The popularity of some desserts fades as fast as it starts. Other sweet treats, however, seem to have greater staying power. When it comes to Americans and their favorite dessert, it is difficult to compete with ice cream and other frozen yogurt treats. In fact, 90% of Americans admit to regularly indulging in a sweet, frozen treat.
The following statistics verify the popularity of America’s passions for frozen desserts:
- 40%–the percentage of Americans eat ice cream in any two week period
- 28.5–the number of times a year the average American eats ice cream
- 2,582–the number of frozen yogurt stores in America
New business entrepreneurs understand America’s love for ice cream, frozen yogurt, and other frozen options. As franchises and independent shops continue to grow in popularity across the country, investors understand that this option is an affordable opportunity.
Everything from color coordinated mini tasting spoons and the interior design of the store makes for a fun and exciting business adventure. The fun colors and clever marketing items do not disguise, however, that any franchise or independent business should be carefully considered before investing. Some questions that you might want to think through include the following:
- Have you ever owned a business before? Although this is not a requirement, it is important to know if you are going to be happy being completely in charge. Talk to other business owners and find out what they see as the pros and cons of working for yourself.
- Check you r own finances. While you may in the end need a loan to start a new business, make sure that you have first done everything that you can to get yourself in the best financial position. Pay down debt. Take a complete inventory of the assets that you may have that could be used for starting the new venture.
- Be ready to divide and conquer. while it is tempting to think that you will be able to fill all of the roles in your new business, you have to realistic. Take inventory of what your best skills are, what you are most interested in learning about, and what you know are your weaknesses. Outsourcing is a viable option for some tasks that are outside of your skill set.
- The customer must come first. No product or service will make any profit for you without customers. Some business experts say that it is important to make sure that you spend at least one-fourth of your time serving or talking to customers. Additionally, it is important to remember that ever customer is valuable. You cannot, for example, spend time talking to your friends who are already your customers if it means that you are ignoring potential new customers. Train your employees to do the same.
- Hire the best people that you can find. Every person who works in your frozen yogurt business reflects you and the business that you are trying to grow. If you find yourself juggling work schedules because someone is not as reliable or hard working than others on your team, you have made a hiring mistake.
Even a Sweet Business Takes Hard Work
The bottom line is every new business is a big job. It is important to do plenty of research ahead of time and understand the goals of your shop. Taking the time to become trained in all of the machinery in a frozen yogurt store, for example, may not guarantee that you will be able to fix mechanical problems. It will, however, give you a basic understanding of the equipment and know what kinds of daily service will keep it running.
Making the decision to open a frozen yogurt or other frozen product store is a popular trend right now. It is important to spend time understanding who you competitors are and where their locations are. Make sure that you you position yourself to be in a competitive location and to offer competitive pricing. A thorough and complete marketing plan will also be essential. Making to plans to use social media and other digital marketing techniques can be the secret to your success. You may have the tastiest product in town, but if no one knows about it you will not have customers.
Sweet treats can lead to sweet success!
