i'M CURIOUS ABOUT HOW YOU GO ABOUT GETTING CUSTOMERS TO COOK FOR ,DO YOU USE THE TELEPHONE BOOK AND CALL PEOPLE .OR MAKE UP BUSINESS CARDS AND HAND THEM OUT ,WHAT EXCATLY DO YOU DO ?
Most of my leads come from the APCA site, but don't rest your laurels there! As in any business you need to constantly market yourself. The materials you will get from APCA will give you lots of information and ideas, and the seminars are guaranteed to give you a jump start. We all love to cook, but the hardest part of any new business is getting started.
A listing at APCA, a website, press releases, and targeted marketing strategies are paramount to getting your business started.
I can't help you with the difference between Cheftec and Mastercook as I don't know Cheftec. But I can tell you that I really like Mastercook.
There are dozens and dozens of techniques people use to get clients but I'm not sure anyone has had to resort to pulling out the phone book and just calling people but we'll have to add that one to the list.
Handing out business cards, definitely. Wearing your chef coat everywhere you go, talking about your business to everyone, trying to get your name in the press is well worth your time, talking to various clubs and groups, placing brochures in strategic locations, etc. All of that helps. Joining the APCA can go a long way in helping because it makes your business extremely visible and easy to find on the Internet (check out the find-a-chef-now link on the APCA homepage for your state and you'll see what I mean).
But after all that is said and done, in the end your business is likely to live or die by word of mouth based on the quality of the service you provide. In the beginning you need to do all of those things to get your initial client base - most of which will probably come from the Internet for a while. Then, once you get busy, referalls will usually start to outweigh everything else combined. But you can never just depend on that either. Marketing your businsess and coming up with new and creative ways to get out your message is something you simply never stop working on.
