Getting Organized - Oink!

While this is not my expertise, I like to think that I am a pretty organized person.  Dealing with incredibly detailed events and handling multiple deadlines at a time can force you to come up with a system pretty quickly.  So...funny that I think I married one of the most unorganized people ever.  At least that's how it would appear to the outsider with the piles around our house.  His best man even joked during his speech at our wedding that his idea of cleaning up was doing an arm sweep into the nearest drawer.  Even more funny, is that he normally knows where everything is, unless I move it to try and put it away.  We are a chaotically organized household between the two of us.

I am helping him get ready to start his new adventure of possibly opening up his food truck concept. You can read a bit more about Oink here.  So, as a gift I put together a binder for him to keep all of his important documents, notes and other items all in one place.  Without this, I can see the piles and a number of yellow legal pads with notes scratched on them all over the house in the very near future.

I'm not sure this is the answer for everyone, but I thought this would be a great place for some to start and expand on as things progress.  Here's what I did for him!

Custom Folder:

I purchased a 2 inch 3-ring binder with the window on the front so I could put together a cover branding the folder.  So, he can't confuse it with anything else!

Pencil Pocket:

Purchasing one of these really took me back.  I don't think I have bought one since I was in grade school to put in the front of my Trapper Keeper.  And by the way if I could have found a Trapper Keeper, he would have one right now!  But a great place to keep pens, zip drives, even business cards as this will be a tool he takes with him everywhere.

Note Pad:

I made sure to buy one with three ring holes so he could store it in the folder, but take it out if he only needed to travel with the notepad.  But this way, all of his notes are in one place!

Dividers:

I bought the 8 pack so he would have room to put his business plan as a reference for meetings, a to do list to check off his tasks and monitor progress, track his expenses, keep his research findings, etc.

I'm not sure he was a fan of all the pink, but it goes with his logo and theme of the truck, so I am sure he will come to love pink!  

Cheers!

Kristen

Oink - A Case Study

It's a bit funny that we chose this month as the month to discuss new business start ups.  My husband is getting ready to graduate and get his business degree from Eastern Oregon University.  I feel like our whole family is graduating, it has been a long busy road for all of us, but I am so proud that he did it!  For his senior project, he has been tasked with writing a business plan for a business of his choice.

Anyone who knows my husband, knows he is a killer cook.  He is one of those that can just start throwing things into a pot and turn it into a masterpiece.  I love it, but my waistline does not.  We have always toyed with the idea of turning that into a business of some sort.  He doesn't want to start a full blown restaurant because he doesn't want to turn something he loves into an everyday thing and get burned out.  So, he has decided to write a business plan to start a food truck with some of his most famous recipes.  But, the genius part is that we will only take the truck out on weekends, or to festivals or special events.  So, it will not be an everyday thing.

So, I thought, what a great way to share tips and tricks about starting a business is letting you guys follow along the journey of getting this started.  Every once in a while I'll share some updates....and pictures of his delicious creations.  Here is what we have so far.

Truck Name: Oink
Concept: We will have two staple menu items and then rotate others seasonally.  The gimmick will be pork all sorts of ways.  We will get a whole pig and feature different cuts throughout the season.
Main Menus Items: 
Rolled Pork Tacos - pulled pork in a spicy Coke sauce rolled in a tortilla and flashed fried.  Topped with sour cream and homemade guacamole, served with homemade spanish rice.
Ground Pork Burgers - with a strawberry jalapeno sauce and asian slaw.
Bacon Bark in a Bag - for dessert candied bacon bark with a hint of spice.

I am drooling a bit just typing that out.  Oh, and the designer in me instantly came up with the logo above.  I know, jumping the gun a bit but I couldn't help myself.

We have decided to test the concept and one of the main recipes at the Mississippi Street Fair.  We have a fantastic friend who owns Mac! Mac and Cheesery and is going to let us tag along and use her kitchen as a commissary to prep for the day.  We will sell the rolled pork tacos and bacon bark in a bag.   This will be a great place to test the product and get some feedback from people who are not our families.

Stay tuned!

-Kristen