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[00:00:00] How do you structure your first meeting? Meeting with clients. For example, do you set up a date to meet in person? And tour their kitchen before their first cook day. Or do you wait until the first cook? Day to meet in person. This question was submitted by Ash. Ashley. So.

Yes. Yes, you’d set up a day to meet in person. Um, you always. Always want to do that before the first cook day for a lot. Different reasons like you need to see. Even how. Big their kitchen is what the layout of the kitchen is. You need to look at and make sure. Sure that you can turn on the. The oven and the stove that it’s not some like fancy, weird brand. And you’ve never seen before or something and that they work. And. Things like that just to even, you know, to make sure that it’s. It’s functioning and that you’re comfortable.

You shouldn’t walk in on your first cook. And when you’re probably going to be a little nervous anyway, right. To [00:01:00] a kitchen that you’ve never. Seen before. So what the best time to do that? That generally is sometimes now a client. May.

Go from. I’m asking about your services to starting service. Totally over email or over the phone or even a video. Call or whatever, but, um, so then you would set. Set up a specific day to go by and stuff, but generally. Speaking a good thing to do is after they, you. Get some information and they’re really considering it is to go. To their house and sit down and meet with them in person to finalize the final detail. Details and everything.

Um, you can send the food questionnaire. Air by email for them to fill out and send back to you. Or that was a good time. To give them. The food questionnaire that they can fill out and send. Send back to you and stuff. So definitely, definitely do that. That, um, [00:02:00] before your first cook day.

All right question next. Is from Lisa. I remember you mentioned. Mentioning certification, would you please send a link? I put my info in here. Because I couldn’t write the box of Bubs. Certification. Um, I’m not sure if you’re talking about food safety certification, or if you’re talking about the. Um, certificate for completion inside the personal chef business. Academy. So if you’re looking for food safety certificate, Suffocation that is specific to the area.

You’re. We’re in, because of course that’s. Managed by. The health department, which is probably even though your health. The department’s more local. It’s probably state. So I’m just Google. Will your state and food safety certification, you do not need. Food manager, you only need food handler. So in that. It’s [00:03:00] online.

And then if it’s, you’re looking for the certificate inside. The academy after you go through all the modules. You’ll see, there’s a final module that, um, says, congratulations. When you go under there, it has your next steps and it has the form. You can. Fill out to get your certificate of completion mailed to you.

Great question. Either one, either one that was very, um, useful information.

next from Sri. Three. What is the best way to market online? The line. Should you do videos of cooking demonstrations? Or start a blog or just do food pictures. Okay, that’s a great question. And don’t forget, there’s a whole module on. On this inside the marketing section of the online training. But in general, just for an overview.

If you don’t have a website or even. If you do something like a Facebook page [00:04:00] or Instagram. Can be a great place for you to send people that. You have talked to, or who were interested in about your services for them? To yes. See some of your food, pictures and pictures of you cooking and other. Things like that.

So they can kind of get to know you a little bit. Right. And get more comfortable when. They think about you cooking for them. However, Especially Instagram, just posting on Instagram is not going to get. Any clients, because it’s not a local platform, right. When you post. On Instagram, it just sends it out to the algorithm and anybody. On the planet can see it, who, um, we assume is interested in. Food.

However, Instagram at that moment is figuring out they want to send stuff. Stuff to people. So. When we’re talking about a Facebook. Facebook page. It’s the same thing nobody’s going to. To go to your Facebook page or find you there. Without you sending them there. So that is not a good. Even on top of the fact that it’s [00:05:00] passive marketing.

If you remember, we talk. About passive marketing and active marketing. We’re passive is a website. Site or putting a post up on social media. Or doing passing out flyers or business cards, that stuff just sits there. And it’s passive and it can be fine, but act. Active ways of marketing things that actually get you talking. To people, having conversations, that kind of thing is much, much, much more. Uh, valuable and it can be scary and we can not want to do it.

And that’s why. People like to do things like pass out flyers and business. Put business cards. Cards that have business. Right. And think that’s gonna get us calls, but. Everybody does that back to, so if. If Instagram isn’t going to directly get you clients and a Facebook page. Isn’t what. Are the best ways of marketing online, a way you can market. Online that is active is you do have a Facebook. Facebook page and you post on that and that’s fine.

And you can. [00:06:00] Form relationships with other local businesses. And try. To you know, trade partnership or you’re highlighting each other’s businesses. And keeping it within a local thing. Telling local people. People to like your Facebook page. You know that again keeps it local and that’ll. Get people seeing your posts, but the most valuable thing you can do is. Is join local Facebook groups. And this can depend on your area or your specialty, maybe. There are local neighborhood groups, local moms groups. Uh, local business groups, um, local, whatever your specialty. He is people who are gluten-free or vegan or whatever, and who. We’re sharing recipes and restaurants and things like that.

That can be a great place. And what you want to do is of course, number one is follow the rules of that. Group and some of those groups don’t let you post. Busy. Business postings per se, but you can do things like poster. A recipe and say, Hey, I wanted [00:07:00] to share this. If you’re struggling. Struggling with what to have for dinner this week.

This is a favorite of my client. Clients and you’ll love it too. If you have any questions about it, I’m happy to, um, The answer you, blah, blah, blah. And so that gets people interested in you. And then. They can ask you questions in the comments, which is fine, or even. Even click through to your Facebook page and see about your business.

And of course you make sure. Your Facebook pages set up with all the business stuffs. There’s a lesson. Um, exactly how to do that in the training too. But. Being able to have conversations with people in those. Groups is what gets you that local, you know, Talking to local people, people talking to people, people referring. You getting people familiar with your services and all that stuff.

So. Being, um, active in those groups is one of the best. Ways online that you can, um, Market your business Shri.

Um, Going to the [00:08:00] next question. Um, Alicia wants to know, is it absolutely necessary to have. Have a formal business plans. And so I’m not looking for investors.

Great question.

It’s. It’s not the formal business. Plan. Let’s make sure we’re talking about the same thing in the sense of you need. I need a 30 page business plan. That could get. Get investors that you couldn’t take to a bank for financing or something. Something. There’s a lot of in that style of business plans. But we don’t need right.

Being a business of one, not having overhead, not having. Uh, business lease, not having a commercial kitchen, not having inventory, not. Not having an employees. There’s just tons of stuff in there that we don’t even need. Right. But you know, there is inside the training. Training the lesson on a business plan for making a very simple one page. Page business plan or maybe tops two or three pages. And. [00:09:00] Yes, it is important to do.

And why it is, is because.

It’s. It’s easy when you either put your head down and are working on one very. The specific thing in your business. Or when you’re. We’re not working on your business for a hot minute to lose track. Track of your direction, your overarching. Plan of where you want to go, what you want your business to be in all that. We can get kind of caught up in. Yeah, I want to get played to cook.

Yeah. I want to have a business. Yeah, I want to have some clients and it is really hard to get where you want to be. B. With that kind of vague thing. So. So what just a short business plan does, is it allows you to build your business back. Backwards. You’ve heard me say that before. Right? What that means is. Is you decide first, how much you want to work when. When you want to work, what services you want to do? And. What your pricing is to get you to [00:10:00] how much money you want to make. Make right, because then. You know, Oh, well, I don’t want to work nights, weekends and holidays. So I’m not going to do catering. And some people say I want to get to six figures.

So. I’m going to need to incorporate some catering and to get me where I want to be. Or it could just be in between. Yeah, I’ll do catering every once. Once in a while, but that’s important to know you don’t want to spend a bunch. Of your time. Worrying about catering or coming up with that type of. Menus or doing any work on that, or even mentioning on your website, if that is not. The service that you don’t want to have.

So it’s important to stay focused on what. You do want those three things, right? So in your business plan. Again, that’s where you put what you want and then the steps that you’re going. To do to get you there. I want to make a hundred thousand. $1 a year in my. Personal chef business to. To do that. I am going to offer personal chef services, also known as meal. Prep services [00:11:00] and small catering. My specialty for that is for the meal.

Prep services is going. Going to be. Families. With kids. Kids who are super busy with all the kids’ activities. The moms are burnout. Burnout. They don’t want to make dinner. They don’t have time. So, so you talk about your client. To that helps you keep your marketing, which is a separate plan. Dialed in. And so, you know exactly what you’re doing, you know exactly what food. And you’re cooking and you put your pricing in there too, so you don’t waffle and. Go back around on your pricing, right? Then for the catering. During section, cause you remember the more services you have, each one is. Like its own business.

Each one has its own marketing. Each one has. It’s own type of client. Each one has its own how much it works, what your pricing is. All that kind of stuff. How often you want to do it? How many clients you need or job. Jobs. So again, so your meal prep services, how many that’s during. The week during the day, how many clients do you want?

How much are you going to [00:12:00] charge? To get to that six figures. How much. Catering are you going to need to do how many jobs are you going to consistently? We need to have booked that profit. What amount. To get you to that six figures, right. And then you work out okay. Okay. If it has to be this, this much profit, and this is my cooking style. And what I want to do, whether it’s dinner parties or buffets. Phase or whatever, like working that out then, you know, Exactly the clients you need.

Exactly. How many exactly. Exactly when you’re going to be working, um, exactly how much you’re going to make. Exactly the food that you’re going to do. You have all that stuff. So then when it’s time to do your marketing plan, You know exactly. What marketing you need to do. Do who your client is, where you need to go and you can build that plan. So, you know exactly what to do to get you where you want to be.

Right. Because again. It can be [00:13:00] really distracting and. Just leave you unfocused and everything. If you don’t have those. Details dialed in. The flip side of that is when you do it’s. Just really easy to stay focused and always know what to do. Next and that’ll get you where you want to be so much faster. Aleisha so, yes. Too long.

Didn’t read too long. Didn’t listen. Yes. You have to have a business plan, but it does not need to be a 30 page ginormous.

what is it? The SB small business. Business. The thing of the chamber, that’ll help you. The SBA small business association. Or wherever it is, which is a lot of times what they’re used to working on those giant.

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