Now tell me hot dog cart vendors don’t have the greatest jobs in the world

I love this business! Why?

Because number one, hot dogs are in big demand. There is real job security. Like I said before, the hot dog business is great.

And it’s stable, with over 18 billion hot dogs sold every year just in the United States, you can imagine the stability in this business.

This isn’t any trendy new business- Hot dogs have been sold for hundreds of years and will be sold for hundreds more. The hot dog has become an American standard and everybody loves one, especially from a good hot dog cart vendor.

Works even when the economy sucks - because the price points are so low on hot dogs, it’s pretty much a recession proof business. And in the kind of economy that we’re in right now you, just can’t afford to be in anything else.

The hot dog business has unlimited income potential- You can grow your business as big as you want it. If you want to be a single operator with one cart and no employees you can do that and I’ve always earned $300 to $500 a day every time I’ve been in the hot dog business by myself.

You can grow your business as fast as you want- If you want to grow your business even bigger you can do it with employees, partnerships or even subcontractors that operate your carts for you. This is truly a scalable business. It can be as big as you want it to be.

You can make a lot of money - While you’re not gonna become a millionaire from a single hot dog cart, I know operators that make as much as much as $250,000 a year in the hot dog business with just a few carts in good locations.

You can get started on a shoestring budget- This is one of the best businesses in the world to be in because you can start at the very bottom and work your way all the way to the top just by pure ingenuity, hard work and sweat equity.

The hot dog business is fast to start. You can usually start your own hot dog cart business in less than two weeks.

I promise you, you can make money your very first day. I’ve never opened a hot dog cart anywhere that didn’t make sales the very first day I was opened. And usually you’ll make back, 100% of your investment in less than 30 days. I’ve made it back in as little as a week in some locations.

I hope these few tips help. There are tons of great locations that work that you may never think of. I’ll try to send you some more later.

Man do I ever love this business.

A few nights ago, I was walking with a few friends of mine in downtown Austin and after a night of beers and talking a ton of bulls%*t, we headed home.

On the way the guys spotted a dog vendor on the corner at 11:30 at night. He saw us look and shouted, “Come get a hot dog, I’m just taking ‘em out”

We all laughed and said we were on the way home. His reply was genius…: “Ok, big fella, come get one for FREE for the ride”.

I couldn’t help myself! He hooked me up with a “Chicago” and it was great. I ate two more and all the guys got 2 or 3.

Bottom line: one free .50 dog made this savvy vendor a 5 minute $24. After a chat about what I do, he told me that he has been at the same spot by 3 popular bars in Austin for 5 years.

He only works 8-12 three nights a week and banks a cool $800 - $1000 a week. On top of his full time job as “get this”, a registered nurse.

So what should you take from this story? Well, 1st - my nurse buddy didn’t quit his job, 2nd - he always has fun at work and 3rd - outside your favorite bars might be a great place for your stand.

The really big secret here was the FREE dog. By the way, he says he gets back an average $10 for every FREE dog he gives away. Crazy like a fox.

Before you go out and pay a ton of money for a place to set up you hot dog cart you should really
consider bartered or simply free locations.

Here are a few:

Construction sites (my favorite)

These are usually free and you can make your entire days profits in just 2 hours a day or so.

Warehouse and factory parking lots.

Most factory bosses and warehouse owners will let you set up on their property once you explain the benefit that their employees who eat with you stay at work and have no excuse for returning late.

In office delivery.

Don’t have a cart yet? Just make up your dogs, wrap them in foil, place them in a cooler and hit the biggest office building in town.

This is a great way to start even if you’re flat broke.

I hope these few tips help. There are tons of great locations that work that you may never think of.

I’ll try to send you some more later.