Another busy day during the slow time

Another Busy Day during a Slow Time!

 

Rabbit on the menu again for this weekend! Damn nice eating meat.





Another thing was fit into the slow times today. Seems the State Revenue
department came down on another establishment that forgot to pay its
sales taxes. The auction was yesterday, sent our ringer in with the
list.



Picked up a couple stainless steel work tables, 3 year old Wolf 3 foot
by 6 foot flattop with double ovens under it and two eyes out on the
end. Set up on the casters already. Nice piece, two door reefer one year
old nice shape not a scratch on it. Also finally got a pillow ice
machine, 12 minute cycle, water cooled, and 500 pound bin. We have been
watching patiently for three years to get a new ice machine at the
correct price. This is a nice machine as it is only 8 months old. Had to
shell out $600 for it. What a deal! All in all we picked the equipment
up for an average of 10 cents on the wholesale dollar.



To give you a little insight in why we are so intent on only purchasing
good equipment at the bottom price. Debt load kills more businesses than
any other facet of business. In catering servicing debt load during the
off season often decides who comes back next year and who sells out to
our ringer bidding to the gavel!



We have a good idea we are going to be putting together a 5000 person
remote man camp kitchen. With these final pieces we can now set an
entire kitchen with our own equipment that is paid for in full. Anyone
else bidding a man camp of this size is going to add debt loading onto
the bid for the equipment they will have to lease or purchase. When it
comes down to it at there break even costs we are already making money.
This is an important advantage in the high stakes game of field kitchen
operations.



The same applies to our regular business as well. We don't have the debt
service that most of our competitors carry so when the going gets
competitive only those who designed their business to be extremely
competitive from the beginning can still be banking money and creating
free cash flow when the others are paying debts. I always like to see
one of our competitors show up with a new trailer or brag about a new
set of ovens. It is one more stake in their coffin, one step closer to
us getting it at auction rate prices. I hope and encourage our
competitors to purchase the best equipment! I tell them oh we can not
afford that really high end stuff you guys can afford, we buy are
equipment at auction. (And the only way we afford the high end stuff is
if they purchase it first and we get it at auction! So buy the best
because I would like the best) So please competitors who watch these
boards, purchase a really nice double combi-oven with the stand and
casters. Because bbally wants one real bad at sometime at the 2006
auctions!



Some call it cruel, some are very offended, but the reality is you need
to set yourself to have the lowest overhead and the maximum left over
cash you can possible squeeze out of the gross revenue! To plan for
anything else is just postponing bankruptcy in my opinion!



We will talk again soon, I think it is time for a Sunlight Martini,
stirred not diluted all to he11 by shaking the snot out of it! Relax you
now have a little insight into how the game is won!



Chef Bob Ballantyne

The Cowboy and The Rose Catering

Grand Junction, Colorado, USA