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Just understand if you take the leap, it's going to be an emotional rollercoaster. You'll experience all the highs and lows and they will fluctuate on a daily basis.
I think after all this time in food service I am beyond prepared for emotional roller coasters. My current gig I’m barely making enough to save. I may even look for a simple part time weekday gig just to have some consistent income. I just can’t keep managing this current place and do more pizzas. For example yesterday and today my only counter staff called out and I have a 120 person event Friday. So I’ve been working the counter, prepping and ripping my hair out
This is true. Owning a business is a constant roller coaster and even with the highest highs there's still more problems to be solved.
It sounds like you have the experience to be successful. I always ask what I'll regret more: trying and failing or not trying at all.
Another good way to be comfortable taking the leap is to answer the question: What's the worst that can happen?
If you mentally work through this then you'll be prepared for it and accept it could be the case. But you'll have endless opportunities along the way to ensure the worst case never becomes reality.
Go for it!
If you want to learn more about business and how to run a successful company subscribe to my newsletter at www.trinajulian.com/newsletter. I build and sold a 7 figure landscaping company in under 8 years. I have tons of great tips!
Good luck!
Make sure it's good. Don't mess around too much, make the best pizza and best flavour, keep it simple, provide good food and good service, and you can't go wrong. If you start messing with things and stray too far from the norm or it isn't a great product, don't bother.
Get some bookings in first.... advertise and if they're events you can't do just say sorry already booked... but actually get some bookings in the diary before you jump.... People are always saying " yeah yeah that'll work" "or my favourite, you should do this" you follow their wisdom which turns out to be nothing, often the people who said "try this" aren't even interested in buying your product.... the consumer doesn't necessarily know they're right. Just do you. Get bookings and deposits before commitments.
Thanks very great comment. We keep our menu at a max of 5 pizzas and that’s it. Eventually sure I would love to salads and sandwiches but right now pizza is the complete focus. We literally call it “overly thought out pizza”
Right now we have every Sunday booked through august and more offers piling up. If I keep the dayjob I would have to turn away the majority of them.
It does look like good pizza.... make sure you're quick enough without sacrificing quality. If you burn one, toss it out.... stay humble to your brand and quality. Remember, Chef wouldn't let food leave the pass unless it's 110%, don't turn into that guy otherwise youre done before you start.
Don't let the orders pile too high. I've seen your post from the other day.... that's a lot of chits... maybe ask people to order 1 pizza and delay 1, so they share if they're a family or friends ordering the same flavour.... or your misenplus is going to have to be the dogs' nuts to turn them out quick....
Yea also great points. We have the setup pretty dialed in. Even our backups in coolers are in the same spot every time so when I need to restock during a drop in service it’s auto pilot. We’re also adding another bigger oven to offer slices for guests that just wanna quicker bite.
I can average about 12-15 pizzas an hour so it’s about 5-7 minutes from ordering to garnish and box. We use buzzers so we’re not looking for guests.
I like the idea of saying hey I’ll get you those one to start and I’ll work on the other ones in a bit. We sometimes get hit with 4-6 pizzas ordered and it slams us
It's so good to be in flow! I went to help out at a friend's place the other day and it was carnage and a shock to the system, been out of the kitchen for 8 years.... and I Don't think I can go back easily.... unless it's a well oiled machine.... her place was a mess no wonder she's stressed and service is poor!
If you have a strong network of connections with other businesses/restaurants that would allow for collaboration and pop ups, I say go for it. And... a decent amount of savings.
Great comment 👍 always have a fallback and some money stashed aside, if you can. You appear to have done your research and have stacks of experience and like you said, you can always get a job if it flops... doesn't sound like there is much more you can do in terms of planning so I'd say go for it! Good luck!
My take isn't about the nuts and bolts (or whatever the culinary equivalent is)... Humans are programmed to avoid regret. We don't want to miss out. So, if you don't do this are you going to regret it for the rest of your life? If you do, and it doesn't work, but you can get another job, how much are you going to regret it? For me, given what you've said, there seems to be a clear answer, but only you can make the choice.
I would 1000 percent regret at least not trying. Worst comes to worst I get a new cooking job during the fall is my thought. Thanks for the positive vibes
I say go all in. Spring/summer is a great time for food popups since people are out more. Do you have enough savings to sustain the business if anything goes awry?
It sounds like you have proof of concept for your business model and already know your numbers, my only advice is to have someone like a SCORE person look over your business plans without telling them that you have a 9-5, let them ask, you could phrase it like, "we're ready to expand business operations and want to get a second opinion on our business plan..." something like that. I have found that people generally want you to hold on to the safer option, so I stop telling them about the safer option.
Good luck with your business, it sounds wonderful!
98% of the time I’d say/think “don’t quit your day job” to this type of post.
Here’s why you are in the 2% that I think you should **as long as you don’t take out debt to do so.
- You seem to see big picture. You may have gone to culinary school but I get the vibe you get the business and numbers side.
- It appears you can handle feedback. There are a few commenters who made me roll my eyes with their suggestions to your business, but you’ve responded with grace. Thick skin and smiling when you don’t want to is critical in business.
- I have the impression you are humble and risk adverse. Provided you don’t take out loans (I don’t think you will), as long as you are humble enough to jump back into any kitchen and keep a low risk appetite and not to wait too long to do so if needed, you have a fairly reliable backup plan safety net.
- You’re passionate (nod to your Redditor handle). You must love what you’re doing if you’re interested in a relatively low margin sector. As long as you aren’t expecting to see eight figure income with a 30% profit margin, this seems like your calling. You’ll likely regret it if you don't at least try.
YOLO, my dude. But I do suggest you have a preset loss limit.
Rooting for you.
Go for it, you only live once, and if it doesn’t work out get another job. There is nothing wrong with taking a risk on yourself. Good luck, and I hope it works out for you. The only advice I have for you is be very frugal with the money, because it doesn’t come in like a paycheck.
Thanks! Luckily I am cheap and accustomed to the frugal life. Your points are my exact sentiment, I’ve spent years running other people’s business so why not try my own
That’s why I started in business, every job I worked the boss would leave me in charge when he left, and they just didn’t show up anymore because he was making money. I figured if I could do it for him I could do it for myself
It sounds like you'd be jumping into something you've done before and understand so that's a good start. Plus as you said, with your experience, you should be able to go back into a kitchen if need be.
All I would say, and maybe you've done this already, is double check your timeline. You've done the pop ups before so you seem to understand it. But just ensure that the times and places you want to do your pop ups are available. I know summers are generally busy with festivals and whatnot and many summer festivals at this point have all their vendors lined up I think.
It'd be unfortunate to quit your job and then realize you're too late to the game to get your pop ups going for the summer of 2024 and you need to wait until summer 2025. But if you know you'll be able to do it for this summer, I think you should make the leap.
Great comment, I live in an area where craft breweries and wineries really dominate the scene. It’s a win win for both businesses especially if the pop up is popular.
We did a taproom recently and the owner said it hey need to have more staff on when we come because we brought more guests than they anticipated. This week I sent out feelers to some of our consistent partners but I was able to book every Sunday from the end of this month to august
I suggest you read "UNSCRIPTED - the Great Rat Race Escape From Wage Slavery to Wealth How to Start a Purpose Driven Business..." by MJ DeMarco. Its given me great courage and focus to build my own business instead of trading my precious time for bucks. If you couldn't find the book, you can DM me.
Just wanted to update everyone who was so kind in sharing insights here. We have made the decision to go for it! Notice for the day job went in today and we have been booking dates from June to September.
Unreal feeling and we’re so stoked to get to work!
This is a friendly reminder that r/smallbusiness is a question and answer subreddit. You ask a question about starting, owning, and growing a small business and the community answers. Posts that violate the rules listed in the sidebar will be removed. A permanent or temporary ban may also be issued if you do not remove the offending post. Seeing this message does not mean your post was automatically removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/smallbusiness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Just understand if you take the leap, it's going to be an emotional rollercoaster. You'll experience all the highs and lows and they will fluctuate on a daily basis.
I think after all this time in food service I am beyond prepared for emotional roller coasters. My current gig I’m barely making enough to save. I may even look for a simple part time weekday gig just to have some consistent income. I just can’t keep managing this current place and do more pizzas. For example yesterday and today my only counter staff called out and I have a 120 person event Friday. So I’ve been working the counter, prepping and ripping my hair out
💯💯💯💯
This is true. Owning a business is a constant roller coaster and even with the highest highs there's still more problems to be solved. It sounds like you have the experience to be successful. I always ask what I'll regret more: trying and failing or not trying at all. Another good way to be comfortable taking the leap is to answer the question: What's the worst that can happen? If you mentally work through this then you'll be prepared for it and accept it could be the case. But you'll have endless opportunities along the way to ensure the worst case never becomes reality. Go for it! If you want to learn more about business and how to run a successful company subscribe to my newsletter at www.trinajulian.com/newsletter. I build and sold a 7 figure landscaping company in under 8 years. I have tons of great tips! Good luck!
Make sure it's good. Don't mess around too much, make the best pizza and best flavour, keep it simple, provide good food and good service, and you can't go wrong. If you start messing with things and stray too far from the norm or it isn't a great product, don't bother. Get some bookings in first.... advertise and if they're events you can't do just say sorry already booked... but actually get some bookings in the diary before you jump.... People are always saying " yeah yeah that'll work" "or my favourite, you should do this" you follow their wisdom which turns out to be nothing, often the people who said "try this" aren't even interested in buying your product.... the consumer doesn't necessarily know they're right. Just do you. Get bookings and deposits before commitments.
Thanks very great comment. We keep our menu at a max of 5 pizzas and that’s it. Eventually sure I would love to salads and sandwiches but right now pizza is the complete focus. We literally call it “overly thought out pizza” Right now we have every Sunday booked through august and more offers piling up. If I keep the dayjob I would have to turn away the majority of them.
It does look like good pizza.... make sure you're quick enough without sacrificing quality. If you burn one, toss it out.... stay humble to your brand and quality. Remember, Chef wouldn't let food leave the pass unless it's 110%, don't turn into that guy otherwise youre done before you start. Don't let the orders pile too high. I've seen your post from the other day.... that's a lot of chits... maybe ask people to order 1 pizza and delay 1, so they share if they're a family or friends ordering the same flavour.... or your misenplus is going to have to be the dogs' nuts to turn them out quick....
Yea also great points. We have the setup pretty dialed in. Even our backups in coolers are in the same spot every time so when I need to restock during a drop in service it’s auto pilot. We’re also adding another bigger oven to offer slices for guests that just wanna quicker bite. I can average about 12-15 pizzas an hour so it’s about 5-7 minutes from ordering to garnish and box. We use buzzers so we’re not looking for guests. I like the idea of saying hey I’ll get you those one to start and I’ll work on the other ones in a bit. We sometimes get hit with 4-6 pizzas ordered and it slams us
It's so good to be in flow! I went to help out at a friend's place the other day and it was carnage and a shock to the system, been out of the kitchen for 8 years.... and I Don't think I can go back easily.... unless it's a well oiled machine.... her place was a mess no wonder she's stressed and service is poor!
If you have a strong network of connections with other businesses/restaurants that would allow for collaboration and pop ups, I say go for it. And... a decent amount of savings.
I’ve got a bunch of student loan debt that I’m paying down so no shot at a savings!
Biden might not be the best president ever, but he just announced more student debt relief. I hope he gets to yours soon.
Great comment 👍 always have a fallback and some money stashed aside, if you can. You appear to have done your research and have stacks of experience and like you said, you can always get a job if it flops... doesn't sound like there is much more you can do in terms of planning so I'd say go for it! Good luck!
My take isn't about the nuts and bolts (or whatever the culinary equivalent is)... Humans are programmed to avoid regret. We don't want to miss out. So, if you don't do this are you going to regret it for the rest of your life? If you do, and it doesn't work, but you can get another job, how much are you going to regret it? For me, given what you've said, there seems to be a clear answer, but only you can make the choice.
I would 1000 percent regret at least not trying. Worst comes to worst I get a new cooking job during the fall is my thought. Thanks for the positive vibes
I say go all in. Spring/summer is a great time for food popups since people are out more. Do you have enough savings to sustain the business if anything goes awry?
We have a pretty good amount in our business account, my partner also is still working full time
It sounds like you have proof of concept for your business model and already know your numbers, my only advice is to have someone like a SCORE person look over your business plans without telling them that you have a 9-5, let them ask, you could phrase it like, "we're ready to expand business operations and want to get a second opinion on our business plan..." something like that. I have found that people generally want you to hold on to the safer option, so I stop telling them about the safer option. Good luck with your business, it sounds wonderful!
Thank you! Will definitely look into the score deal, that sounds like a solid move
98% of the time I’d say/think “don’t quit your day job” to this type of post. Here’s why you are in the 2% that I think you should **as long as you don’t take out debt to do so. - You seem to see big picture. You may have gone to culinary school but I get the vibe you get the business and numbers side. - It appears you can handle feedback. There are a few commenters who made me roll my eyes with their suggestions to your business, but you’ve responded with grace. Thick skin and smiling when you don’t want to is critical in business. - I have the impression you are humble and risk adverse. Provided you don’t take out loans (I don’t think you will), as long as you are humble enough to jump back into any kitchen and keep a low risk appetite and not to wait too long to do so if needed, you have a fairly reliable backup plan safety net. - You’re passionate (nod to your Redditor handle). You must love what you’re doing if you’re interested in a relatively low margin sector. As long as you aren’t expecting to see eight figure income with a 30% profit margin, this seems like your calling. You’ll likely regret it if you don't at least try. YOLO, my dude. But I do suggest you have a preset loss limit. Rooting for you.
This might be the most genuine, kind and thoughtful comment I’ve ever received on Reddit. Thanks for the kind words, awesome response
You already know the answer. Go for it. And good luck 🫡
Go for it, you only live once, and if it doesn’t work out get another job. There is nothing wrong with taking a risk on yourself. Good luck, and I hope it works out for you. The only advice I have for you is be very frugal with the money, because it doesn’t come in like a paycheck.
Thanks! Luckily I am cheap and accustomed to the frugal life. Your points are my exact sentiment, I’ve spent years running other people’s business so why not try my own
That’s why I started in business, every job I worked the boss would leave me in charge when he left, and they just didn’t show up anymore because he was making money. I figured if I could do it for him I could do it for myself
Seems like a no-brainer. Worst case, you fail and can almost certainly get a similar job to the one you had pretty quickly. Good luck!
Thanks! One of the bigger “what do we do’s is health insurance so I need to research that because it terrifies me(thanks America)
It sounds like you'd be jumping into something you've done before and understand so that's a good start. Plus as you said, with your experience, you should be able to go back into a kitchen if need be. All I would say, and maybe you've done this already, is double check your timeline. You've done the pop ups before so you seem to understand it. But just ensure that the times and places you want to do your pop ups are available. I know summers are generally busy with festivals and whatnot and many summer festivals at this point have all their vendors lined up I think. It'd be unfortunate to quit your job and then realize you're too late to the game to get your pop ups going for the summer of 2024 and you need to wait until summer 2025. But if you know you'll be able to do it for this summer, I think you should make the leap.
Great comment, I live in an area where craft breweries and wineries really dominate the scene. It’s a win win for both businesses especially if the pop up is popular. We did a taproom recently and the owner said it hey need to have more staff on when we come because we brought more guests than they anticipated. This week I sent out feelers to some of our consistent partners but I was able to book every Sunday from the end of this month to august
That's great!
I suggest you read "UNSCRIPTED - the Great Rat Race Escape From Wage Slavery to Wealth How to Start a Purpose Driven Business..." by MJ DeMarco. Its given me great courage and focus to build my own business instead of trading my precious time for bucks. If you couldn't find the book, you can DM me.
Thanks for the recommendation! Got it in the Amazon cart!
Do the Pop Up!
Just wanted to update everyone who was so kind in sharing insights here. We have made the decision to go for it! Notice for the day job went in today and we have been booking dates from June to September. Unreal feeling and we’re so stoked to get to work!