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Hot Box Pretzels hasn’t even finished its first year, and they’ve already expanded with a second truck. We’ll learn how they launched this unique food truck concept and their advice for how to start a food truck business in this episode.
Blake and Roman got the idea to start a food truck selling soft pretzels while waiting tables at a restaurant. The soft pretzels that the restaurant served were consistent crowdpleasers—and there weren’t any food trucks selling them yet in the area. They seized on this unmet demand to start their food truck business, and their sales since opening prove it was a smart move.
Neither Blake nor Roman had any experience running a food business before they started. From their pretzel recipe to their workflow on the truck, they figured out everything as they went along.
In this interview, they’ll explain how they learned the necessary skills to become food industry entrepreneurs. We’ll also hear what mistakes they’ve made in the process and how they turned those into learning experiences to improve their product and operations.
One big issue the Hot Box Pretzels crew faced starting out was financing. Like many new businesses, their lack of experience prevented them from getting a bank loan.
They’ll explain how they secured the funds they needed to start their first truck, and how they managed their finances to expand the business within just a few months of making their first sale. We’ll also hear how they connected with customers to build their reputation and secure the events that have kept them busy since they opened earlier this year.
Resources:
https://bit.ly/3LIZjIL Start or Grow Your Business with UpFlip Academy
https://hotboxpretzels.com/ Find Out More About Blake and Roman's Pretzel Business
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
00:47 Background
01:12 Commissary kitchen
03:56 The first event
05:59 Developing the recipe
07:57 Online presence
10:39 Difficulties in getting started
11:10 Startup costs
12:39 Side hustles
13:30 Revenue growth
14:22 Overcoming fear of failure
15:21 From idea to first sale
16:01 Important equipment
17:02 Fan blitz
18:00 First time selling out
18:39 Upgrading to a second vehicle
20:14 Standing out from other teens
20:44 Knowledge sources
21:34 Pricing
22:53 Bestseller
23:30 Customer service do’s and don’ts
24:45 Employees
25:42 Digital marketing
26:37 What they’d do differently
27:58 Most units sold
29:09 How entrepreneurship changed them
29:55 Sourcing ingredients
31:26 Guilty pleasures
32:00 Tips for pursuing a unique niche
33:03 Custom oven
34:55 A helpful UpFlip video
36:18 Outro
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