Discussion Forums
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Personal Chef Industry

Hello everyone!
After a long search I finally arrived here!
I hope it is the right place to ask, what it takes and how I could start a PC biz?
I can't afford to buy the material offered on this site. So I'm just hoping there are some generous souls around here, who would give me some advice.
I have millions of questions!
And yes, I can cook!
Used to cook in restaurants in Vienna, but haven't done anything like that here (other then a few catering jobs)
Could someone help me?
Thanks in advance!

The first piece of advice I would give you is: start setting aside money to pay for training materials and membership. As you do that, head for the libarary and get out some books on running a small business, sole proprietorships, marketing, business plans, etc.

The training materials assume that you know how to cook -- or are in the process of getting an education in some fashion. What the training materials do is help you build the actual business. Forms, marketing, how to do assessments, how to determine client needs, how to structure the business, how to budget, etc., etc.

Could you become a personal chef without any kind of training in the business of being a personal chef? Well, yeah -- but you are going to have to develop all of that from scratch --and from an hourly point of view, the training materials start to seem like a bargain. I've run small businesses before -- and the training materials gave me a huge jump-start.

Are we, who all paid for training materials going to give it all to you for free? Umm. No. We like to help folks out with an occasional question here or there, but we're not going to hand over the whole enchilada to ya. Become my colleague and work with me within the association to further the personal chef industry and I'm a hell of a lot more helpful. After all, if I'm going to spend time helping you out -- I want to know that you'll be there to help me when I need it -- or if not me, at least be there to mentor PC's down the road.

I would also strongly recommend that you join an association just in terms of marketing. I've gotten the vast majority of my clients through the Find-A-Chef website here at the APCA. No work on your part, yet it still delivers clients. Gotta love that -- and frankly, that alone is worth the price of membership. And then you get all the other benefits -- one of which is discussion boards where you can ask all of those questions -- and really get a lot of information. Heck, most of your questions have already been posted and answered.

I'm also concerned that you're starting a business when you are severely underfunded. Not a good start. Don't get me wrong -- this is a business that can get off the ground and running with a relatively small investment. But not non-existent. I can't imagine having to market my business without being in a personal chef search engine. After all, none of my clients went to Google and typed in Whisk For Hire. They searched for personal chef and then found me on the APCA site when they looked under their location.

But let's say you've got a marketing plan that will overcome that. (I'm not being sarcastic, some people do make it work!) You're going to need money for liability insurance -- approx. $500 a year. Also, if you don't have food safety certification or training, you'll need that. Business cards, brochures, probably some equipment, whatever materials you'll need for marketing. Software to manage recipes/shopping lists, etc., if you need it. A separate phone line, webhosting if you're going it alone. Thousands of dollars? No -- but still, you've got to put money into a business to make money from it. The phone bill, the webhosting charge -- all that stuffs going to come due whether you have clients or not.

And, it's going to take you a while to get a full schedule of clients -- even with the jumpstart the training materials and web presence membership gives you, I tell new PC's to plan on at least six months to two years to really fill up their schedule. Do you have money set aside to live on while you're building your clientele? (You may not need it --which would be a huge advantage, but still, you're going to need that other stuff.)

I don't want to be discouraging -- but being underfunded is a very common reason for a personal chef business to fail. You start to panic because you're not making enough money to cover your bills, you can't just conjure up clients out of nowhere -- but to market more you may need to spend even more money....so people bail, get a safe, secure, regular paycheck kind of job.

Start to plan now -- go back to the top and get those books out, set up a budget and figure out how much money you will need to get this thing going. Start setting it aside. Educate yourself on running a small business, start on a business plan -- see if you can snag a copy of Bernard Kamoroff's Small Time Operator, a good basic guide to running a small business.

When you can afford the materials, get those and use them to refine your business plan, set up a budget for the business and continue setting aside the funds that you think you'll need for all of the expenses such as liability insurance, marketing materials, etc. Then you can let loose with questions on the member's forum and you'll be in business!

We'll still try to help you out here in the mean time. Good luck!

Hi, let me first begin with, in order to tell you how to get up & running, would mean that one would have to go over much of the training materials...& of course, that's why each organization sells a training package. But believe me, you will want to join one of the organizations available. This is why:

Much of the most important parts of the materials is not about cooking, but the actual start up of a personal chef service. From licensing, insurance & other state/county issues, marketing, to what equipment you will need, etc (just to name a few). Cooking well, will matter very little, if you do not know how to properly take care of the business issues.

You may not have the funds to join an organization at this time, & I certainly can relate to that..as it took me a few months before I could join. My suggestion would be, that if you are serious about being a personal chef, to save up & & at least purchase the written materials first. You could always purchase the videos &/or attend a seminar at a later date, if you so desire. There is certainly nothing wrong with that. Many have done just that. In fact, I didn't think I would benefit from attending a seminar, so I just purchased the written materials & videos. Later on, I had the opportunity to attend a seminar, & am so glad that I did.

I cannot speak about what other organizations will give you, but I will tell you that what you will get out of APCA is more than just training materials. Despite my original answer...the support here is amazing. The forums alone are worth the fee to join. You will learn so much & all those burning questions that I know you must have, would be answered & in a way, that it would make sense.

BTW, many of us continued working part-time, even full time, when first joining. There is no shame in that. I am single, therefore, no one to pay bills for me, besides attending to what my business would require . So...we all do what we have to do, in order to fulfill our ambitions or career choices. I am glad I joined APCA, & have the thriving business that I now have.

I wish you the best of luck, & sincerely hope that you can join the ranks soon.

Goose, I was still typing away(with a few interruptions) I guess, when you posted. But imho, you put it in much better words than I did.

Btw, I neglected to mention that I was lucky enough to have a severance package from my job when I first joined APCA...I took 6 months planning out my business & going over the materials. I then opened my doors for business, divorced my spouse, & took a part-time restaurant job (server) for almost the next year, b/c face it, two steady clients wasn't enough to keep me in a certain lifestyle. But it did give me all kinds of hours (I worked early eves & weekends) to market my business & take care of the two clients I had. Again, if one needs to work full or part-time while starting out, there is absolutely no shame in it, in fact, I suggest it.

WOW!
First,I thank you both for responding!!
I don't even know where to start, you gave me so much to talk/think about.
I surely do not expect to get all your knowledge, training for free!!
My intention was to get some idea, if it is at all possible for me to even try to become a PC.
You both answered that, thank you.
It seems being a good cook is the least of it.
I should have money before thinking of it seriously, right?
Well, I'm single too, so it would be absolutely necessary to continue working full time.
I'm my own boss, so I have an idea what it means to run a business.
I believe though, being a PC is a totally different kind of business.
I don't even know what I would have to do to get licenced, what kind of insurance I would have to have, etc.
Believe me, I would love to be able to join, get all the materials, do all the necessary things.
I wish I could.
After loosing my job of 10 years a couple of years ago, I wanted to try it on my own. Well, obviously didn't get rich, still live on the "edge" so to speak. But I survived.
I have lots of experience dealing with costumers,love and can cook. Occasionally get catering jobs for special parties, weddings, 20-120 people.
At this point in my life, I find that cooking is easier for me than all the other work I do.
That's how the idea came to me.
Might be wrong about it, maybe I shouldn't even try.
But at least I would like to find out as much as I can, before I decide what I want to do.
This forum's helped a lot already!!

No, No No....it sounds as if you are already prepared to throw the towel in ("might be wrong about it, maybe I shouldn't even try" words from you!)

Goose & I are being quite frank with you, & I can safely say, that we were not thinking that you wanted complete training free gratis! That being said, I promise you, I was in no way, in any means confident about venturing out, especially in something like this...which was still relatively new at the time. I talked with Chef Candy extensively...man, she must've been tired from hearing from me...& to top it off, Golden Goose, actually made me want to join APCA & try this industry.

I know I didn't mean to come off as "canned" nor that just b/c one may have lack of funds just to jump right in, should wait forever. I'm sure GG didn't mean it that way either.

Also, this type of service doesn't mean you have to have tens of thousands of $$$ to start, but you will need to have certain things in place, which will yes, cost a few dollars. Can you still do it? Only if you have the strong desire & determination. Funds can sometimes be the least of your worries in the long run....found it true for me.

Tell ya what...if you would like, I will be more than happy to disucss this further with you. This will be based on my experiences only...fund wise, etc...especially being a single gal. You are more than welcome to email me at : chef4unow@yahoo.com & pass me your phone number...will be more than happy to talk with you.

Do NOT give up so easily....I would've, if it wasn't for others willing to really talk with me, & family support. And at worst...if it takes you 6 mths or even a yr, to start this...would it be so bad? I really don't think it would be. I'm sure you had planning etc, with what you do now, right?????