Calling all food and bev business owners! Share your questions for our upcoming podcast!

[ElisabethB]

If you just started a business, are looking to start a business, or are a seasoned pro, we want to hear from you!

Square's upcoming podcast, Tipped, wants to answer your questions on all things Food and Bev. We'll be polling this group before the recording of each episode to make sure actual seller questions are asked and answered in the podcast.

The hardest part of anything is often taking the first step. This is very true for Food and Bev businesses. In the first episode of Tipped, we'll answer questions on where and how to start and share real experiences of taking that first step. 

Comment below with any questions you have about starting a business! If we answer your question during the podcast, we'll promote your name, business, and location (unless you'd prefer to stay anonymous). So remember to include everything you want to be highlighted in your comments. 😊

[ritagray11]

HI ! This is Rita with Posh My Tea Party.  I own a senior referral service but recently turned a hobby into a small business planning events and catering.  It has become a lifestyle, really.  I love that I get to be creative, and I love sharing great food!  Next month I am going to France to do some food vlogging.  We area on a mission to learn everything we can about food, be its growing, preparing, photographing, filming, discussing, eating, or sharing!  I even love the process of seeking it out!

Do you have any suggestions for me?  I am asking everyone to teach me what they know.  

Thank you!  Best of luck with your blog!

[sugarlab]

What are ways to help with staff efficiency in a high labor industry? Our food costs have always been low but labor has been high as we make everything from scratch. How can we incentivize productivity for our staff? What are some tricks to increasing efficiency by buying in product (instead of making it) without decreasing quality? 

Looking forward to this podcast!

[LukeNieuw]

Ditto on this!!

[kcbakes]

My name is Karina and I'm the owner of Karina's Confectioneries, an Orlando-based custom bakery specializing in botanical inspired desserts.

I operate my bakery out of a commissary kitchen which means I don't have a whole lot of storage space and thus can't make (and save on) bulk purchases. I also don't have high volume sales, so a lot of my perishables go bad before I can finish using them. Because of this, my food costs are pretty high and I have to buy dairy and other perishables from the grocery store as needed. What is your advice for those of us in this situation as we try to grow our businesses, lower food costs, and minimize food waste?

You can find me on Instagram at karinas.confectioneries where you can see some of my work.

Thank you so much, really looking forward to the podcast!

[shemmert]

How to grow your business in this tough economic arena that we are now in. For everything seems to escalate in cost! You can’t continually raise your prices as you will lose customers. How do you cope

[AnnaB]

There are always options.  We cut out the "middle man", i.e. Distributors.  We try and buy direct or do the shopping ourselves.  That's a 10-15% savings.  A side benefit is we get to hand select what we buy instead of accepting what is delivered...quality is higher so waste is lower.  Another area we implemented is a scale.  Everything is weighed out for portioning.  We buy 3 lbs of pastrami, we know exactly how many deli and hot pastrami sandwiches are available...and we have the luxury of looking for sales knowing our time frame to the next purchase.  Yet another avenue we've taken was a pleasant surprise...because we now shop instead of relying on a Distributor, we went to the Manager of our grocery store and basically said " we can drop $1000/week here, how about a discount?"  We got a 10% discount ( and it's Free Meyer, not a small store).  We looked at our customer profile.  Lots of parents with young kids and lots of people walking dogs ( we're a breakfast lunch coffee cafe')  so we targeted them.  Kids under 10 get a free hot chocolate, if dogs bring their humans in for a be an and go coffee...the dogs gets bacon.  We now have a steady stream of kids and digs insisting they drop by.  And both the Hot choc and bacon is written off both as a needed inventory supply item AND marketing cost.

There's a few more areas we've implemented new approaches, but the above are the main line of attack against the rising costs of supply and marketing.   

[athistle]

I also try to resource products myself. The time involved is gonna kill me! Buying fresh items from my local produce supplier is frustrating as I have had the same experience; too much loss due to spoiled or damaged products. When I have tried to buy in bulk from grocery stores I have the same result - unless I handpick items from the retail side, I get cases of untrimmed product - the same as they receive it. 

I find the biggest frustration is hearing that my supplier reserves the top quality specialty items for the "big boys" i.e fancy high volume establishments ordering 4x my weekly order. 

I don't know what the solution is year-round, but I definitely do better buying from local farmers in the summer!

[pessosices]

Thanks @ElisabethB 

Starting up is definitely a daunting task, and especially now with more regulations and bigger consequences for not following things exactly. What are some tips on navigating all of the regulations and local agencies for permits both in setting up a space and for setting up the business operations?

What are good resources to find grants and government and community assistance in opening a new burestaurant?

[drunkenwhoopies]

Hi Everyone!

Jess of Drunken Whoopies. I’m just starting out and looking for tips on how to grow my business organically or with low advertising as most of my sales have been through Etsy, I’m closing that shop in the next month since I opened my website, or local where my husband works. I would love to expand sales and really get the business off the ground to consistent sales. 

Check out IG Drunken Whoopies or Website to see what I make. ☺️

[athistle]

.I have a two-sided business. Affordable Catering that handles private and corporate events, meetings, fundraisers, etc. And Strudel Baker's Deli & Bakery, a small deli sandwich shop. My biggest problem with both entities is staffing. How are other business owners finding and retaining qualified food service employees? I have advertised on social media and feel my wages are very competitive. Most of my applicants are young, juniors & seniors in high school. I have hired them in the past and usually find that there are too many scheduling conflicts and   -well- drama. Any suggestions?

[AnnaB]

I'm not sure about the catering side, but I find long term, reliable, knowledgeable people by going to the nearby subsidized senior citizen complex/center.  You have an employee who has decades knowledge, wants to stay busy part-time, and doesn't " need" the money but sure could use a few extra dollars.  The only issue is watching the wage level so it doesn't impact SS

[athistle]

Thanks! I hadn't thought of our valuable senior community. 🙂

I have hired folks from my local substance recovery centers. The people there are eager to make a new start. The only problem is that the positions I offer are only stepping stones for them, not a career move. 

[AnnaB]

If you hire our seniors, listen to them !  60 plus years and they've seen it all, and most made management, marketing, sales, or are highly skilled in a trade.  I've learned more in a conversation than any internet feed.