Originally posted on Facebook - Scenario Planning 2017-12-31-001 Costing your product

So you have read about the low cost of sausages in the tin (at TT$3.45) and the low cost of sardine and mackerels and you think that you can open a business selling breakfast items either at a school or at a busy place like Licensing Office.

You have done your research and you decide that there are lots of persons visiting those places and chances are that your food will sell quite nicely.

Well let us start with the sausages: To stretch the sausages, you will need to slice them thinly, add some onions, garlic, pimentos, ketchup, mustard and something to give it some zing...

Do you buy all of the abovementioned products and make the sausage dish to sell it or do you take some of the ingredients from home and just wing the cost or the expectation of what your income will be?

Well if you decide to sell the dish either you add up the cost of the ingredients, something for gas and something for the use of the dish, estimate the number of spoonfuls you can serve, the size of the spoon, whether you will heap the item on the spoon or just level it out and you work out the cost per spoon ful of sausage and then the income.

If you decide that you just want some income, some cash to come in as you want to be in a spot to lime, then the sausage may be your loss leader or your draw me close to you...

The aroma will draw persons in to your stall, the scent of the sauce may be what you pull in persons with and there is the option for you to sell a slice or two of cheese on bread and have two items for sale on that day, cheese and bread at a lower price and sausage and bread at a slightly higher price or vice versa depending on the size of the bread, the amount of sausage or cheese which is available at that point in time...

Depending on the time of the month, you may go back home with your sausage as there may not be a demand for it... Of course if persons are fasting, then nothing may sell.... Do not forget the cost of your food badge, something to contribute to the stove and your transportation costs.

So get your calendar, check the phases of the moon and work backwards to the start of Ramadan or Divali and see if you want to sell more vegetable dishes or if you will switch to being a gardener for part of the time..

Personally I think that the Cash Pot Scenarios are nicer to think through as they offer a thrill with easy stuff... For some persons money is what they work magic with and there are persons for whom the experience of selling, the joy of being there is priceless...

So which one will be your choice for the next two months, put some comments for me and have a happy new year....