Be Successful in the Food Concession Business

Fair Food, Food Carts, and the Food Concession Business

Anyone Can Be Successful in the Food Concession Business –
with the Right Start

Summary: (610 words)
With the right start, the food concession business can provide a good income for even the most unlikely entrepreneurs.

The food concession business is a practical and worthwhile business enterprise for people of almost every description and circumstance. On the midway of any fair or festival it's not uncommon to find a family working together to acquire the special things that are otherwise hard to save for. They might be earning cash for a family vacation, a down payment on a home, or money to keep the bills paid on time. In another booth you might find someone earning extra cash because his or her regular wages are inadequate, or as insurance against job loss. In another booth could be a student earning his or her way through college, or a senior couple earning money while they also travel and enjoy their retirement. In the next booth might be a free spirit who is unhappy with his or her "regular" job, or simply wants the personal rewards of self-employment. In another booth is a couple who's concession is their sole source of income. And, further down the midway could be someone who has a hard time finding employment because they lack a college degree or have a criminal record. The concession business has been, and continues to be, a viable route to financial independence and a rare financial opportunity for all kinds of unlikely entrepreneurs

However, anyone who has started a concession business can tell you that it is not as simple as it may first appear. The inside world of the concession business is a well-guarded secret. There are no trade associations or library books to help guide the newcomer past the start-up obstacles. Additionally, veteran concessionaires are inherently reticent about providing information that might encourage others to enter the field. As a result, the typical outcome for many new concessionaires is failure.

The most effective way for a concession startup to improve their odds of success is by working for an established concessionaire. First hand experience of the management, operations and lifestyle activities of a seasoned operator will provide insight into the otherwise unknown aspects of operating a successful concession business. Further, when starting a concession business, many of the necessary decisions a startup faces don't have a right or wrong conclusion. Questions such as; what kind of booth to buy, menu to serve, events to attend, and equipment to use, have pro and con answers that only the individual vendor can decide. Unfortunately, without prior "hands-on" research new concessionaires must address these important considerations in ignorance all while struggling to learn the business by trial and error during the critical period when they are also competing against experienced vendors for events, booth space and customers.

By investing time and energy into learning about the business before it's started the new concessionaire greatly improves his or her chances of owning a successful food concession business

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Copyright 2007 by Barb Fitzgerald. Permission is granted to reprint this article provided no words are changed, the whole article is reprinted in its entirety, and the author's information and link box is include.

Barb Fitzgerald, a food concessionaire for over twenty-four years, is the author of Food Booth, The Entrepreneur's Complete Guide to the Food Concession Business. She has held a position on the Oregon Food Services Advisory Board and founded Northwest Vendor's Network Association. For additional information about the concession business and to purchase her book, visit http://www.foodbooth.net.

Carnival Press
P.O. Box 1068, Cornelius, OR 97113

carnival@foodbooth.net