Discussion Forums
for the
Personal Chef Industry

I was wondering how have you adjusted to the rising costs? Gas is getting worse all the time...and that is reflecting on the prices of just basic items in the grocery stores. Are you charging more, or just taking in less profit??

also, are you seeing a decline in families looking for your services?


I was almost ready to take off on my new adventure becoming a Personal Chef a year ago, but as things sometimes happen it got pushed off. So, now that the time seems nearly right for me-- I was concerned that there may be a decline of need.....I would hate to think that I waited too long to get going...

thanks you

Hi There!

Thanks for your good quetion. It's ironic that I was just putting the finishing touches on my letter to members that will appear in this month's issue of our on line magazine, a la minute.

I'll post it here as soon as it is finished because that is exactly the topic of this issue's letter.

One thing I can tell you is that our members are telling us that they are BUSY, so there has not been a decline in clients looking for services. So take heart.

I'll be back on line as soon as I get off the plane in Chicago. I'm presenting a topic at Kendall College this weekend for the foodservice educator's leadership conference and am on my way to the airport right now.

back soon,
Candy

It was plastered all over the internet that restaurants are hurting b/c people are opting to dining in so they don't have to burn up gas etc. I don't see it hurting the personal chef industry as I had 5 calls & 3 emails in one week (back in April) for personal chef services when I was moving from Houston, Tx to Ohio. I have had 3 calls for private parties here in the last few days. I see it only increasing b/c restaurant prices have increased as well.

I know it has effected me. No matter what I do to market myself I have not gotten any calls or leads. I am fee plus but am quite reasonable. I don't know what else to do and am really thinking of just hanging this up if I don't get anywhere. I have had 1 client since I started in Jan. I am very frustrated and with all the increases its hard. My 1 family has 5 people. I charge $500 for bi-weekly, 10 meals 5 servings. Their grocery bill was $250 and they weren't asking for expensive cuts. It is actualy really reasonable but people just don't want to spend money. My co-workers are buying soups and canned meat due to the $4 plus a gallon they need to pay. Hopefully things will pick up soon.

Thank you for your great responses!
Wow, Candy you do keep BUSY! I am looking forward to reading your letter.

I am nervous about my venture. But, even after waiting nearly a year to get going again---and to really think about it. I found that I did not lose my initial excitement. I know the sticker shock of gas prices and even the price of a stick of butter in the grocery store is putting folks on guard. I still believe there is a way to market the strengths of our services.

In the past I read some folks do cocktail parties, and cooking classes. I recently read about real estate agencies hiring personal
chefs for new home buyers as a 'bonus'. I hope to look into this a bit more...
I try to be an optimistic person ---I still (sadly) see families lined up at fast food restaurants at dinner time--I think it is more about how to reach these people...goodness knows it isn't cheap to eat fast food--and those prices, too, will show an increase real soon.

I am looking forward to my adventure, and I do wish you the very best Michelle....hang in there! keep marketing..maybe Candy and her great group here have some fresh ideas to help?
- If I discover (or stumble upon -more likely) any new tricks of the marketing trade I will gladly put them here

thank you again
LJ

Michelle, I started about 8 years ago, and it took me about 6 months to get my first client. It will come, if you market your business continously. People now are more familiar w/PC services, which makes it easier than back then. I don't have to explain how a personal chef service works even half as much as I did back then. Have you gone through any actual training for operating a PC service? I ask this b/c $500 for 10 meals 5 servings sound high...right along with the food bill. Typically, I spend about $150 on food for a 5x4 (same thing as yours except one less serving of each) and that is entree with 2 sides not just one. I don't know your area (please fill out your profile), so I don't know if your market will bear that kind of price. Even when I lived in Houston, I could'nt ever charge $500.00, and it could be the reason why you are finding it difficult to get clients.

LJ, getting clients will not happen overnight. I would say to forget about real estate agents & even home builders. They don't use PCs as much as anyone wants you to think, b/c they really don't want to spend out of pocket for a "bonus" of more than $50.00 after all, they sometimes wait for their commision checks way after the sale (sometimes 3 mths or better).

In the APPCA training materials, there are tons of marketing suggestions, which also gets discussed in the members forum...new ideas all the time.

Several of us, provide other services such as cocktail parties, cooking classes or demos, wine tastings, on-site catering, etc etc. It only adds to our income, than preparing dinners in advance for "regular" clients.

I will say, do not buy any equipment, no fancy brochures/biz cards with other fancy office supplies (such as letterhead etc). Use the equipment you already own, print your own cards & brochures, saving money for

training materials (would suggest seminar or at least the dvd program over the at home study program)
website
biz license
serve safe
insurance

Pots & pans, & all the printed marketing materials comes with a price tag...but with no client attached.

Again, save your money....try to attend APPCA's seminar as it will only jumpstart your business. Hopefully, other members will chime in on this topic.

Good luck to you both Michelle & LJ....along with any other aspiring PC.

I'm hoping to help potential clients see the benefits of eating at home which includes SAVING ON GAS. I see the savings personally. They wont have to drive extra to go to the store, buying an ingredient they forgot because of poor menu planning, driving to restaurants, buying impulse food because they are too hungry to cook anything etc etc.

I have a niche market so I cannot waste $$$ doing general advertising. This weekend I drove around Austin with husband and daughter in tow putting my business cards and free postcards/ flyers at some local coffee shops, 3 natural food stores, a hip vegetarian cafe, talked to some farmer's at the farmer's market and a CSA (community supported agriculture) group that delivers local produce boxes and groceries to homes.
This week I may talk to someone at LifeTime Fitness (super-sized gym) to get my info on a table in the foyer. Im also thinking of talking to a personal trainer service for new moms to see if we could promote each other's business.
I've had nice conversations with people in the grocery store and even talked to my new dermatologist about my business. I see it as planting a seed, it will take time. It's fun just to even get the idea of a personal chef out there...people think its interesting and have funny questions.
I'm still new to the whole business (joined APPCA in Dec, but didnt launch until April) and just have 1 weekly client. I think if you just stay enthusiastic and talk to everyone you meet and explain BENEFITS and cost/time savings, some starving clients who will appreciate your service will come your way.
I'm planning my daughter's 4th birthday party in July and hope to WOW the parents (and of course the kiddos) with good food
Best wishes!

Michelle,

I'd love to spend some time with you on the phone before you "hang it up." E-mail me and we'll set up a time; I'd love to try and help. carol@personalchef.com

I've been very fortunate; this economy has not hurt me one bit, but anything could happen next week or next month. I've put off any expansion plans until we see where "this" is all headed.

I think that the economy has cut into business some, but remember a few things. For all of the 'fear' out there, the basic fact is that the vast vast majority of Americans have not seen their income decline. They may be a little skidish over what they read in the news, but bottom line, their life has not really changed. Fuel costs are up as is the price of everything, but in our business, we only need a small number of clients ( under 20 )to be successful. Those people are out there, you just need to look a little harder to find them.

But let's look at another point of view. In addition to reading about how bad the economy is, the other thing that you see in the news all the time is the current national obsession on food, eating habits, proper nutrition and the unhealthy food that restaurants are serving. Here in New York, the NYC council has banned trans fat in all restaurants. Schools are banning specific foods, discouraging homemade birthday sweets and are beginning to educate on proper nutrition and food choices. This is a growing movement and a change in the way American eat and view food. This means opportunity for our business. Rather than deep fried, preservative laden food, we offer honest custom prepared meals for our clients, something that government is trying to legally dictate, rightfully so I might add.

So view this change in national eating habits as a big opportunity. The economy will once again pick up, but right now, there's still lots of good business out there to grab.

Unfortuneately, the economic downturn we are in right now is, to a great degree, one that is established by the major media outlets. They are talking us into a recession. A recession is considered to be a period in which for two successive quarters, the national economic position has gone down. In fact, we have not had a single quarter yet in which the economic news indicated a recession, much less two periods.

Ture, unemployment is up, but it is still at the lowest numbers in years. Under Carter, it was over 9%, and we just recached 5%.

It is my opinion that what has happened is the oil price escalation coupled with the mortgage debacle has gobbled up all the headlines leaving little room for anything else.

If there were a true recession, I think we would be seeing a significant drop off in our personal chef business. And I don't see that happening here, we have certainly not experienced it, and I haven't heard of it happening anyplace else, either.

Jim