SC - Period cookshop at Pennsic?

[Siegfried Heydrich]

    Hmmm . . . well, having done this sort of thing before (though not at
Pennsic), all I can say is that while yes, it is doable, you'd better have
all your ducks in a row well beforehand, This isn't like cooking a feast,
this is business. And as we say in the south, 'Bidness is Bidness'.
    You need to have a clear understanding of costs, projected profits, how
said profits are to be divvied up, who are the chiefs, and who are the
indians. You need people who are reliable, and know what they're doing. You
need a reliable source of supplies, all of the equipment you need to operate
(as well as backups), a clear understanding of the health regulations of the
area you'll be setting up in, and a healthy insurance policy wouldn't hurt,
either
    In short, you need a business plan that takes into account as many
variables as you can possibly anticipate (like the traditional Pennsic
deluge), and contingency plans for the ones you can't. You also need enough
investment capital to get the project underway, and you DON'T want to try to
do this on a shoestring. The fastest way to go bust is to pennypinch
yourself to death - if you're going to do it, do it right. Don't go
hog-wild, but cheap looks cheap, no matter how you try to disguise it.
    Given that the principals of the operation will most likely be coming in
from out of the area, that adds another layer of complication. You're never
quite sure of what you've got until you get there, and then you'd better be
light on your feet, because it's an almost certainty that what you've got
isn't what you expected.
    What you're talking about is an extremely intense, week+ long, high
volume field operation. Field operations have their own unique set of
problems, most notably that you're pretty much on your own. You need to know
how to maintain and repair your equipment, and have the tools and spare
parts needed, because getting a service crew out to you is generally not an
option. It's extremely unlikely you'll be able to get regular food
deliveries out to Coopers lake, so you either need a large storage facility,
or someone with a reliable truck or van. Odds are you're going to have to go
for your own supplies on a daily basis, and New Castle didn't strike me as a
town with a lot of resources for that sort of thing. Youngstown might, but
it's across a state line, which can make matters difficult.
    Personnel is critical; and the strong likelihood is that you'll have
trouble getting SCAdians who are willing to work 12 hours+ a day at the
biggest event of the year. There won't be any partying for the crew; if they
need to be up at 0500 to start getting breakfast ready, hangovers are not an
option. Hiring local labor is an option, but reliability is a serious
question. So is parking for them. Oddly enough, given the date of Pennsic,
the most readily available source of labor would be the food service
personnel at the local schools. They're like teachers; no income over the
summer months, and are generally pretty agreeable to summer work. I might
add that they're used to volume production, and by and large, are pretty
reliable.
    Another matter is security. If you're doing serious business, you may be
dealing with 1,000 customers a day. At (say) $5 a head, you're looking at
close to $50k in cash flowing through your hands over the course of the
event. That's a choice target. Since you're going to be on a cash basis with
your vendors, that means people with lots of money running back and forth.
Choice targets. I'm not being paranoid, just aware that there are predators
out there.
    I think what I'm trying to say here is that you need to approach this
kind of project with a gimlet eye. Yes, there is a major opportunity to not
only feed the populace with wholesome period food, educate them that period
food really isn't icky, turn a tidy profit, and have a huge amount of fun
while working yourself straight into the ground, but if you go into it with
unrealistic expectations, you're going to be eaten alive. Crunch numbers,
make plans, and bear in mind that no business plan ever survives contact
with the customers.

    Sieggy