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Speaker: [00:00:00] One of the fastest ways to burn out as a personal chef. Trying to keep everything in your head. I’ve been there scribbling invoice totals on the back of a receipt, forgetting which client was it that hated cilantro. Frantically running back to the grocery store for something I missed, and the big one taking way too long on a cook day because I didn’t have a plan.
When I finally put a few systems in place, that’s when everything changed. Cook days ran smoother and faster. Clients trusted me faster. I made less mistakes, and most importantly, I didn’t feel like my heart was gonna explode from stress and anxiety.
In this video, I’m gonna walk you through the basic three systems that every personal chef business needs to have from day one, so you can skip the chaos and the unorganization and the anxiety and step into that fully booked, [00:01:00] fully confident version of yourself.
Hey there, I’m Chef Shelley. I have been a personal chef for over 19 years, and when I’m not cooking for my own clients, I help passionate home cooks and burnt out hospitality. Pros build your business that gives you freedom, income, the joy of cooking back. Without having to have a commercial kitchen.
You don’t even have to go to culinary school if you haven’t yet. And you don’t have to work nights, weekends, and holidays. Can you believe it?
So these three systems, they’re the difference between hoping this works and knowing it will. So system number one that you need to have in place is your personal chef service, AKA meal prep service system down.
This is the backbone of your business and having a system is the backbone of your service. When I started it, I was kind of winging it. I admit it. I was kind of practicing on clients, trying to figure out what I was doing. I. [00:02:00] Just kind of went with what I thought in the moment would work. I ended up cooking too many dishes.
I would get way off schedule. My cook days took forever, and at the end I ended up exhausted. One time I even completely forgot to bring one of the client’s key ingredients for a recipe, and I had to improvise with what was in their pantry, which was not ideal. Once I took the time to create a clear cook day system, then everything changed overnight.
A repeatable process like this helps you stay organized, save time in the kitchen () and time is money) finish on schedule, which makes you look good to the client, and really makes you stand out as a true professional. This includes things like planning your client menus in advance, contacting the client in advance of their cook day, doing your prep work smart, knowing your cook day timeline for what you’re going to be preparing, what [00:03:00] needs to get started first, what goes next? Cleaning up and leaving the kitchen spotless even. It seems simple, but this is what makes the difference between looking like ‘someone who cooks’ and being seen as a legit, reliable, professional personal chef.
System number two is your pricing. Here’s the deal. If you are still quoting by the hour or charging a different rate based on how long you think that cook day is gonna take or whatever, you’re leaving money on the table and worse, it’s confusing potential clients. And I get it. You think pricing’s hard. It used to give me hives too.
I used to guess at pricing, price off the top of my head () that’s a classic mistake) price too low and lose money and end up doing so much work at the end I was like, why did I even do that? I’ve heard my students say things like when someone asks them for a [00:04:00] price, “well, it depends” or the worst one I’ve ever heard ” just pay me what you think is fair” I mean, basically that translates to, I don’t feel confident asking for what my service is worth. So here’s what a real pricing system put in place gives you: a flat rate that’s easy to explain, easy for the clients to understand, boundaries for you that are easy to enforce and profit that you can rely on.
So your pricing system should include: your flat rate plus groceries for personal chef services, AKA meal prep services, what’s included and what’s not like groceries and containers that are reimbursed, how you get paid, when you get paid, and a clear cancellation and reschedule a policy.
To be honest, clients don’t get uncomfortable with pricing. We do. When you are clear and confident, then they’re gonna respond just like that too. Let me [00:05:00] pause for a second here, because I wanna be real with you. Most people don’t take the time to put this stuff in place before they start and they just kind of do workarounds, right? Little sticky notes here, or making a mental checklist there.
And before long, they’re drowning in disorganized details that eat up all their time, their energy. And then when you start making mistakes, there goes your confidence. You are here because you wanna do this the right way, right?
So let’s talk about the last one, system number three. The one that separates the hobbyists from the pros almost immediately managing your client information and onboarding. You know, the feeling you get when someone says, ” oh, hey, I’m interested. How does that work?” And your brain just kind of goes blank. Yeah, we’ve all been there. When you don’t have a smooth onboarding process, it shows. The potential client starts getting [00:06:00] nervous, you start getting frazzled, and then it starts to feel like you’re not ready even when you totally are. So here’s what this system needs to include: an in-person meeting in the potential client’s kitchen, a food questionnaire that captures all their likes, their dislikes, do they like spicy food? Can they not handle spicy food? Do they have any food allergies? Do they love Italian food, hate Mexican food? Are they trying to do any special diets? Do they hate okra? Do they love cilantro? Everything. All the herbs. All the spices. All the everything. Right? It also needs to have a clear outline of what you’re going to do and when. When you’ll contact them for their menu choices? What time are you going to show up to cook?
What time will you be finished by? And the contact method that keeps everyone on the same page. What do they want? Do they want phone calls? Do they want emails? Do they want texts? Again, this isn’t about having [00:07:00] like some kind of software that you have to track this in. You don’t have to make a spreadsheet and for God’s sake, you don’t need a fancy CRM you’re paying for.
This is just about being prepared, looking polished, and making your clients feel taken care of from day one. Smooth onboarding like this builds trust and trust is what keeps clients coming back.
Let me quickly recap those three systems again that you need from the very beginning. Your personal chef service, AKA meal prep, cook day process that keeps your cook day smooth, profitable, stress free.
Pricing system that gives you confidence, lets you explain it easily, makes it easy for the clients to understand, makes them feel secure.
And finally, a client onboarding system so you have all your details that make you look professional, keeps things running smoothly without drama.
These things aren’t “extras” or “some days” they are essentials [00:08:00] right now and when you do this early, you’re gonna set yourself up for a business that’s not just functional, but fulfilling. Because being fully booked doesn’t have to mean running around like a chicken with your head cut off, getting totally burned out.
If you want help setting up that Cook Day system, I’ve got a free guide called How to Do Meal Prep Services for Clients. It walks you through the exact process to use from choosing recipes, setting up your grocery list, doing the shopping in a professional way, with good tips to help make it go faster ’cause who wants to spend our time there, right? Cooking, cooling, all the things. You can go from planning a practice menu to navigating through the complete cook day with clarity and confidence. If you want, just drop a comment that says meal prep, and I’ll send you the link, or I’ll put a link down in the description.
If you found this video helpful, don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube. That’s where you are hit like on the video, or if you’re on a [00:09:00] different platform, you know what to do. I put out new videos every week where I help you start and grow your successful personal chef business because the clients are out there and they’re hungry for what you’re cooking.
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