Re:Ask HN: Business Dying. Please Help.
by robomartin on Saturday March 02, 2013 @04:48AM
(#5309077)
You have to be open to the idea (and the potential reality) that you could be wrong. In the tech space there are tons of examples of companies that started out to do X and ended-up doing something radically different. I know it's what you want and your family recipe, etc. That in no way constitutes a formula for success, it's just what you want. Success could very well be somewhere entirely different or a few minor changes away.
Another thought. Find your local SBDC chapter (Small Business Development Center) and SCORE (?? of Retired Executives). You might be able to connect with someone with deep knowledge of the food business who could help you figure it out. There might also be loans or grants that, along with advise, could help you get past this problem.
Re:Ask HN: Business Dying. Please Help.
by Sataysfied on Saturday March 02, 2013 @04:58AM
(#5309098)
I totally agree. I understand being open to test things is important. Unfortunately where I am, I don't have a whole lot of time left much less pivot the entire menu. If this doesn't work out or turn around, I can't afford to even pivot anymore. I am doing my best to stay afloat but as I have pivoted twice, I am definitely open to change if we can manage to survive long enough for that.
I deeply appreciate the suggestions and will look into it. Thank you.
Re:Ask HN: Business Dying. Please Help.
by Paul_Morgan on Saturday March 02, 2013 @06:05AM
(#5309197)
You may be surprised at how open the local Costco warehouse manager would be to someone running a Satay stand outside the warehouse. They are always looking for stuff like this that will surprise and delight their customers.
Re:Ask HN: Business Dying. Please Help.
by Sataysfied on Saturday March 02, 2013 @06:07AM
(#5309199)
Really? I will totally check this out. Thank you.
Our goal is not to become another catering agency. Our goal is to grow our business to cater to as many companies that will have us. I think its important to focus at what we're good at and I firmly believe in this model.
We have considered selling Satays frozen and ship it but that isn't easy and there is a lot of issues around this. We can't ship cooked food due to lots of regulations and laws. Its an incredibly difficult path as we have considered in the past (before the current pivot) to be the Omaha Steaks of Satays or be in stores like Costco. I have explored both extensively and landed to the conclusion that the business we are doing now was the best for our future.
We have had a few press coverage in the past to be honest but I don't know how much that has helped us as a whole. Especially since we have pivoted but I will reach out to them again soon.
We did do festivals and events before and it was very hit or miss and the total revenue was actually less than what we were doing now.
No race tracks nearby that I can think of. I am definitely going to do a meetup as well as reach out to current meetups soon. Not sure if there are many movie productions that are around here but we are definitely open to any business that would love catering.
Our menu is tiny so we don't have an overly complex menu at the moment. We started on the street with just Satays and expanded the menu there before pivoting twice to the current model. Our customers have definitely been satisfied with our food, it really is more about reaching out I believe.
I greatly appreciate you taking out the time to offer suggestions and will look at the other stuff mentioned. I am willing to try anything at this point and will think it over for future implementation if we survive long enough. Above all, I appreciate your kind words. Thank you.