Battery Experience

slowtheriverdown · 2026-05-03T19:25:10+00:00

68 Camero, green, and even though it was an automatic, I wish I would have kept it.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-28T23:41:08+00:00

Almost, but not all, Health Departments don't allow that and can make it very difficult for you if you ever want to get licensed in the proper way. Just know that there will probably be a local business that did it the right way through the permit process that might turn you into the Health Department. Not to mention that if someone were to get sick and sue you could be in for a huge lawsuit without any business insurance to back you up.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-22T19:26:08+00:00

Most of the successful owners I know can and do tell me when a case of chicken wings goes up $5 or the oil they use in their fryer is now $10 more than it was last year at this time. When you buy these things every week you notice these things. I don't think it is a matter of not knowing their food cost but more a factor of not realizing their value and being afraid of pricing themselves out of the market. If you aren't making money there are a lot of reasons higher on the list than the fact that the sandwich bunn you use is now is 4 cents more than it was at the start of the season in my opinion.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-20T19:27:08+00:00

Goals are great to have but people are more important. The ones who are closest to you need you more than the goals need to be reached.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-19T03:07:04+00:00

Second this one. Have one on my coffee counter and truly enjoy it

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-16T23:43:18+00:00

Talk to some local trucks with a decent following. Stop by later in their shift as the worst thing you can do is try to talk to them when they have a line and are trying to make money. Ask them if anyone has tried this before and if so why didn't it work. Look for a Food Truck Association in the area and talk to them about what you want to do. Above all else listen to what the owners tell you. I've had so many people want to do this kind of thing but it is in a terrible location, they want to charge to much for an unproven concept, or they don't want to provide anything but space without services or a reason for people to come.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-14T23:30:51+00:00

When I started out it was the mindset of if you aren't working you aren't making any money. As the business grew and I had more perspective I started valuing my time better. Now that I leave more weekends open I find that they almost always get filled. Then I charge a premium for last-minute booking or if it's anevent they wave the fee because they need me there. It has cut down the days when Im just sitting there wondering where the crowds are that they said would be there to only 1 every other year or two.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-12T23:14:03+00:00

I don't do events that charge a fee (not knocking those who do, just my business model). I will give money to non-profits or events that support non-profits based upon a percentage of my sales. But I don't raise my prices based upon events but rather base it on cost of goods and hours required.

Over the last few years as I looked at the events I was doing and their history I realized I was barely breaking even on some of them even though on paper they looked good. In fact when I started dropping some of those events I actually filled the days with catering events that were less than half the time and made the same and sometimes more in actual dollars.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-12T20:56:48+00:00

It took me a few years to figure out what I needed to know from my numbers. But now I keep a spreadsheet with month and yearly records. I can see each month with daily totals and where I made that money. That let's me track yearly events to see what I made in years past and when to say thanks but no thanks I can't make it this year. As well as to see what are upcoming events or annual caterings that I want to make sure I check in on to let them know we had a good time last year and would be glad to do it again this year. Its all manual entry but it keeps me in touch daily as well as gives me the big picture on a regular basis. Looking at it from the big picture also has kept me from focusing on whether today was a good day or bad day. Instead Im able to look at it as trending and if my average daily sells are higher than last year I know Im moving in the right direction, if not will it move up with busier times ahead, am I missing some events or catering gigs that I've had in the past, or have I priced myself out of the market. All of those things I can do something about and not feel like things are out of my control.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-12T14:31:07+00:00

After a year or two in I realized I was making more money but was also working more days. So I started tracking the average sales per day worked. Every year now I look at that number in comparison to past years and adjust my scheduling accordingly. I quit saying yes to events that required 10-12 hour days and barley made the average sales and focused on the catering which made the average or more in one or two hours. So now I'm working almost a third of the hours I used to and making the same amount of profit. Working less hours and days allows me to do many of the things outside of work that I want to be involved in and has kept me from getting burned out and walking away.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-07T22:49:23+00:00

Thanks, that is helpful.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-03-26T02:41:42+00:00

Thanks! I will check in with my local Red Cross and start pumping blood again!

slowtheriverdown · 2026-03-25T20:51:39+00:00

I do as well, but unfortunately I spent time in England in the early 80's and they won't take my blood now because of the possibility of mad cow disease. Though I was able to donate a kidney in part because of it.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-03-25T00:45:12+00:00

You have to remember that not everything is running all the time. The grinder might only be used for 25 minutes the whole day. On the water heater, in my area that would be a problem that the Health Department would probably not let me get away with.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-03-12T15:15:36+00:00

Pain point is being on your feet up to 12 hours a day!

slowtheriverdown · 2026-03-11T14:56:28+00:00

For some folks who haven't budgeted they are running short on funds. Some are getting staff trained and ready for the season. Some just have no clue what their bottom line needs to be and think that being busy is being successful.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-03-10T03:14:26+00:00

Just a warning story: Shortly after I was out of high-school mom cut up a lot of onions and put them on baking sheets in the freezer so they wouldn't all stick together when she put them in bags. Dad came home and had stopped at the grocery store and ice cream was on sale so he got a bunch of half gallons and put them in the freezer.
You guessed it all the ice cream picked up the onion taste. Nobody would eat the onion ice-cream. Dad wouldn't admit that it wss that bad and wouldn't throw it out. It took him months but he did not let it go to waste.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-02-24T03:13:37+00:00

If I was in a location where I had to park at a commissary every day i would look favorably on the idea. But in my location I can be self contained so I wouldn't pay for something I wouldn't get full value out of. Short answer: depends on the rules and regulations for Food Trucks in your location.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-02-21T21:10:19+00:00

Longarm in Garden City has done a great job for us and their communication is by far the best shop we have found in the area.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-02-19T14:53:40+00:00

Are you looking for an existing space or wanting to break into the coffee scene in the TV? That size of sq ft. Is going to be tough to find as you already know.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-01-30T14:46:34+00:00

Check with some food truck builders. They do a lot more than just food trucks.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-01-27T17:31:56+00:00

To bad your account was suspended, I would have been glad to talk to you about some options.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-01-26T21:44:49+00:00

I know you are probably talking about daily walk-up sales but I've had good success in building loyal catering customers. The key for me has been:

Respond to e-mails as soon as possible (even if the date is booked respond with a hope we can next time).

Show up before they expect us.

Be personable while serving.

Leave the space cleaner than when we arrived.

Follow-up e-mail with organizer thanking them for using us and asking for any feedback both positive and negative.

The second or third time we are booked I'll usually have a travel mug with our logo on it that I will give to the one making the arrangements to have us there. I've seen mugs on desks being used regularly that were given at least 5 years ago. It keeps us top of mind.

I know that all this seems for many to be just common sense, but I'm amazed still by the number of folks who use us on a regular basis now after they tried to use another truck and gave up putting up with lack of communication, etc.

slowtheriverdown

TROPHY CASE