Dateline Miami, Monday, April 4, 2005

Here are a few tips from a recent article in the Miami Herald that you can share with your catering clients who like to entertain at home. You’ll impress them with some innovative ideas, and some of the concepts will even help them save money on labor while you still enjoy the catering revenue.

• Make your home easy to find with balloons on the mailbox.
• Have a chalk board at the entrance saying “Welcome” along with a list of the names of the guests.
• Match the music to menu—but you can never go wrong with Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra and Motown.
• Prepare a Drink of the Night—you can never go wrong with Mohitos.
• Put your guests to work chopping, passing and grilling. They’ll love it.
• Get the guests to help clean-up with a 10-minute cleanup. Assign guests tasks such as clearing, scraping, washing, rinsing, and drying. Set a timer for 10 minutes, put on some fast music, and when the time is up, everyone stops and leaves what’s left.
• While your guests are cleaning-up, the hostess prepares dessert, Irish Coffee or cognac. A great South Florida treat are Key Lime Pies on a Stick—Dipped in Chocolate. For information on this dessert and other innovative products, visit www.leadingcaterers.com/dessertslist.asp
• And last and importantly, tell your clients to have fun—and relax since “A nervous hostess makes uncomfortable guests.”
  

Our friend, Bob Nussbaum has created a complete line of appetizers and desserts that will help you conserve precious preparation time His products are hand-crafted from fresh ingredients, real butter and no surimi. www.wholesaleappetizers.com is a family business that prides itself on its professionalism, unparalleled customer service, and very high standards.

Check out their site (www.wholesaleappetizers.com) and if you see something you like, call Bob, toll free at (866) 998-8856.

We receive so many requests at Leading Caterers of America regarding this topic that we decided to do some investigation. I purchased an excellent software product for about $60 from Orion Systems—phone 763 755 2902. It costs about $60—but is full of useful information, as well as an excellent three-part formula for placing a value on your business. In the meantime, veteran and retired caterer Miles Theurich sent us a copy of an article he wrote about selling your catering business—and with his permission I’m excerpting some of it.

IDEA NO.1
Sell to a couple of doctor's wives or children. They probably won’t succeed for long, but at least, you’ll get your money. Advertise in magazines that physicians subscribe to. Of course I’m interjecting humor. It very well could be lawyers or Indian Chiefs with casinos.

IDEA NO. 2
NEXT OF KIN OR THE HEIR APPARENT An heir apparent could be a relative other than your own child or it could be your most qualified employee, who, could be tailored to take over in a period of one or more years. Roger Warrum of NATIONAL CENTER FOR FAMILY BUSINESS (330) 656-1010 is a specialist in the field of business succession -”He’s the Dr. Phil of Family Business.” He and his wife have written books which serve as “how to” manuals on the subject of turning over the family business to a successor. Find them on the internet at www.famBizAdvice.com

IDEA NO. 3
SELL TO A COMPETITOR OR MERGE YOUR FIRMS. When I came up with a buyer for my catering service, it took 23 pages of contract to express what each of us expected of one another. That was 12 years ago, and to date, we have not had a disagreement with each other. I sold to a caterer, who previously had been regarded by my sales staff as fierce competitor. Now, when his check arrives each month, he is just wonderful.

IDEA NO. 4
Run a blind ad. It will drive the competitors mad trying to find out who’s selling. In your ad, state that the purchaser should state his or her credentials, along with references regarding business(s) they have been in, and the names and phone numbers of some of their customers and suppliers. I don’t think you want to sell to anyone who’s fame among friends is making great cheesecakes, or whose grandmother had the best baked bean recipe---of course, unless they have the money to buy you out. Put them on the offensive. Only answer inquiries with articulate replies. They must be in a position to “Show you the Money.” Have your attorney or a close friend who is in a business contact the inquiries to maintain anonymity.

IDEA NO. 5
Sell to a food vending company that is now a profitable firm which desires to expand into an off premise party field, mostly to satisfy their vending accounts when it comes to the need for catering company picnics, holiday parties, retirement parties, etc. They can take advantage of another profit center, off-premise event catering with a good customer base to start.

IDEA NO. 6
Sell to a restaurant. Sell to one that doesn’t need another profit center to pull them out of a negative profit picture in their present restaurant. One restauranteur that I know had 10 children, and some approaching young adulthood. A catering service would supplement their restaurant income to support their brood. I consulted with them and got them started in catering and they have become very successful.

IDEA NO. 7
Sell to your employee(s). Either one or a group. Who better would understand how to run your business?

IDEA NO. 8
Seek out top employees of your competitors that you think might want to make it on their own, and propose selling to them If they have been locking horns with you for many years in sales for your competitor, they already have good handle on the catering business, and they most likely could bring an entourage of employees and accounts with them.

IDEA NO. 9
Never list “Health” as a Reason for Selling---You might get out with pennies on the dollar, since buyers will consider you desperate.

IDEA NO. 10
Throughout the country, more and more hospitals are entering the off premise catering field. They already have food preparation know-how. (although the great majority of them can’t use their patients as references.) They have the budgets to hire the best chefs. They already have been serving many physician conferences. Their focus however has been on nutrition and diet, and not on innovative ways of entertaining guests with intriguing foods and services, which is what most caterers specialize in. Approach the hospital administrator with your proposal for a new profit center for them.

IDEA NO. 11
Supermarkets fall into a similar category as hospitals, not only do they have the money, they have a cash business. They know their net worth at the end of every day. Most of them have choice location., as well as volumes of customers already geared to purchase most anything that is offered, especially in the labor saving menu category for their customers. They also have the advantage of running full page advertisements in color every week. Because of their enormous purchasing power, most of them are being paid for these ads by their suppliers.

IDEA NO. 12
Delicatessens make good prospects. While usually on a smaller scale than supermarkets, they are a viable, working, already profitable catering service would be a natural companion to their deli.

Finally: consider employing several of the above ideas simultaneously. Have each idea compete with the others.

For those of you who are not really sure you want to sell, First, Last and Always Pray, as you will need a lot of blessings from a higher power. Personally, I like Dr. Robert Schuller’s Prayer:

Lord,
give me the guidance to know
when to hold on and when to let go--
and the grace to make the right decision with dignity.

PanSaver Panliners are offering a $15 rebate and a free thermometer. If you haven’t tried these liners that can save you thousands of dollars a year in pot washing costs, check them out at www.pansaver.com or you can call 877 726 7287.

Two years ago I met Blake Reed with www.linensupplier.com. He referred me to a local linen supplier who has saved my catering firm thousands of dollars in the past two years. I’m one of Blake’s biggest fans.

His linen purchasing group is entirely free! Anyone can purchase direct sale items such as tablecloths, napkins, round tablecloths, table skirting, mats, mop, bar towels, aprons, rags, medical linens, upscale hotel linen, imported bed and bath linens, at cost. He charges a small handling fee for his service, but he says he’s still 25-40 percent below his competitors. Like Leading Caterers of America, he has almost 50 company sponsors, including Home Depot, Staples, Truly Nolen, and major national food distributors who are offering his members great discounts on their products, and services.

If you have any questions, give Blake a call at (863) 419-0848.

That’s It for This Week.

Bill Hansen
www.billhansencatering.com
www.leadingcaterers.com
Hansen@leadingcaterers.com

P.S. We have some limited space available at the following Bill Hansen Catering Boot Camps

April 19, 2005 BOSTON
The Conference Center at Waltham Woods
860 Winter Street
Waltham MA 02451
781 434-7440, fax 781 893-8009

April 26, 2005 ATLANTA, GA
Holiday Inn, Atlanta-Peachtree Corners
6050 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. NW
Norcross, GA 30071
770-448-4400

May 3, 2005 NORTHERN NJ
The Empire Club
136 Mehrhof Rd.
Little Ferry NJ 07643
201 641 2892, fax. 201 641 5419

May 20, 2005 CHICAGO
Restaurant Depot
1030 W Division St 2nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60622
Tel 312 255 0403

May 24, 2005 MILWAUKEE
The Executive Inn
2301 W Wisconsin Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53233
Tel 414 342 0000

June 7, 2005 Pompano Beach Fl. (Miami area)
US Foodservice building
2800 N. Andrews Ave.
Pompano Beach, FL. 33064

NEW DATES FOR DAYTON AND HARRISBURG
JUNE 14 WE’LL BE IN DAYTON—LOCATION TO FOLLOW
JUNE 21 WE’LL BE IN HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA