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- Mixing Business With Pleasure
by Larry Gerber
How many times a week do we come across people who hate their present jobs? Barbecue hobbyists-turned-entrepreneurs love their businesses because they evolved from a favorite activity that grew into something bigger. What better way to make a living or subsidize an already established career in another field?
The degree of transformation from barbecue hobbyist to business entrepreneur varies--an idea emerges, concepts are kicked around, and research, if done correctly, can determine the market potential. While many folks are intimidated by the start-up investment, the majority of them believe in their products or services and are aware of the hard work required to start a new business. Many put together a partnership or consortium of like-minded individuals to share in the risk, labor, cost, and eventually the profits, of a ground floor company. With diligence, hard work, lots of effort, and a sound game plan, the satisfaction of success can be enormous.
I was out on the barbecue competition circuit recently, attending the World Pork Expo Great BarbeQlossal and the Illinois State Barbecue Championship, and I scoped out many of these fellow hobbyists-turned-business-people. Names like Bone Smokers Spice Rubs, Baby Joe's Bar-B-Q Sauce, Happy Holla Barbecue, Westerfield Place Barbecue Sauce & Catering Company, Goobs' Que Ball Tie Dye Barbecue, along with other catchy monikers were everywhere. Some pitch their "secret recipe" barbecue sauces, and "specially formulated" spice rubs, while others market barbecue apparel or offer services such as barbecue instruction classes or training videos.
It is entertaining, from a retailers point of view, to see the wheels of marketing and promotion take place. These folks "shoot from the hip, kick em' in the butt and hit their market right between the eyes" and they are not shy in the least to do so. Very few of them have a public relations department on the floor below the penthouse of "Barbecue Centre Point Plaza." In a lot of situations you see the company President, CEO, Director of PR and Marketing wearing one pair of Converse All Stars. The creativity of these people represents the knowledge, humor, and pride they have for their particular products. A prime example comes from an ad that Ray Lampe of Bone Smokers Spice Rub put together: "Don't be an idiot, you couldn't possibly make a rub this good on your own." This is a bit arrogant, to say the least, but he sells a lot of rub.
In discussing marketing strategies with a few of these "stand up" folks, the comments differ as much as the products they sell. Some feel they are the "Davids in a Goliath world," while others have the ambition to earn a million dollars in annual profit from their ventures. But they all agree that it takes effective marketing and a sound business plan to achieve success. They are all enthusiastic about their barbecue businesses, whether a full time gig or a sideline, and most of them agree that you have to spend money to make money, then spend it wisely on things that work.
"The process of bottling a barbecue sauce, from blackboard to store shelves, really opened our eyes," says Rick Dipper of Baby Joe's, who is referring to himself and his three partners, Joe, Andy and Joe P. "We had to choose a bottler, then a label type, we eventually hired a graphic design artist for our logo and our label, but we had no idea that we needed an FDA label and a trademark search," Rick states. "Another problem was time. Baby Joe's was supposed to hit the market last Thanksgiving, however, it took another four months on top of that target date to hit the shelves. The Christmas gift giving season was over by then."
Even so, Dipper is confident in the company's marketing effort so far. The sauce is in many gourmet shops, mid-sized food markets, and several meat markets. "We refuse to go into the large super markets due to the expensive cost of the shelf space," Rick explains. The purpose of the sauce is to grow towards a larger picture. "People will see our name and get used to seeing it, so when we open our BBQ restaurant within the next couple of years (which is their goal ), people will say, 'They make good sauce let's try their food, too'," Rick discloses. "But we need a very sound business plan to go on to our next goal. Otherwise the banks will not be very cooperative."
Take confidence in the fact that there are people who have made huge successes out of this hobby. One of them is my friend Charlie Robinson of Robinson's No. 1 Rib and Barbecue Sauces. Back in 1982, the late Mike Royko, a nationally syndicated columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, said that he made the best barbecued ribs around, and he issued a challenge by organizing Chicago's first Ribfest which was held in Grant Park, and attracted over 400 cooking entries. Those numbers are pretty close to the draw for Memphis in May or The American Royal Barbecue cook-offs. Charlie entered the event because he believed he had the best ribs out there and it turned out that others agreed--he won first prize. Charlie has been "Mr. Rib" ever since and even now his advertising proclaims: "Winner of the First Mike Royko Ribfest."
But... Charlie dreamed of opening a restaurant where he could serve his many types of BBQ foods, pass on the Robinson family barbecue sauce recipe of Lambert, Mississippi, and make a living at the craft he loves. Having very little of his own money to "seed" the investment he went from bank to bank to bank, with nothing more than an idea, a picture of himself with Mike Royko, and the plaque award given to him at the Ribfest. Needless to say, he was rejected many times, but remained determined. Finally, a willing and open-minded banker decided to take a risk and gave Charlie the loan he needed to get started.
Now, in addition to his prize-winning sauces, which are sold internationally on a retail basis and
through wholesale food distributors and brokers, Charlie has many successful restaurants throughout the Chicago area. He has also developed a spice rub and a line of hot sauces that are pretty damn good in their own right.
But Charlie knows that he must continue to work hard if he wants his success to continue. He constantly advertises his restaurants and products on Chicago radio spots, and places full-color glossy brochures right next to the pick-up window at all of his restaurants, so customers can't help but grab one on the way out. He even does promotions with local food stores that carry his products. A Web page is in his future too. If you go to one of his restaurants, chances are he'll be there because Charlie believes in the hands-on approach to doing business. "I teach my pit men exactly what I know," he proudly informs me.
Ed Roith also shares the benefit of his experience. He is the owner of Happy Holla Barbecue, and is the Kansas City Barbecue Society's official instructor of the KCBS sanctioned Certified Barbecue Judges Program. He travels from his digs in Shawnee, Kansas, to the east, west and Midwest sections of the country on a regular basis to conduct certification seminars on the art of judging barbecue competitions. His classes usually attract no fewer than 50 barbecue lovers at a seating. I attended Ed's seminar last March, and even though I am an experienced barbecue lover and competition chef, I left with an even more in-depth knowledge of what judges look for in taste, appearance and tenderness of genuine barbecue. If you ever attend his program be prepared to sample as much true blue barbecue as your gullet can handle.
Roith also markets a line of barbecue sauces and rubs, and has produced two instructional videos. In the second video, Ed takes you from the kitchen, to the butcher shop, to the backyard. He explains how to select the best meat, shows how to trim all surface fat from the ugly but flavorful pork shoulder (which is what pulled pork is), and demonstrates how to start a fire accurately and maintain the constant temperatures required for genuine barbecue. Ed markets his products in many trade journals, grilling publications, and barbecue catalogs--but he doesn't stop there. Roith's products can be found at barbecue competitions throughout the country. Every time I run into Ed, he tells me "biz is good," as we watch large numbers of customers buying his products.
The Culinary Institute of Smoke Cooking (yes, there is such a place) was formed by hobbyist Charles Knote. Charlie, as he is referred to by those who know him, started barbecuing back in 1951 as a pastime, and he perfected his craft by studying the Knote family cookbook collection, in addition to the more than 100 BBQ and meat science titles in his own library. He is the Dean and Chief Instructor of the CISC course material, is a Purdue University graduate, and has received an honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of the Ozarks. As a retired formulation chemist he frequently serves as a head judge in competition barbecue cook-offs.
"The difference between my course and other courses is this: I allow the student actually to use their own equipment," he says. "Not only that, my students know they can call me any time to help with difficulties they may encounter. I do not travel all over the country to teach the course material, so they know where I am. I have been cooking outdoors for over 45 years, barbecue on all types of equipment, and have a smoke house attached to my home. I am constantly educating myself, and I pass this wealth of knowledge on to my students. I am not worried about revealing trade secrets in my course because I don't cook competitively anymore." Charlie markets his courses through his book Barbecuing & Sausage Making Secrets, sends direct mail, and advertises in trade journals and cooking school directories.
Another success story is that of Oklahoma Joe's, which was born in the mid 1980s when Joe Davidson, a barbecue fan and hobbyist, designed and built several prototypes of his solid steel smokers that incorporated sophisticated air flow principles. In 1987 he tested the market by taking a dozen samples to the Oklahoma State Fair, and upon return, had sold all of the prototypes and had orders for over a hundred more. Joe built those cookers and delivered them personally.
Joe built the cookers in his garage in Perry, Oklahoma until space got too tight. He first moved to a bigger garage and then relocated again to a larger facility in Perry. In 1995, Joe moved his headquarters to a 25,000 square foot plant in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
There are products in the company's line of solid steel cookers for people of all levels of experience, from the beginning backyard cook to the experienced chef. All of the cookers are hand-crafted in Stillwater and carry a lifetime guarantee against burn out. "We are constantly researching ways to improve our production process and develop new products," says Joe. "The success of this company is due to a quality product and a dealer network that believes in Oklahoma Joe's."
The company also markets related products such as barbecue sauce and seasonings, as well as charcoal and wood. The products can be found in Wal-Mart stores, trade publications and in the company's own full color catalog. Additionally, Joe has established a distributor in Switzerland who has introduced Oklahoma Joe's product line and American barbecue to Europe. Approximately 6,000 Oklahoma Joe's cookers will be shipped to Europe this year.
The keys to turning a hobby into a business are these: Build a complete knowledge of the market you are aiming for. Maintain confidence and a positive attitude towards your venture. Set aside a budget for marketing or promotion, no matter how small your company. Get belly to belly with your prospects and don't take "No" for an answer. Invest some of your profits back into the business for expenses, expansion and other unseen, unexpected costs. Make a business plan--this is absolutely necessary, and if you cannot develop one on your own, hire a business or financial expert. And finally, enjoy what you are doing! Maybe one day it will be your business occupying the "Penthouse of Barbecue Centre Point Plaza."
Columnist Larry Gerber has been featured in the Chicago Tribune Good Eating food section, the Daily Herald food section, the Copley Courier Newspaper Your Life section, and writes two columns for the magazine USA Smoke. He is president and founder of Barbecue Man, Inc., an Illinois-based business that covers barbecue-related issues as well as performing barbecue and grilling cooking demonstrations tailored toward the print and broadcast media. His barbecue and grilling demonstrations were recently aired on the James Beard Award-winning food series, CLTV Good Eating and on the Chicago area variety show, Jeff's Place.
Larry can also be heard on many local Chicago radio stations during the spring and summer seasons, discussing the art of barbecue and grilling, and he actively participates in competition barbecue cook-offs. He is perfecting his craft and seeks the prestigious Pitmaster Certification by currently attending the Culinary Institute of Smoke Cooking.
You can also find Larry's barbecue tips at http://novaplaza.com/bbqman/.
