Make Money While Making Dinner
Plotting the week’s dinner menu can often be a seriously difficult chore – after all, dishes like meatloaf, spaghetti, and burgers can get very dull. If you enjoy cooking, then you have just stumbled upon a viable business that will allow you to do what you love and make money doing it – offer personal in-home cooking lessons.
The problem is many people have hectic lives and simply don’t have time to experiment with new dishes; most would rather cook a meal they know is going to be a success, throw something in the microwave, or just go through the drive-thru at a fast food joint on the way home from work. Now you can steal some of the business from those multi-billion dollar fast food restaurant chains.
The premise is simple. Clients will hire you to come to their homes to teach them how to cook. You can charge between $250 and $350 a week for five nightly lessons. You will bring all the ingredients; all the client has to supply is herself/himself, the kitchen, and a strong dose of enthusiasm.
The great thing about in-home cooking lessons is you can be as creative as you want. Maybe you will offer lessons for busy people on how to cook quick yet delicious meals. You might create a list of dishes, and your clients can choose which they would like to learn to cook. Or, you might decide to offer “family” cooking lessons where the whole family can gather around in the kitchen and learn how to make wonderful new dishes.
Purchase your ingredients from your local grocery store. Sign up for the local “price plus” card that most grocery stores offer. Having such a card will give you savings on certain items, and always check the Sunday paper for valuable coupons.
Marketing your personal in-home cooking lessons should be simple. Most towns have free papers, like the Pennysaver, in which you can place an ad. You can also advertise in your local weekly newspaper. You might also want to post signs, with tear-off strips that include your name and phone number, on all the bulletin boards at your local grocery stores.
One of the best ways to get free advertising for your new business is to contact your local newspaper. Tell them you are a hometown entrepreneur. Perhaps they will be interested enough to write a feature on you for their next issue. Many towns and states also have business publications that list all the newest businesses and also feature articles on entrepreneurs. If there is such a publication in your area, contact the editor. Having articles written on your business is a surefire way to get excellent, free publicity.
Everyone needs to eat, and most people love good food. By offering in-home personal cooking lessons, you are going to attract plenty of people who are eager to spice up dinnertime. Instead of simply offering “cooking lessons,” you might want to consider specializing in ethnic foods like Chinese, Indian, or Thai food. Emphasize how unique and impressive your clients’ meals will be since most people go out for such cuisine. Start a website that features articles about Chinese cuisine, for example, and show your clients how learning to cook ethnic dishes will make dinner parties more impressive and turn dinnertime into something everyone looks forward to daily.
Resources:
http://www.businesstown.com/gettingstarted/index.asp
http://www.recipesource.com/
http://www.cooksrecipes.com/category/international.html
Links of Interest
Turn Your Hobby Into Extra Income
