Japadog definitely has a USP – Unique Selling Proposition.
In other words, they have given people a reason to buy from them instead of the all the other “same old” hot dog carts. The USP allows them to sell at a premium price point.

You can tell by the long lines that people will pay for a quality dog and and a unique customer experience.

Do a little experiment with me. You’re not a hotdogger. You’re a customer.
Think hard about how you would feel standing in line at Japadog for the first time. I bet you would feel…

Excitement. Anticipation. A sense of adventure. A feeling of novelty. Extreme curiosity. Exclusivity. Luxury. Perhaps even decadent in a culinary way…

How many people would you tell about your street food experience over the next several days? What would make you talk about it so much?

How would you feel being the guy or gal that turned all their friends on to this new kind of hot dog? Do you think your friends would thank you for discovering this for them?

Yeah. They would. A lot.

That’s the power of a USP.

OK – come back to earth. Put on your business hat. Check out Japadog’s menu (click for a big picture). Pay attention to the price points – we’re learning something very important today.

Q: Do you have an awesome-can’t-fail-kick-ass-great-super-cool-
wowee-neato-keen idea for a hot dog cart, but don’t know where to start?

A: I cover everything you need to know at www.HotDogBiz101.com. I’ll show you how to make your dream a reality. That’s what I do.

What is your USP? Tell me about it in the comments!

-Steve

HDCN reader Rick S. emailed to tell me about a cart he is purchasing. It’s a large cart with caster wheels, kind of a mall kiosk type unit. The cart is semi-stripped and Rick will be outfitting it with steam tables and other equipment.

Rick wants to know whether he should go with propane powered appliances or electric.

Here’s his email:

Steve, I have a question that might be a good one for ‘Hot Dog Cart News’.

I do not know if  I will always sell near access to electricty hookup, and if I should get all electric equipment, or buy propane fueled equipment. And If so, what kind of propane fueled equipment is there?

I saw somewhere online that a propane fueled coffee maker (standard 5 cup size) cost around $1,000 through a certain site. But are there other propane run items such as:

Crock pot- for heating cheese to sell nachos.
Ice maker- for serving shaved ice.
fan- for on those hot summer days
etc

Just curious what kind of equipment exist, that would not require electricity hookup.

Thanks,

Rick

What do you think hot doggers?  Should Rick go with all propane appliances? A combination of propane (steam tables and grills) and some electric (fan,  shaved ice machine)?

Those propane appliances are a bit spendy…

I’m a big fan of deep cycle marine batteries to power some electrical appliances (radios, fans) but appliances with heating elements (crock pots, coffee makers) suck a lot of current. They will run down your batteries pretty fast.

What about generators? If you use ‘em, how about some recommendations for a good quiet one?

What are your opinions of propane vs 12 volt battery vs 120 volt generator power? Let’s hear you in the comments…

-Steve

Steve,

I have a couple questions, please!

As a newbie…Have you ever done a survey to determine what your readers do
about going to the restroom while working their carts? Do they leave their
cart?  Who watches it while they are gone?  Have they ever had any problems
when they leave; theft, etc.?

What do all of the women do that seem to be in the industry?  What about at night, outside of a bar nightclub, etc OR an event/festival?

It certainly determines your location for selling…doesn’t it?!  Just curious…

Thanks!

Buddy-

OK readers, let’s hear how you handle this delicate situation. Comments!

I got an email from a woman named Rose asking me if I would list her hot dog business for sale. I said “Sure, glad to help”.

After I heard her story I was dying to share it with you, so I got her on the phone and recorded our conversation.

It turned out to be kind of a interview/advertisement. A hybrid if you will.

Call it an “adverview”. Or maybe an “interadvert”? Whatever you call it, you’ll be inspired.

Even if you’re not looking to buy a business, you need to hear to this interview. Find out what can be accomplished with a hot dog cart and some hard work.

Click the link to listen online or right click to download the MP3 so you can listen on your iPod.

Hot Dog Cart Radio – Rose’s Hot Dog Cart Business

Rose’s contact info

Phone: 954-326-1523

Email: Anewyorkrose@aol.com

I need to give the ‘ol disclaimer so here it is: I’m not an attorney or accountant, I’m not endorsing anything, and I’m not being paid. All claims made by the seller should be verified by the purchaser. Duh.

As usual, let’s hear you. Comments make my world go ’round…

-Steve

Remember, you still have a chance to purchase an activation code which will automatically enter you in the free hot dog cart contest at http://www.HotDogCashTracker.com

All the videos and free downloads are available there now. If nothing else, you need to go there just to download my FREE report “101 Hot Dog Cart Business Deductions”.  It could save you thousands on your taxes.

-Steve

Update 1/23/09 – Both units have been sold.

Just got an email from HDCN reader Rob Sigmon wanting me to list his two hot
dog restaurant kiosks for sale.

When I saw these pictures I was amazed. These are a thing of beauty!

If you’ve been thinking of moving up to the big leagues, this is your shot.

UNIT 1

Unit #1 $25,000

Existing Hot Dog Cart currently located outside Home Depot in Highlands
Ranch, Colorado. fully contained, heated and air conditioned unit, 14 feet
long, 8 feet wide and 8 feet high.  Operational 365 days a year in cold and
warm climates.  Unit can accomodate three employees at a time.  Equiped with
full size Industrial Freezer, 2 Refrigerators, Condiment/Food Prep
Refrigerator, 2 Food Prep Tables, Auto Fryer, Hot Dog Grill, Bun Warmer and
Warming Wells, Coffee Machine all NSF Certified.  All restaurant utensils
and food storage units included.  Computer and Monitor for Point of Sale and
Software included.  Requires a 100 Watt permanent electrical connection.
Will deliver to you anywhere in the continental US within one week with
payment.  If prefered, will give up current lease at Home Depot -
negotiations must be made independently with leasing company for new
service.  Unit has been in service since August of 2008, all equipment is
maintaned in good working order.  Paid $62,000 new, added $10,000 in
additional equipment.  Title included.  Buy now to open by Spring Season!

Trailer Specs List
Exterior & Interior Walls
8W x 14L x 8H
100% Aluminum Rivetless Sides
Black Exterior Color
60″ Window Safety Glass
Flush Mount Flip-Up Curb Side Awning with Gas Shocks
24″x36″ Emergency Exit on Hitch Side of Trailer
FRP White Wall Covering
Slope Style Roof
(2) 4′ Double Bulb Fluorescent Shielded Lights w/switch
Screened Windows
Serving Window 14″ x 15″ w/screen
Insulated
36″ Entrance Door w/Screen Lock and Keys
Window Locks
(2) Non-Powered Roof Vents Installed
Exterior Shelf, Flip-Up
(2) Menu Boards for Left and Right Sides of Front Window, Bottom Skirt
Interior Wall Shelves
(2) Free Standing Sandwich Board Signs

Tires
4 ST 205/75/15
Double Axle Dexter 3500 Lbs w/Easy Lube
All DOT Light Package
(2) 5/16″ Ball Coupler w/Removable Hitch and Tongue Dolly
(4) Scissor Jacks

Electrical
20 Amp GFI Receptacles
100 Amp Balanced Service Panel w/Main Disconnect

Floor & Wall Structure
16″ O.C. Alum Hat Channel Studs
24″ O.C. Floor & Ceiling

Equipment
All NSF Equipment
Equipment Siliconed to Wall
8″ Legs
Towel Dispenser
Soap Dispenser
Fire Extinguisher

Plumbing
Sink System (3) Compartment w/Hand Sink (Pump, Hot Water Heater, Faucets)
50 Gal Fresh Water Tank
78 Gal Grey Water Tank

Equipment
Wire Shelving
Potable Water Inlet
(2) Counter Top Warmers, without Covers
(2) Food Prep/Storage Tables (Steel)
Single Door Upright Freezer (23 Cu Ft)
(2) Single Door Upright Coolers (23 Cu Ft)
Condiment/Food Prep Refrigerator (6 Cu Ft)
Auto Deep-Fryer & Heat Lamp Assembly
Industrial Microwave
Hot Dog Roller (72 capacity)
Bun Warmer
Coffee Maker
Air Conditioner w/Heat Strip (15,000 BTU)

UNIT 2

Start your own restaurant with this fully contained, heated and air
conditioned unit, 14 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8 feet high.  Operational
365 days a year in cold and warm climates.  Unit can accomodate three
employees at a time.  Equiped with full size Industrial Freezer,
Refrigerator, Food Prep Tables and Warming Wells all NSF Certified.
Requires a 100 Watt permanent electrical connection.   Will deliver to you
anywhere in the continental US within one week with payment.  New, never
been used, picked up from the manufacturer, Chameleon Carts and put into
storage this year.  Paid $54,000 new.  Title included.  Buy now to open by
Spring Season!

Trailer Specs List

Exterior & Interior Walls
8W x 14L x 8H
100% Aluminum Rivetless Sides
Black Exterior Color
60″ Window Safety Glass
Flush Mount Flip-Up Curb Side Awning with Gas Shocks
24″x36″ Emergency Exit on Hitch Side of Trailer
FRP White Wall Covering
Slope Style Roof
(2) 4′ Double Bulb Fluorescent Shielded Lights w/switch
Screened Windows
Serving Window 14″ x 15″ w/screen
Insulated
36″ Entrance Door w/Screen Lock and Keys
Window Locks
(2) Non-Powered Roof Vents Installed
Exterior Shelf, Flip-Up
(2) Menu Boards for Left and Right Sides of Front Window, Bottom Skirt
Interior Wall Shelves

Tires
4 ST 205/75/15
Double Axle Dexter 3500 Lbs w/Easy Lube
All DOT Light Package
(2) 5/16″ Ball Coupler w/Removable Hitch and Tongue Dolly
(4) Scissor Jacks

Electrical
20 Amp GFI Receptacles
100 Amp Balanced Service Panel w/Main Disconnect

Floor & Wall Structure
16″ O.C. Alum Hat Channel Studs
24″ O.C. Floor & Ceiling

Equipment
All NSF Equipment
Equipment Siliconed to Wall
8″ Legs
Towel Dispenser
Soap Dispenser
Fire Extinguisher

Plumbing
Sink System (3) Compartment w/Hand Sink (Pump, Hot Water Heater, Faucets)
50 Gal Fresh Water Tank
78 Gal Grey Water Tank

Equipment
Wire Shelving
Potable Water Inlet
(2) Counter Top Warmers, without Covers
(2) Food Prep/Storage Tables (Steel)
Single Door Upright Freezer
Single Door Upright Cooler
Air Conditioner w/Heat Strip (15,000 BTU)

For Sale By:
Rob Sigmon
Program Director
i9 SportsR – West Arapahoe County
9668 Silverberry Circle
Highlands Ranch, CO 80129
Office Phone: 303-470-9698
Fax: (303) 284-8827
Website: www.i9sports.com
Email: rsigmon@i9sports.com

I know what I know. I also know what I don’t know, and I don’t know much about indoor hot doggin’. I want to cover this topic but to be honest with you, I’ve never done it myself. I was always outdoors.

Have any of you vended indoors, perhaps in a mall? How difficult was it dealing with mall management?

How about converting a gas cart to electric heat? How would you go about it?

What else am I missing here? Help me out.

Please leave any indoor vending tips, tricks, secrets, answers to the above questions in the comments below.

Thanks!

-Steve

Just south of Kathleen, on Kathleen Road, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., most any day of the week, you're likely to see an unusual hotdog stand. Retired power plant engineer Jim Belcher, at center, owns "Hellacious Hot Dogs". The motto on his business card reads "Eat & Rest In Peace". Jim uses a 1982 Cadillac hearse as his attention getting trademark.

By Kyle Kennedy
THE LEDGER

LAKELAND | Death is an unavoidable topic around Jim Belcher’s hot dog stand.

It’s not so much the plastic skeleton perched above the cart or the fact that Belcher grew up in a Boston-area funeral home.

No, it would have to be the 1982 black Cadillac hearse he parks off Kathleen Road when Hellacious Hot Dogs opens for the day’s business.

“People see this, and they want to know what’s going on over here. It’s unreal how it works, but it works,” said the 50-year-old Lakeland resident as he served lunch one recent afternoon. “I’m pretty popular. It’s not because of the hearse, it’s the food.”

Three years ago Belcher retired from a career as a power plant engineer in Holbrook, Mass., and moved to Lakeland to be near his older brother. He bought the Cadillac from his family’s funeral home with plans to go into the cadaver transport business, but it didn’t work out.

So Belcher started thinking about the days he used to work as a line cook in restaurants and what he could possibly do with that glossy black hearse.

In early 2008, Hellacious Hot Dogs set up shop near the intersection of Kathleen and Spivey roads. People noticed.

“It’s a head-turner,” Belcher says. “I use it for storage. It’s the best kind of car you can have. But that’s as far as I go. I don’t cut meat in there.”

His macabre marketing extends to the menu, where a plain, all-beef hot dog is called a “Stiff” and sets you back $1.25. Want cheese and bacon on that dog? Order the “The Undertaker.” A combo with chips and drink is “The Procession.”

The hot dogs are good, but people can’t help talking about the car.

“I just know I could never drive one of those. I think it’s neat though,” said Carrie Bacon, 51, as she stopped for a bite.

A nearby survey crew spots the hearse and ambles over for a meal break.

“Different … very different,” one of the workers remarks before ordering a Stiff.

Sometimes Belcher dons a black hat; gloves; and an apron for maximum effect.

He says it’s easy not to take things too seriously when you’ve grown up in a funeral home, which is now owned and operated by his younger brother.

“I lived around death all my life. I respect it, too, because it’s a hard thing to accept, especially when you see families crying,” he said. “I’m not making fun of anything that has to do with death. It’s my trademark.”

Yet when he got older, Belcher wanted nothing to do with the funeral business. The grim work of moving and preparing bodies for visitation was too much, he said; he preferred to handle the flowers and wash the hearse instead.

Neighborhood kids would often decline to come over and play.

“They thought it was morbid,” he said.

He went on to pull stints as a cook, plumber, welder and other jobs before ultimately spending 25 years as an engineer. He’s been married three times but has no kids and laments that his once-blond crew cut is going gray.

Belcher says he enjoys the independence of having his own business, even if it’s just a hot dog stand and a hearse. He chats up customers in a distinct Boston accent, his creased face pink from the sun.

And he seems to love the attention, even the puzzled looks. He likes how a roadside oddity and cheap, tasty food can improve someone’s day.

“That’s why I say live it up and have a hot dog, because life goes fast, like a candle.”

*********************************

BTW,  if you’ve been thinking about starting a hot dog cart business, I’m running a sale on “Carts of Cash” until midnight on the 31st. Enter the word Success in the coupon code box and save $10.

Happy Halloween everyone!

-Steve

Here’s another example of what can be done with the E-Z Built Hot Dog Cart Plans and Video package.

What a machine!!!

Chris Booker stretched the body and set it on a 4 X 8 trailer frame where he had plenty of room to mount all the equipment he wanted.

Check out the mods:

12″ wheels.
9′ Red umbrella.
Stainless Grill w/ Hood.
3 main burners.
1 searing burner.
1 rotisserie burner.
1 side burner for steam basket or fry pan.
4 sinks.
Black Marble Formica counter top.
Upper cabinet w/ stainless doors.
3 large under storage cabinets.
1 fire extinguisher.

Chris built one fine E-Z Built – and it shows how versatile the plans are. It’s easy to customize your cart any way that you like.

Now here is something to think about…

Chris Booker has a plan.

He has decided to sell his recently completed E-Z Built, make a healthy profit, and use it to build another one. That way he’ll end up with a new hot dog cart and a few thousand dollars in operating capital – FOR FREE.

Smart, Book. Really smart.

If anyone is interested, Chris is asking $4700 for this brand new cart, which is a fraction of what you’d pay for a manufactured unit equipped like this.

Check it out in the used hot dog carts section or just give him a shout at mrbook73@yahoo.com for more details.

As Hannibal Smith used to say, “I love it when a plan comes together.”

-Steve

Here’s a great alternative…

HDCN reader Steven Pruner just alerted me to this condiment tray for $17.00 – WOW!

If you need one, or think you might need one down the road, Click Here to get yours today.

That’s a really great deal. Don’t snooze – you might lose.

Thanks again Steve P.

-Steve