Your thoughts please

[Hayles]

As you might know, I have a catering business specialising in buffets. As I can't expand the business geographically, I've been thinking about how I could make a profit from the knowledge I have and would like your thoughts on this idea:

A site that offers buffet menus, quantities for each of the dishes on the menus, hints and tips on planning and displaying the buffet, advice on how long to allow for preparation, costings, where to hire plates and glasses from, etc.

We'd have say 50 different menus on the site so they'd be at least one that people would like. It would probably be used by people at the lower end of the market (people who want, or have, to do their own catering for financial reasons). Bearing in mind the target audience, do you think they would pay a one off fee to enter the site (say £10-£15)?

I know there are other sites which offer a few menus and ideas, but not advice on the whole process.

The advice on the site would undoubtedly save people money in the long run as we see so much waste when customers provide their own catering as they have no idea of quantities and spend a fortune on wasted food.

We could also team up with other party or wedding providers for more tips and advice...

The idea is obviously in the very early stages but your thoughts would be appreciated, especially if you've done your own catering for any parties.

Thanks
Hayles

[Jayne]

Not sure it would work with just customers, but could be a great idea for other caterers who are starting out. They pay to join and you can give them help and advice about their business and food etc.

I do like the idea Hayles :D

Jayne

[creacom]

Hi Hayles,

To be honest I would sign up and pay for that sort of info - depending on how long my subscription would last.

Its hard to find good buffet food ideas and not the usual sausage rolls and cheese and cherry on a stick.

There are a lot of people out there who need to do their own catering or who just like to do it too. If your service offers good advice, maybe a kind of online helpdesk for people who are really stuck etc then in my opinion it could work.

Also, loads of people are love wine and this if often overlooked when serving a buffet. So you could tie that in somewhere that you offer advice on what to serve with what.

Jacqui':D'

[Hayles]

Good idea Jayne. I've wondered about how to sort of 'franchise' the buffet service we offer but wouldn't do it as we've got a good reputation which someone else could ruin. However, if we were offering advice for them to set up, it could be separate to our company name.

[Hayles]

It would be great to get adventurous with the buffet menus! Most of our standard menus are basic as that's what alot of our customers go for. However, we're often asked for personalised menus so these could be offered too.

The wine idea is good. Although I'm no expert so would get someone else involved for that.

I need to think, but thinking time is a little scarce!

[cjd]

No they wouldn't.

Getting people to pay for stuff on the internet is the hardest thing in the world and charging for advice simply doesn't work. Particulary if it's a one off - you don't get to find out whether your advice is any good until after you pay.

It's the sort of thing that if you adapted the idea a little would work for your own business tho'. Don't think of it as a direct revenue stream but a marketing excercise for new and existing customers.

[creacom]

Maybe you could offer them something too when they sign up. Like a free notebook to write all of your advice and menus in. I am always printing out menus etc and then once Ive cooked them I throw it them out and have to go and find it all over again ! So I recently bought a blank notebook with a hardcover and now keep them there.

For the wine part - you could always get a wine company onboard. In exchange for that they put a menus seciton on their site.

Keep thinking and I am sure we will all try and help you out too. ':wink:'

Jacqui

[NicolaCassidy]

Hi Hayles,

I just did a really quick google search and there seems to be alot of sites out there that give this information for free eg http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/ which tells you all the things you were planning to offer. I tend to agree with Jayne, if you aim this information at people who want to start out in the industry and include advice on subject areas such as marketing and finance and how you overcame the difficulties you faced, then this could be something people would be willing to pay for as you are making their start-up slighlty less risky.

However, on the other side of that, there are forums like this that exist that people can get that advice for free. It is a very fine line to get it just right but I wish you every success in trying.

Nicola

[fastfences]

Hi Hayles. My initial reaction is that very few would pay (anything) to get menu ideas, especially over the net.

However, I applaud your idea of having an 'info' site; it's a brilliant idea. :idea: Coincidentally, I'm working on the exact same principle at www.fencinginfo.co.uk but my idea is to 'drive people to my site and my phone. I think there's a lot to be said for those of us who are prepared to 'invest' in giving out info to assist others. If we can be rewarded in return - all the better. I wonder if you can benefit in a similar manner?

The problem we both have, I believe, are geographical restraints in that we cannot serve the 'larger' community. But we will grow . . . :wink:

Cheers, Nigel

[Asteeleleith]

Hi hayles

for sometime i lived with ex caterers, in fact i used to date their daughter.

On of the other things they did was wedding planning. Is this something you woul or have considered doing as well.

Also you could offer advise on cooking period. Perhaps some courses to lonely old bachelors on how to boil an egg or something :-)
you could end up starting your own training centre on this as well?

Just some ideas

Al

[Hotelexpert]

Maybe you could make the charge an annual subscription of say £10-15 that entitles subscribers to access some of the content. Then perhaps you could email them a new menu or two each month or add more menus. That way rather than paying for access to everything you can supply your customers with something of value over time that keeps them interested.

You could also think about splitting the charging into two distinct tiers for different audiences, B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer) and charge B2B clients more than B2C clients.

Just some (excuse the wordplay) "food for thought"...

Lawrence

[Asteeleleith]

Maybe you could make the charge an annual subscription of say £10-15 that entitles subscribers to access some of the content. Then perhaps you could email them a new menu or two each month or add more menus. That way rather than paying for access to everything you can supply your customers with something of value over time that keeps them interested.

You could also think about splitting the charging into two distinct tiers for different audiences, B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer) and charge B2B clients more than B2C clients.

Just some (excuse the wordplay) "food for thought"...

Lawrence

ok, that said, y not just start a new magazine with ideas in, and get ppl to subscribe to that? :)
Al