is that it’s like working in an emergency room but without the life and death. But you can bet anyone worth their salt in a kitchen treats it like like and death. Still, I enjoy what I do and find both the work and customer service rewarding. I don’t blame anyone for trying this industry and fleeing it as fast as possible. And since it sounds like Mr. Ho is doing good work, I certainly hope he’s able to make his business work.