... and by 'this' I mean my business plan for a small-scale, made-from-scratch, set menu personal chef service for the middle class. I was able to get some feedback from Dr. Pryor and from Maii Groff. I needed to be more realistic and explicit about the pricing of my service, what they would be getting for their money, and how I would consult with them to find out if I could provide what they needed. I also had to think about how to target a demographic that could pay for my service. All the additions or modifications to this iteration of the business plan have been high-lighted in yellow.
There is an opportunity...
... to aid the segment of middle-class households (as in multiple income sources) in Gainesville, Florida in their lack of satisfactorily healthy and tasty food. This group of people are restricted by their schedule or their lack of cooking ability.
The prototypical individual with theses kind of issues is an employed, young parent, most likely white, with their own private vehicle. They might have a gym membership. They might go to church. On average, they tend to spend about $40-$50 per head each week on food.
The bottom line is that
1.) They have a kitchen,
2.) They have the ability to reliably get groceries,
3.) They are not using points 1.) and 2.) to eat good-quality home-cooked food as much as they want to.
The need to feed themselves and their families is satisfied by processed, prepackaged foods, food pickup from restaurants or fast food, and also home-cooked meals plus leftovers. The majority of these choices do not satisfy the demand for healthy lifestyles. A certain portion of the identified segment also has an unsatisfied desire to shift to a more ethical and local diet.
If we restrict this area of opportunity by geographic terms to either within the city limits of Gainesville, or at most 1 mile out from the city limits, then we still have a sizeable population to consider. Approximately 130,000 people live in the city, and if we take an educated guess that 30% are middle-class adults, and realistically say that half of them fit the 3 qualities that compose our bottom line, then that is 14,500.
Out of that segment, only a few realize that they have this issue, or are dissatisfied enough to be actively looking for or considering a change in the way the get food on their plates. A pessimistic/realistic estimate for this few would be 1%-3%, giving us 145-435 people.
It would be even more realistic to say that a large majority of this few will not be doing much about changing their diets any time soon, unless they are marketed to with a quick-fix solution. This is assumed to be the case since changing one's diet is not an easy or immediately gratifying thing to do. At the same time, we must be realistic that many of this possible clientele will not have the income to support a personal chef, but it is just as realistic to presume there are at least a dozen or so households that do have such income.
And this is where I come in...
We've all heard of the idea of a private chef. Someone hired by a rich guy to really wow his guests at a dinner party, or perhaps prepare meals on the regular in his mansion.
Well what about a personal cook for the common person? No need for scallops or prime rib every day, just help mom and dad by having dinner on the table before they come home and make extra for leftovers.
This simple proposal finds its strength as the idea of expanding these resources to a wider customer base, namely, the one identified above.
I am willing and able to research recipes using affordable ingredients sourced locally. make a database of the different price-points of groceries from the sources, make set menus that can be prepped ahead of time and completed in a prospect's home kitchen, have these set menus available to see online on a friendly website, manage my social media persona, bing bang bosh, and we have ourselves...
... a Venture Concept!
I will create Flavor for Hire, LLC.
Flavor for Hire will offer to cook for customers in their home kitchen using our own ingredients and tools, and cleaning up after ourselves. The 'why', or the 'sizzle', that is essential for the customer to believe in and for us to deliver is that Flavor for Hire is for people who want a healthier, less stressful, and more enjoyable lifestyle. While I am not a dietitian and cannot prescribe food for weight loss or any major lifestyle changes, but I can cook everything without processed food, and be mindful of allergies and requests.
The ideal customer interaction would go something like this:
- Someone finds out about Flavor for Hire through a social media post, a postcard in their mailbox, or a poster at a grocery store
- They go on the company website, find out more about the service, and call or shoot me an email
- I set up an appointment with them to meet at their home
- We meet at their house (I certify for myself that I want to work for this person and cook in their kitchen) and agree on what menu they want me to cook, if they want any alterations, and when I should come to cook it
- They give me a credit card and email for an invoice
- I make sure I have the necessary ingredients and equipment (maybe I do some prepwork beforehand, but I cannot cook anything outside of their home to deliver it)
- I arrive at the predetermined time, with everything I need, and we double-check that the menu is good to go or needs last minute adjustments
- I cook, serve, and store the food
- They enjoy the food
- They pay the invoice
- They hire me again, spread the word amongst their friend circle, and have a better life
A lot of people are willing to pay for food that increases their quality of life, and people will pay to ensure they get that food, so long as they are able to trade-off money for time and life improvement. Some people may be picky about where they get their ingredients, and whether they are organic or not. I want to have a baseline, minimum cost for each menu, based on the overhead, my salary, and the ingredients I would buy to cook my own food (which, personally, is local but not organic). This is the baseline that I would advertise, ideally such that every menu that has the same portion size costs the same. That way, during a consultation with a prospect, I have a baseline price that can be increased based on their modifications. This will require that my database on ingredient prices cover the grocery stores that these prospects would request I buy from.
Flavor for Hire will be competing with all convenience items of food, like frozen pizzas, take-out, ingredient delivery options, like Blue Apron, and, in a way, grocery stores. The connotations of expensiveness or frivolity that come with hiring a personal chef is a large hurdle to overcome. Targeted marketing plus setting and maintaining standards will be what allow Flavor for Hire to survive. There are multiple online resources available for personal chefs to aid me in this. An example is personal chef office.Being able to deliver on promises and maintaining hygiene, timing, and consistency will be difficult. Getting a Serve-Safe license, having streamlined menus, and getting a reliable mode of transport will all address those issues.
Profit margins should not be an issue, so long as pricing covers the groceries, transport, and marketing, I do not need to make my living from this venture.
Flavor for Hire will be me, and I will be Flavor for Hire. I have no plans to expand beyond Gainesville or even operate for more than 2 or 3 years. I plan to not hire, except, possibly employing a part time guy with a truck to transport me where I need to go.
After this 2-3 year adventure, I close up shop and move onto a career in my chosen field of politics. This is an entrepreneurial side hustle which will give me an outlet to cook good food for good people.
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