Hey there y'all...Welcome back to Que-Licious!
It's not easy operating on a virtually non-existent budget during start-up mode, but I will say this much, I have discovered that even I have a creative side when it comes to financing a dream. Don't misunderstand me, there is absolutely nothing wrong with conventional financing; you know, baring your soul submitting a business plan to the bank and begging the SBA to back your dream, I've done it before. However, I am at a point in my life where I try to prioritize my financial wants and needs a little better. Financing a home takes precedent over financing a food truck. If I were interested in starting a full-blown restaurant that required a brick and mortar structure, I would definitively approach this business differently. But what I want to do is strictly mobile which keeps things simpler. And I have to admit, up to this point in my venture, it feels pretty darn great to have paid for everything I need to "get mobile" with no balance due!
That is why I have taken this pay-as-you-go approach to getting my little barbecue biz off the ground. I actually thought of this after we had completed our first set-up at the 127 Yard Sale and made enough profit to purchase our mobile concession sink. That set the wheels in motion...pun is definitely intended here. We needed a food truck or at the very least a cargo van, but my heart is set on a food truck. Our debt has started dwindling down and we like it. The last option I wanted to explore was to finance a vehicle and again have that payment looming over us for the next five years...especially during the off season which is typically December - April. (Ohio weather permitting) So I started doing some digging...and digging...and digging...oh wait!...I think I can see Memphis!
I am a firm believer that hard work, a little creativity, and by never giving up people are capable of creating their own opportunities. That is just exactly what I decided to do...create my own opportunity with a little outside-the-box thinking. Or in this case a little inside the box thinking...a candy box that is! It is no secret to those who know me best know I have an incredible sweet tooth! Seriously...it's ridiculous! When I am not conjuring up smoke in the backyard, you can most likely find me in the kitchen fixing something sweet to nibble on. 
And as I was doing so one day...I had a tiny little ½ pound epiphany! (An ah-ha moment even “Ms. O” herself would be proud of) I am always making these candy gift boxes for the holidays for my family and friends and each year I try to make something different. As I usually do when cooking anything, when I make sweets I add my own subtle touches to those treats as well. With shovel in hand...I started yet again to dig...and dig...and; well you get it. I discovered there was an opportunity for me to make some cold hard sweet cash straight from my own kitchen! For a whopping cost of $10 for an annual inspection of my kitchen and the cost of packaging and ingredient inventory, I would be able to sell my little gift boxes at craft fairs, farm markets, locally owned retail outlets, flea markets, local restaurants and businesses, and even online! Sweet! (literally)
Unfortunately this also prompted more questions: Where online would I sell these incredible edibles? How would I let people know they could help support my dream when they buy one of these little gift boxes without sounding like I was begging? Was I begging? Well…you get the picture…don’t you?
Enter Etsy and Crowd-Funding! In the next few posts I will share with you how I decided on both of these venues to help me set and achieve my goal to raise the funds to buy my food truck. I hope it does not sound like begging; rather, like an creative opportunity for you – my whiskey-spritzed readers – to make a difference by empowering someone (me) to become more self-sufficient.
I hope you will keep following along this whiskey soaked adventure of ours and until next time…
Keep cookin’ y’all!
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