Jay Cooley sells hot dogs full time and though it hasn’t always been easy, it’s always been fun. Cooley Dogs has come a long way in two short years and Jay wouldn’t trade his lifestyle for anything.
He credits much of his success to two things: being persistent and knowing how to treat his customers.
He started out on the streets and learned how to interact with people and inject a bit of fun into a normally mundane day. Jay says that folks remember you if you show them a good time and make them feel good. Being a bright spot in their day is what gets you your coveted regular customers who spread the news about your hot dog stand through word of mouth. And that’s priceless.
Mr. Cooley also knows the value of following up. He now vends indoors at a local go-cart track. How did he get such a great gig? Persistence. Jay made six calls to the track manager asking if he could set up his hot dog cart at the facility and he got six no’s. But the seventh call was the charm.
He also had to chip away at the owner of a local Christmas tree lot for a long time before he was allowed to set up there, but now that’s his gig too.
I spoke to Jay on the phone yesterday. He said he loves the biz and feels strongly about helping other hot doggers. He would love to talk to other vendors or answer questions from those who want to know what it’s like. You can email him at cooleydogs@att.net.
Of course I am always here for you too, but sometimes two heads are better than one. Unfortunately the better looking head belongs to Jay (plus he’s got that damn cool last name…)
- Steve
Darren
// Apr 20, 2009 at 8:02 am
Great story….Very inspirational
Man, I can’t wait to get out there!