For this week’s #BusinessTipTuesday we look at #RockyRoadDay celebrated on June 2. As you know, Memorial Day always serves as the unofficial First Day of Summer and when we think about summer, one of the firs things that comes to mind is ice cream ! At the SBDC we have helped many entrepreneurs start their ice cream shops and we have learned a few lessons along the way.
- Write a business plan – As with any new business our SBDC business consultants always advise our entrepreneurs to write a business plan to guide them in understand all the steps involved in running a business.
- Seasonality – The ice cream business isn’t as simple as it seems. As with any seasonal business , a business owner needs to understand how income and expenses will fluctuate based on the season.
- Licenses & Permits – Anyone thinking about selling ice cream should become familiar with the licensing and permit requirements involves in the handling of food related products, particularly the Frozen Dessert License.
- Pricing – Once of the most difficult lessons for a business owner to grasp is how to price their product. Just because “this is what everyone else charges” doesn’t necessarily mean that price will work for your business. There are many different items to consider when setting a price for your product.
- Staffing – Time and again we here from our SBDC clients that finding good employees is always their biggest challenge. Finding and retaining good employees is essential to any successful business.
For help with these items as well as a number of any other items that pop up when you run your own business, contact The University of Scranton Small Business Development Center.
Keith D. Yurgosky
Business Consultant
The University of Scranton
Small Business Development Center
www.scrantonsbdc.com (570) 941-4150
Artwork adapted from freepik.com
