My First “Customer”

[mgent]

Hello, I have my first “customer” ,a friend of a friend, asking me what it would cost for me to smoke some meat for them. Can y’all tell me a general rule for or how you go about calculating what to charge someone for smoking them some meat? Price of meat + price of wood + time spent + beer drank = ?

thank y’all

 

[jcam222]

Pricing will vary by region. One of the easiest ways is to look up pricing of smoking catering in your area from bigger operations and then just undercut thot a bit.

 

[OldSmoke]

The line item for beer is very localized. Certain to overrun the budget.

 

[cmayna]

Is your intent, to get into the smoking business? If so, how long have you been smoking and what meats do you seem to specialize in. If not, I personally would not open that can of worms. Maybe charge the friend of friend 50% of the yield if they supply the meat. If you are supplying the meat.......hmmmmm.

 

[jmusser]

My beer cost is the biggest variable.... Cheap beer is cheap, IPA is cheap, Bourbon barrel aged stouts can add up quick. Tricky question yet very good as we all improve/impress, it can lead to these requests. The things that we normally neglect to think of do add up. Example: wood, electricity, use and abuse of gear, vac sealing, seasoning, flavorings, sauces, gloves, foil pans, washing, sanitizing, serving. Stuff really adds up. Especially as size of party increases.

To me, I enjoy the prep and cooking but it does eat up my time and a lot of stress. I LOVE cooking but would never want it as a business. I feel the same way about fishing. Never wanted to turn passion into work. I teach. I do not go to work. I go to school. Mindset is key. Dang that got long.

 

[mgent]

Thank y’all, I do realize that I could be opening a can of worms with this friend of a friend. I don’t necessarily want to become a short order cook for this person where they’re placing orders with me at their whim. I figure if it quickly becomes a drag I’ll just put a stop to it with a quickness. I mean, which of us haven’t considered maybe turning this hobby into a living. It’s a pipe dream for sure ... But, I am very into smoking and was looking at this as a way to get practice and continue to learn so I thought I’d give it a crack. It’s looking like I’ll be buying everything for the cook (wood, meat, etc) so with calculating the sum of those expenditures I didn’t know if there was some kind of general rule for charging for the ‘labor’ side of it. Starting to think it’s a little more complicated than that.

 

[daspyknows]

I just do a barter thing. My mechanic loves bbq and I have another friend provides me stuff he grows in exchange for bbq and computer tech support. Everyone ends up happy.

 

[TNJAKE]

Just go with a little less than a local bbq joint if this isn't gonna be a career. They already have all those costs factored into the equation

 

[SmokinEdge]

Depending on the meat, but take the cost per pound green weight and triple it. That will get you close as far as still making profit.
In terms of the finish product value, that is dependent on location and demand, as well as the quality of the product.

 

[bill1]

I'd argue the local joints are "pros" so know the tricks. You may not. So price a little higher than them, not lower.
If by doing so you lose "the job", at least you're not out anything.
Now if you really want to pursue a new career here, then maybe you're willing to lose some money to build up a customer base while learning the pros' tricks yourself so you can eventually be profitable. But do it with eyes wide open.

 

[phatbac]

I would recommend doing it for free or just the price of meat, for me it's a labor of love and if you are helping someone out sometimes someone will help you out when you need it. but as for your time and energy donate it. give it some thought...

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

 

[mgent]

The line item for beer is very localized. Certain to overrun the budget.

cheers

 

[cmayna]

I would recommend doing it for free or just the price of meat, for me it's a labor of love and if you are helping someone out sometimes someone will help you out when you need it. but as for your time and energy donate it. give it some thought...

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

Perfect.