25 or so years ago, there was a guy at Seattle Raceway that had a big sack of potatoes, a vat of boiling oil, salt, ketchup and a doohicky on a Makita cordless drill that turned a potato into a plate of curly fries. He sold as many as he could cut for about six bucks a plate.
Or, Bandimere had a guy with a flat top covered with chicken shreds, peppers, onions, tortillas and hot sauce. As many as he could make, for about 6 bucks a wrap.
I knew a retired guy that had a tow behind hot dog cart. He ran a route to car dealers. He'd pull up the same day every week and the sales and service guys would swamp him. The menu was 2 hotdogs, small chips (reg or bbq) and a can of coke (or Diet Coke) for $5. That's it.
I'd guess 30 guys each stop, 4 stops a day and you're at $600 a day working from 11-2.
I'd assume you're clearing at least 1/2 probably more like 70%. Not a bad gig.
After listening to a "Stuff you should know" podcast about the "casket racket" I decided to research getting into some of that racket.
I'm quasi-serious about leasing a $1000/month space to display and sell caskets and urns. Acquire the inventory through a dealer-like floorplan loan. Open via appointment only (to start). Same-day delivery to your chosen funeral home within my home county and bordering. There are laws stating funeral homes must accept an outside casket. Same boxes as the funeral homes, just lower priced and no pressure to buy or upgrade.
Have 20-40 boxes arranged in 3 price points, $999, $1599, $2599. Urns in a small corner display, $299+. The one you pick is the one that you're getting. Just a helpful store, open when you need it. Not a legacy monopoly trying to nickel and dime a widow at her most vulnerable.
There's a roach coach at one of my vendors that serves hot Mexican food buffet style. She opens the back and there's 4-5 hot foods ready to go; beans, rice, grilled veggies. Looks good but the food looks to be close to the tailpipe.
A plate is $12 and as much as the dudes can load up. The chick stands at the truck and runs credit cards on one of those smart phone scanners. Problem is getting the route - those roach coaches run like a fine watch.
In reply to Datsun310Guy :
My first week at the garage, the "tamale lady" came on her Thursday morning. Every tech dropped their tools and lined up behind her Olds 88. Tamales were $3 and drinks were $2. She did ok I bet.
wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) said:Mobile Mammography. I've put a lot of thought into this.
If you don't call it Feels on Wheels you're making a huge mistake
Crxpilot said:In reply to Datsun310Guy :
My first week at the garage, the "tamale lady" came on her Thursday morning. Every tech dropped their tools and lined up behind her Olds 88. Tamales were $3 and drinks were $2. She did ok I bet.
Our Tamale lady at the caddie shack was in the back of a beat up Previa. $2. Taco lady was in a 93 Corolla.
One time I was on a loop, ladies day. The pro was playing with the group, and he had a radio on.
Radio: "Pshhh. Taco lady is here. Repeat, Taco lady is here"
Pro over radio: "I'll have 3 tacos, bring them to me on the 9th fairway"
Me, from across the fairway as my golfer was lining up: Signals to the pro, gimme 2 tacos
Pro over radio: "And mtn will have 2 tacos, so bring us 5 total"
These women were astounded. Never seen anything like it as we were brought tacos from the back of a Corolla and eating them on the green.
Wally (Forum Supporter) said:wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) said:Mobile Mammography. I've put a lot of thought into this.
If you don't call it Feels on Wheels you're making a huge mistake
Well played! My original thought was to incorporate something to do with "motorboating" but I couldn't work it out.
The other thought was Nummy, Nummy, Nummy.
In reply to SV reX :
This sounds like the type of place I'd stay. Where is it?
I never worked at a shop that had a Tamale vendor. We had the regular roach coaches with triangle sandwiches and a guy named Bernie that came around selling bags of tube socks and Couples Training movies on VHS.
Wally (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to SV reX :
This sounds like the type of place I'd stay. Where is it?
Lake Harding. On the Chatahoochee River near Columbus GA and Opelika AL.
You can fish from the front porch. Or I'll rent you a boat. ;-)
In reply to SV reX :
I'll be in Columbus Monday. I'm staying at the river walk. Maybe when you get your place done I can stay there for trips to Columbus.
In reply to NY Nick :
Awesome!
The river walk is fabulous. If you are looking for a REALLY nice place (pricey), go to the Indigo.
Even if you don't stay there, it's worth a drink at the rooftop bar.
In reply to SV reX :
That's where I'm staying. It was only $134 a night. I'll be at work most of the time. I picked it because it was clean. The hotel I used to stay at in Columbus wasn't super new or well kept and I wanted the cleanest place I could find.
In reply to NY Nick :
That's a terrific price at the Indigo
In reply to NY Nick :
If you've got a water view, the best rooms are not the highest. Maybe 2nd or 3rd floor.
But it's a really nice place regardless
In reply to NY Nick :
You've got a PM
In reply to SV reX :
Your hotel sounds awesome.
In reply to dculberson :
Thank you.
Its a turd of a building, but I love the spot. I've always had a soft spot for orphan properties.
I feel really good about this one!
In reply to z31maniac :
Thanks! Sounds like you've got a gig going there. I did a little reading and found conflicting information, yes, conflicting information on the internet(!), regarding what it takes to become a technical writer. In your experience, do people in this role tend to have a BA in technical writing or do they come from various backgrounds?
Thanks
Mndsm said:A realistic business I've considered- rv repair. It's definitely demographic driven, but those of you that know where I live know that I'm dead center in the middle of rv hell. And they all need fixing, constantly. And there is ONE RV place within a 29mike radius, and it's camping world.
I'm not talking about mechanical either. I don't care if that thing runs or drives. But stuff like plumbing, electrical, waste, that's stuff I was constantly in the middle of at my old job, and we didn't have E36 M3. These poor people use them as their homes and it's only growing. It's like a trailer park, but you can up and leave if the apocalypse is coming. There's also propane fills and rigging.....so many things. A full service rv repair with onsite would make a mint.
There is definitely a shortage of good RV repair places, especially with the junk RVs they're cranking out these days.
I've thought about a welding shop. I worked as a welder one summer for a guy with his own shop. He used to do hotrod stuff, but then quit because he said there was no money in it. When I worked there he did all architectural stuff; handrails, signs, etc. He seemed to be doing pretty well.
A related idea would be a CNC plasma cutter or laser cutter. Those always seemed like money makers. The programming is pretty quick and easy. I'm sure the recent surge in metal prices has put a damper on both of these type of businesses though.
In reply to Riley_88 :
From my own experience, having one in the family and being encouraged to explore it, the hiring requirements are likely to include the obvious 10yrs experience and degree in tech writing. You may get by with 15yrs experience and a degree in some other form of writing. Once you're in, from all I've heard and seen, no one cares as long as you're technically minded enough to write to the intended audience. From working with engineers, knowing the field well enough to read between their lines will probably be knowledge that shines favorably upon you.
Snark aside, it's like most fields today in that HR is going to want you to have 10yrs and a degree while being willing to work at entry-level rates and intern hours. I'm not a tech writer, though, so if I'm wrong I wouldn't be entirely surprised.
A business that I think would do well where I live would be a mobile sharpening business. Charge a minimum plus a per item fee. There is nothing in my area that I know about. A small transit van set up with basic tools and power would get you 90 percent of the way there. The rest would be operator skills.
I looked in to getting a bunch of our cutlery sharpened and it was not a cheap proposition.
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