One doesn’t have to work in the ‘professional’ world very long before realizing that the only way to make any REAL money that is going to provide a worker and his family with a comfortable living is to work for YOURSELF.
No one is going to really make it by showing up to work for someone else every single day. (when doing so, you’re giving that business owner what would be YOUR profits)
Having said that, running a business isn’t for everyone. Being in IT, I know I could certainly do it, but my family situation doesn’t permit it right now with the wife in school, and us being busy with the kids and all.
IF you can cook, you might try checking into local clubs of all kinds.
I did the main dish cooking for a horse riding club for their events. Meals were potluck, but the ‘manager’ of each event provided the MAIN dish and bottled water, along with plates, cutlery, napkins, condiments, etc. I have never seen more than himself & 3 others working his set up. He does lots of rides, cattle sorting, & branding where it is a remote location & no power is available.
We worked out a variety of items, so having one event a month, we could produce a different main dish & not constantly duplicate.
I kept the menu to simple, home style items, because on some events, riders were trailing into camp as much as 5 hours apart, and we wanted everyone to have hot food.
We used various crockpots-—which are a godsend for this kind of activity. Wjen in a remote location, we used generators to run the crockpots. Baked chicken thighs-—spagetti-—sliced precooked ham with pineapple & brown sugar baked on top & macaroni/cheese-—Pork roast w/ baked beans & molasses-—chili & garlic bread-—lasagna-—sloppy Joe’s on buns——Hotdogs & Polish sausages on buns-—and on Thanksgiving: turkeys in hot oil with all the fixings. I used packaged Ore-Ida potatoes & Stove Top dressing with the turkey because I didn’t know ahead of time how many riders we might have. We invited neighbors of the event location to eat Thanksgiving dinner with us for $5, which was a payback for not bitching about all the horses & trailers up and down the streets.
People got into the rhythym of things & would call to see what the next ‘main dish’ would be & they would bring their potluck items to match. We got some absolute dynamite desserts! One summer event used Root Beer Floats for dessert..a big hit.
I did this on a volunteer basis because I was a member of the club, but I can see where if someone is trying to find a new business, this might work.
There are more ‘clubs’ around that you might realize. Poker clubs—quilting clubs—sewing clubs—bridge clubs—boating events—even preparing for a group that is ‘tailgating at the local football game’.
I am not talking about feeding hundreds of people. Probably the largest group I cooked for was about 80 or so, but then I was doing most of the cooking alone. Keep it simple—use the foods you were raised on-—and stick to the less formal settings. Not weddings—but perhaps family reunions which are done picnic style. You can still provide the main dishes & the families can bring pot luck. This frees up all family members to enjoy the outing & no one is stuck with the ‘cooking’.
There are a couple of portable cookers on trailers in our area & one person I know can feed 400+++ with his setup. He does chicken pieces & Tri-tips in the charcoal cooker/trailer and then does potatoe salad, green salad, fruit salad/watermelon/bread & butter/and it is all served buffet style. He also can do breakfasts with ham or bacon & eggs. Lemonade—bottled water—iced tea-—whatever works. He uses charcoal & propane in his cooker trailer, which is on 2 axles behind his truck, which is filled with large coolers & ice.
None of these events had alcohol.
One thing about the portable bar b que trailer cooker—you can take it almost anywhere. I have even seen a tent 20 x 20 which was used by serious hunters & back country riders. The owner of the tent was an avid hinter & he had the most elaborate cooking setup I have ever seen for such a tent setting. Grill—Weber type ‘oven’—griddle for pancakes & eggs-—holding ovens for warm bread. It almost ran the length of one side of the tent. He even heated water for dishwashing while cooking.
Check with your local authorities & find out what you might need to do such a business.
Dave Ramsey ping #2