STARTING A ROADSIDE BUSINESS

 STARTING A ROADSIDE BUSINESS 

     IF YOU lack money enough to take your goods to your market—that is, open a store, advertise extensively, or hire a crew to sell house to house—you must bring your market to your door. That door may be just a roadside stand such as you see along the highways. Along these well-traveled routes, with their ever-increasing army of tourists, you have a great potential market. Jump in your car and run out on any highway. You won’t go but a few miles before you run across at least one roadside stand. This stand may be the usual type which sells farm products—eggs, poultry, fruits, vegetables, butter, honey, etc. It may be one of the thousands of stands scattered far and wide across the country’s highways which sells hamburgers, hot dogs, barbecue sandwiches, citrus and other fruit drinks, pop, potato chips, candied pop corn, doughnuts, or custard ice cream. Souvenir and postal card stands are so common it is hardly necessary to mention them. Then there are the historical souvenirs which are sold around centers of historical interest. Which one of these many stands might make money for you depends upon the particular need in your locality, the buying habits of those who pass your way, and your ability to attract customers. Know your community well for much of your business may come from those in your neighborhood as well as the tourists who pass through your town. Key your product to your section. The tourist who passes through the little towns of Vermont most likely will want maple syrup or maple sugar candy. You might convert the natives of Vermont to hot tamales, or make the tourist think he wants them, but you probably would lose a lot of money before you had done so. So cater to your section of the country. In the Pacific Coast region, Atlantic Coast, Gulf or Great Lakes sections, fish (fresh and smoked) are sold at roadside stands. In the East, particularly in New York, you will find a number of “milk stations.” The inhabitants of Texas are great consumers of ice cream and any number of stands sell this hot weather confection. Mexican candy, known as pralines, is in demand around New Orleans and certain parts of Texas. In certain western and southwestern sections, unusual rocks and semiprecious stones are sold. Indian handicrafts— bead work, silver and turquoise jewelry, and leather goods—are sold from stands in and near the Indian reservations. Throughout the Southwest, practically everything to wear, use, or to eat, is sold at roadside stands. Hand-wrought jewelry, pottery, beads, lace, carved ornaments, needlework, handmade baskets, handwoven blankets, hot tamales, and chili are a few of the many items you can buy along the roadside. In addition to these sectional types of stands, roadside stands are successful selling bird houses, garden ornaments, fishing bait, pets of all kinds, shells, taffy candy, honey and honey candy, pies, pecans, taffy apples, antiques, trellises and garden furniture of the rustic type, objects made of birch bark, toys carved from wood, flowers, plants and shrubs, goldfish, dolls and neckties. Next to getting the right product for your locality, there is nothing so important to the success of your enterprise as advertising. This may be in the form of signs placed in advantageous places on the routes to your stand, signs in tourists’ camps and railroad stations. Or, a novel type of display stand may be sufficient to advertise your wares. One enterprising chap had a local builder make a huge “hot dog” for a stand and thus advertised to all the world his specialty. In Hollywood is a large iceberg which sells ice cream and cones to the youngsters. Out west there are also a number of huge “lemons” and “oranges,” which serve citrus fruit drinks and sandwiches. If you want something different you might construct an ice cream freezer similar to one built in Los Angeles. This enormous freezer, which can be seen for miles, has a real handle on it that turns by means of a motor. In the East a successful refreshment stand, selling buttermilk, butter, ice cream, malted milk, sandwiches and similar products, is built in the form of a gigantic milk can. An awning extends over the counter built around the can. A stand designed to resemble a huge basket of colorful vegetables would make a most novel advertisement for the sale of farm produce. While the country is dotted with many a “coffee pot,” one such refreshment stand is unusual in that it has an apartment above the store proper where the owner lives. A cider barrel or an old mill would tell the world that you sell cider, and an igloo would advertise cooling drinks and ice cream. Often these novel stands cost little more than the usual type to build and the advertising value is incalculable. Motorists will pass dozens of ordinary stands, but an unusual one is bound to command their attention. The display stand is not the only type of roadside business that flourishes, however. Many proprietors of golf driving ranges are making a good living catering to the inveterate golfer who is “just out for a ride” in his car. The “pony ride” is just as popular today with youngsters as it was years ago, and children will clamor for a ride whenever they see a pony. One man in Chicago made a good living for many years with his little string of ponies. When he retired and sold out his concession and ponies, he cleared several thousand dollars. Since archery is becoming popular again, archery practice fields are springing up along the highways. Bicycle stands are common and also riding academies. A successful riding academy near Chicago was once an old farm. The farmhouse has been turned into an inn and about two dozen riding horses are stabled in the barns. Groups of young people come out on Saturdays and Sundays for a gallop and dinner. Many students on vacations come out during the week. Another rather novel roadside enterprise was developed by a young man just out of school who was finding it difficult to get a job. He bought several inexpensive cameras and rented them at the entrance to a large picnic grove. A deposit was required on each camera and a small fee was charged for rental. He added to his profits by selling rolls of film at his little stand. A small enterprise of this type is bound to succeed. The overhead is practically nothing, and it fills a need that no one else is bothering to fill, always an important factor in drawing customers. Candy bars, chewing gum, packaged nuts and other items can be added to increase profits.