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Pros and Cons of Starting A Specialty Food Business: Fact Sheets For The Small Scale Food Entrepreneur

The document discusses the pros and cons of starting a specialty food business. The pros include being your own boss, flexibility in work environment and hours, doing something you believe in, and the potential for creativity and growth. However, the cons are significant risks of business failure, requiring 60-70 hours of work per week, potential financial strain and burnout. Success requires developing business and marketing plans, following regulations, maintaining records, and separating personal and business concerns.

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Pinto Pinto
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41 views2 pages

Pros and Cons of Starting A Specialty Food Business: Fact Sheets For The Small Scale Food Entrepreneur

The document discusses the pros and cons of starting a specialty food business. The pros include being your own boss, flexibility in work environment and hours, doing something you believe in, and the potential for creativity and growth. However, the cons are significant risks of business failure, requiring 60-70 hours of work per week, potential financial strain and burnout. Success requires developing business and marketing plans, following regulations, maintaining records, and separating personal and business concerns.

Uploaded by

Pinto Pinto
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Pros and Cons of Starting a Specialty

Food Business
Fact Sheets for the
Small Scale Food Entrepreneur

Published by:
The Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship at the New York State Food Venture Center, Cornell University,
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/necfe/
This publication is for educational purposes only. 01/07
Cornell University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Educator and Employer
Pros and Cons of Starting a Specialty Food Business
The specialty food business can be rewarding and exciting. It can also be a real struggle. Listed
below are some pros and cons of starting and running your own specialty food business. The
list is intended to provide a realistic picture of specialty food manufacturing. Keep in mind
that several of the items listed are qualitative, that is, their importance depends largely on how
strongly you feel about them.

Advantages:
• Being your own boss.
• Creating your own work environment: hours, flexibility, etc.
• Doing something in which you believe
• Reaping the benefits of hard work and long hours directly.
• Variety, challenges, and opportunities for creativity, full use of knowledge
• More open earning and growth potential
• Satisfaction of a successful venture, a product well received
• Empowerment

Disadvantages:
• Risk of failure
• Time Commitment – 60-70 hrs per week is normal
• Financial strain as assets become tied to business start up and success
• Strain on family due to financial and lifestyle change
• Emotional burnout
• Unavoidable business roles/requirements you’d rather not fill
• Rejection of your product by consumers

Should you decide to pursue a specialty food business start up, there are a number of things you
can do to minimize risk and maximize your chance of a successful, rewarding venture:
- Develop a Business Plan
- Regularly review your business plan to remind yourself of goals and maintain focus
- Develop a marketing plan
- Learn and follow food regulations and requirements
- Maintain accurate, current records
- Analyze your financial status on a regular basis and make necessary adjustments
- Comparison shop for quality inventory in a timely fashion
- Learn to recognize and solve problems promptly
- Draw a line between your personal life and your business life and stick to it

Published by:
The Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship at the New York State Food Venture Center, Cornell University,
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/necfe/
This publication is for educational purposes only. 01/07
Cornell University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Educator and Employer

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