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Hey all, Newbie here. OK, so here's a shout out to anyone that wants to offer advice or help. My wife and I are in the beginning stages of opening a BBQ business for festivals, catering etc. At 55 I finally figured out that I suck at being a yes man and working for the "man". Time to go to work for myself. Anyway, have our LLC formed and domain name secured for our logo/name/website etc. Next is a graphic designer for the logo and purchasing our rig. We were looking at a tow behind Lang 108 smoker which has a stellar rep and some pretty heavy street cred in the BBQ world, however we have since changed our mind..tentatively, to a custom rig from Custom Metal Projects based in Arkansas.. scroll here is some of their work..https://www.facebook.com/custommetalprojects/ Does anyone have any advice before we fire our smoker up for the first time? Anyone with advice on smoker/rig purchase? Business advice? We need and appreciate any and all constructive input we can get. Other than that, I'll be seeing y'all around this mega site for us smoke buddies.. Cheers!
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..As a follow up, I've been toying with fire and meat on a smoker since around age 5 and get a fair amount of accolades and attaboys from neighbors and family, plus spent a good part of my younger years in the restaurant biz as a front of house mgr with a good bit of back of the house experience, but we all know opening your own space in the industry is a whole "nuther bag-o-beans"... hence my desperate plea for help.
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Welcome from the California Delta.Comment
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Welcome to the Pit from Dallas, Texas! My only advice would be don’t tow that rig with a lit fire. Depending on speed and distance it could lead to a melt down.Comment
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Welcome from Minnesota. My business advice would be to check on Insurance, have a good Accountant, and just plan on a few hiccups once in awhile and plan how you will deal with them. Good luck and make it fun.Comment
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Welcome to the Pit from the Florida Suncoast. My advice is that you spend some money on a good accountant and an even better lawyer. There’s a lot of stuff you can do yourself on the web. And with it comes only the expertise you bring. Avoid future aggravation. Spend on the professionals who can help guide you.Comment
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Welcome and good luck...
I would become a regular at a local Farmers market and drum up some catering business...Comment
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Welcome to the Pit! Good luck with your business. Lang is a great choice.
Check out Shirley smokers https://www.shirleyfabrication.com/smokers-cookers
Also check out Lone Star.Last edited by Old Glory; August 25, 2022, 12:16 PM.Comment
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Welcome to the Pit from Central Massachusetts!Last edited by Allon; August 25, 2022, 11:28 AM.Comment
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Welcome from upstate NY!
+1 on Shirley Fabrication. Their build quality is amazing, they have a huge following and have made some impressive custom rigs. The downside is the wait time for a new rig. That said there is an active market for second hand, well maintained used rigs.
I've been out of the catering business for quite a few years now. You got some solid advice. Make sure you take into account your time when pricing your services. Most folks underestimate the planning, shopping, prep and clean up time involved with each catering gig
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Hello! Welcome from Nebraska!
Sorry no advice here.Comment
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Looks like you're getting lots of good advice, so from Colorado you'll have to settle for a ... Welcome!Comment
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