Blurb:
Eric
Bickernicks, of Velma's Kettle Corn, takes readers through the steps needed to
start their own food concession business. He writes about his encounters with
unusual customers, relentless health department officials and inept event
coordinators. During this time, he documented everything on video, and this
ebook links to over eighty videos which show exactly what transpired.
He
goes over the equipment used to start his kettle corn business and the
improvements he encountered as his business grew. He explains the different
types of popcorn that are available and the benefits of each type. His business
had many peaks and valleys and he shares the bad times as well as the good. He
sold his product online as well as at events, and, on at least one occasion, US
troops serving overseas were surprised with boxes of his kettle corn.
As
marketing is always important for any new company, Eric goes over the different
things he tried--from refrigerator magnets to t-shirt sales. He explains what
it took to get a mention in the local newspapers and what other press he
managed to get. He goes over what worked and what didn't in his attempts at SEO
(search engine optimization) to get his website ranked on Google.
He
learned the hard way that, contrary to expectation, bigger events don't
necessarily mean bigger profits. He talks about the factors behind failed
events, such as on-site location, when he was sometimes stuck in the far
corners of a parking lot. At other times he was a victim of his own success, as
with the occasion offended town officials stopped him from popping because his
product became the focus of their event. Word of mouth spread about how good
his kettle corn was, and he was eventually pursued by other towns for his
services. He goes over his thoughts regarding corporate events, where the
vendor gets payed up-front regardless of sales.
Some
events were unconventional, like the time he gave away kettle corn to the
neighborhood kids on Halloween, sold at a haunted hayride and set up his
equipment on-site for a local movie night. He also took his set-up indoors
during the winter, and explains why it never seemed to work.
Midway
through his career, he moved and was forced to find locations all over again.
He goes over his perceptions of each event before and after he attended. He
took his business on the road to Florida where he explored the business
opportunities available during the winter months when, back home in New
England, popping outdoors was impossible. He even traveled to Hawaii, exploring
it as a possible business location.
Creativity
plays an important role in attracting customers and he writes about how he got
customers to sing songs and participate in unusual challenges (all on video)
just for a free bag of his product. On one occasion he even got an artist to go
against his aesthetic judgment and paint on black velvet for some kettle corn.
He also found out that kettle corn has non-human fans, such as cows and pigs.
Dealing
with criticism from demanding customers and disgruntled competitors has been an
ongoing issue. He relates stories about these confrontations and talks about
what other bloggers and competitors said about him and his company. These tales
include his account of the kettle corn vendor at Boston's Fenway Park who felt
the need to confront him and when the failure of a wealthy town to embrace his
product changed his perception of what makes a good customer.
These
personal anecdotes illustrate the rewards and perils of running a small
business and make Bickernicks' book more than just another business start-up
manual.
Velma's
Kettle Corn website: www.velmas.org
Review by Rochelle Weber:
Had
I read the 859-word blurb, I probably would never have agreed to review this
so-called “book.” I would have known I was not dealing with an author, but a
salesman, as evidenced by the fact that the blurb, which is a good 700 words
longer than a blurb should be, ends with the website from which these people
sell their kettle corn.
The
Kettle Corn Business Journal isn’t
really a book; it’s a blog that Mr. Bickernicks published unedited. Yes, it’s there in all its misspelled,
non-grammatical glory, complete with references to videos that are embedded in
the actual blog. If you want to see them, you have to go online to do so, and
while you’re there, you may as well go to their website and buy their kettle
corn. In my opinion, this is not a book;
it’s spam. Unless you want to buy kettle corn or start a
food concession stand, and you don’t care about editing, don’t bother. I couldn’t
even finish this mess. Kettle corn is neither on my food plan, nor in my
budget.
Length:
211 Pages
Digital Price: $1.99
Thanks
for visiting. Rose, Julie, Donna, & Rochelle
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