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Personal chef services are growing in popularity. Gone are the days where you have to waste money going out to dine or make a mess of your kitchen. Personal chefs will come right to your home and cook meals for you on their days off.
Given that so many people have become health-conscious, personal chef services provide an alternative to eating at fast food places or unhealthy buffets.
This makes personal chefs much more valuable than they used to be. With that said, there are some ways you can market yourself and attract customers.
I’ve spoken with my friends in the marketing and SEO world to find out what they feel are some of the best practices when it comes to marketing.
Why Personal Chef is a Unique Business
Flexibility
No two days are the same as a personal chef is responsible for preparing multiple meals for multiple clients each day. By starting a personal chef business, you will be able to set your schedule, choosing when you want to work and which jobs you want to take on.
Working from home
A personal chef can work from home or a client’s house depending on their level of experience in the field. A full-time personal chef usually works from his home kitchen while part-time chefs may choose to work in their client’s kitchen to save time traveling back and forth between locations.
Work at your own pace
Being your boss means that you can choose when and how often you work. Most personal chefs do not want their clients calling them every day – they want to pick and choose when they take on new clients or new jobs. This may mean that you will have less work during the offseason months, but you could easily fill those gaps with other work opportunities like catering events or providing food for local restaurants.
It’s fun!
The best part about being a personal chef is that it’s something you already enjoy doing — cooking delicious meals for others! If you enjoy preparing food, then it won’t feel like work at all. Even if this is your full-time job, it can still be fun and fulfilling because it’s something that comes naturally to you.
Build relationships with clients
As a personal chef, you get the opportunity to become close with your clients. Whether they are family members or friends, customers tend to feel more comfortable sharing their lives with someone they trust rather than an anonymous vendor they call when they get hungry.
Full control of your business
As the owner, you will have full control over what types of meals you make and how much you charge your clients and restaurants. You will have the opportunity to grow your business and make as much money as you want. There is no limit to how big or successful your chef business can be with hard work and determination. Once you become known in the area for having great meals, there will already be a steady stream of clients seeking out your services.
Freedom from office politics
You will no longer have to worry about office politics interfering with making money or growing your business.
Good money
You can make anywhere from $0 to $100 an hour as a personal chef, depending on how much food you prepare and how much work it takes to deliver it to your client’s house or business. In general, we’ve found that most personal chefs make between $25 to $45 per hour for their services. That’s pretty good money for doing something that you enjoy!
Main Personal Chef Business Challenges
Work-life balance
Setting up a personal chef business is not just about cooking, it is about managing the business which takes time and energy. You will have to decide if the personal chef business will fit into your life. If you don’t have the time it may not work for you.
Marketing challenges
You will have to market your new business, this may include marketing through social media, networking, advertising, or any other way you can think of. You may find this a challenge but as your chef business grows so will your knowledge and ability to market your business effectively.
Financial challenges
Running a personal chef business requires funds, you will need to pay for ingredients, equipment, and even wages if you employ anyone so you will have to have the funds available when needed. This may be difficult if you are starting out and not sure how busy your chef business will be. It is important to keep your overheads low at this stage so that when funds run low they don’t run out!
Finding customers
It takes time and effort to build relationships with potential clients and get repeat business. You have to find ways to bring in new customers, or your business will eventually be limited by the number of people you know.
Scheduling
If you’re cooking for one family per week, scheduling isn’t too big of an issue. When you start building relationships with multiple families and businesses, it’s much more complicated. You need a way to keep track of who’s coming when and what kind of food they like so you can provide delicious meals every night or day.
Pros and Cons of Personal Chef Business
Pros
- The income potential is very high in this business.
- Making healthy meals is easy with a little planning.
- Supplement your kitchen savings.
- Easily network with influencers.
- Being your employer can mean better tax breaks.
- You will become a food expert.
Cons
- Most customers are not willing to pay that much for a chef.
- People who want a meal cooked are not necessarily the people who want it planned, so you need to keep finding your “rare” clients!
- Unpredictable income.
- Recipe limitations.
- Pitching yourself to customers takes time away from cooking or prepping for next-day prep.
- Extra costs for providing your equipment like a stove, etcetera (unless you have space at the business you are renting).
Best Personal Chef Marketing Strategies
Network with local catering companies
There are many types of businesses that you can market yourself to as a personal chef. One of the best ways to do this is by networking with local catering companies.
Try to find catering companies that serve similar food to what you want to prepare. Catering companies that offer gourmet meals often have clients who are willing to pay more and tip more. If you can convince a catering company that your food is better than theirs, they will be more likely to refer their clients to you.
If you can’t contact the catering company directly, try calling their clients yourself. This can be a bit tricky because the client may not recognize your name or know why you are calling. I suggest telling them that you found them in the phone book or on the internet and wanted to ask if they knew of any catering companies in the area.
Catering companies usually have large orders, so don’t assume that they won’t be interested in hiring you for small events. Many times, even large orders will have prep work done by someone else before it gets sent over to the caterer’s kitchen. They might not mind having one person do all of it, especially if it saves them time and money.
Customize your meals for each client
As a personal chef, you need some ways to set yourself apart from other competitors. One way to do this is to have your clients’ dishes customized.
If a client wants to stay on the healthy side, you can use the tips below for a healthy meal:
1. Use vegetables like tomatoes, onions, and mushrooms to give your meal a lighter taste and your clients will not feel like they are eating any of the fattier foods that they want to avoid.
2. You can add whole wheat pasta as well as other types of pasta with tomato sauce and fresh vegetables that are low in fat.
3. You can also add fish and chicken when preparing a healthy meal for your clients because these are two top choices of food that are very easy to cook. Keep the spices natural so you do not trigger any allergic reactions or food intolerances that your clients may have.
4. Be sure that the meats you prepare do not contain any extra fats such as bacon or pork so you can make sure that you are cooking a healthier meal for them without having any excess fats in their food.
5. Make certain that you do not add too much salt in any of your dishes because it is known for causing high blood pressure in many people which may drive your clients away.
Emailing simple recipes
If you’re just starting as a home chef and you’d like to start marketing yourself as a personal chef, one of the easiest ways to do it is by sending out simple recipes to your friends and family.
If you’ve been cooking for them for years, they are probably expecting this type of email anyway. Just make sure that you always ask before you send these recipes out.
You don’t want to offend anyone. These recipes should be easy to prepare so that even if it’s the first time the family has tried your particular dish, they’ll still want to try it again.
One of the best places to find simple recipes is online. There are many websites dedicated to home-cooked meals that use ingredients that can be found in most grocery stores.
Here is a list of 5 steps you should follow when crafting an email that includes simple recipes.
Step 1: Write the Recipe You must have the recipe ready for people to read and try out. Make sure that it is written clearly and easily understood by your readers. Also, don’t forget to include any cooking notes or tips that might be important for people who want to make the dish themselves.
Step 2: Format As with anything else you want to put into an email, format your recipe so it looks good and is easy to read.
Step 3: Add Your Ingredients List Make sure this is easy to find and understand, as well as being in a logical order. You don’t want people trying to work out how many apples they need before they know how many eggs they will need, after all!
Step 4: Include Pictures of the Recipe If you can take pictures of the dishes you are sending out, all the better – but don’t let this put you off if you can’t. People still enjoy reading recipes even if they can’t see them! Just make sure that instructions are clear and easy to understand.
Step 5: Create a brochure menu. Create a brochure menu that includes 5-6 recipes and photos of each dish you plan on serving. Mail it to neighbors and businesses within a 1-mile radius of your home/office as well as people who may be interested in hiring a personal chef like fitness instructors, nutritionists, community centers, etc.
Create a cookbook
With a cookbook as a personal chef marketing strategy, you have an opportunity to:
- Build your brand and market yourself professionally.
- Create a platform to launch other products like ebooks and apps.
- Grow your business through social media.
- Engage with customers in a more personalized way.
A cookbook can be an effective tool for increasing visibility, strengthening relationships, and generating revenue. The right cookbook can even help you land some high-paying clients in the process. Here are some tips for creating a cookbook that works:
1. Create a Cookbook Based on Your Culinary Expertise
If you’re an expert in your field and have a professional history of cooking and teaching, you may want to create a traditional cookbook filled with recipes that focus on your area of expertise. This type of cookbook can be a great marketing tool for increasing visibility and building relationships with potential customers. If you’re already teaching cooking classes or working as a private chef, this type of book is perfect for getting your name out there and selling yourself as an expert in your field.
2. Create a Cookbook Based on General Cooking Principles
If you don’t have culinary training but still want to get into the food business as a career (or just want to sell some dishes), you might want to write a more general cookbook based on general cooking principles rather than specific recipes.
3. Know your audience.
A cookbook can be an effective sales tool, but only if it represents your business accurately. If you’re promoting an upscale bistro, a DIY guide to cooking at home isn’t going to resonate with potential clients. Conversely, if home-cooked meals are more of your niche, don’t include recipes for wild game dishes in your cookbook.
4. Select recipes that fit your brand and target audience.
If you’re selling upscale baked goods, include recipes that showcase your specialties or are particularly versatile (such as muffins). If you run a vegan cafe, include lots of vegetarian options (which will appeal to non-vegans too).
5. Include relevant information about your business.
Don’t just list ingredients and directions for each recipe — explain why the dish is restaurant-quality or how it fits into some aspect of the season or holiday at hand.
6. Use the right software.
You can hire someone to help you create a cookbook, but if you’re going to do it yourself, you’ll want to use software that makes the process easier. Photo editing software will allow you to edit photos, add text, and change colors quickly and easily. Microsoft Publisher is a good choice for simple books; for something more complex, you may consider Blurb’s BookSmart software.
7. Consider using video if possible.
Video is an increasingly important part of any marketing plan and that includes cookbooks. When creating your book, consider adding this feature — particularly if you plan on offering it as a digital download.
Make sampling easy
If you’re a personal chef or caterer, how do you get your clients to try your food? A sample is a great way to entice your clients to try your service.
You can make a sample of any of your dishes to put in their refrigerator until they are ready to try it. That way they can sample it at their convenience.
Host cooking parties at your home
The idea of hosting a cooking party at your home to promote your chef services is a great marketing strategy that can help you generate new leads and sales.
The process is not difficult, but it does take some advanced planning. The first step is to identify the target market you want to approach.
Decide which towns and neighborhoods will be easiest for you to access, then narrow your search down by age group and household income. Once you have decided on a target market, decide how many parties you are going to host per week.
The more parties you host and the more time you spend marketing yourself, the more clients you will attract.
When planning a party, consider the following:
1) Make sure your guests are going to walk away from the party knowing that they received value for their money. To accomplish this, give them an extensive menu with a variety of options for appetizers, salads, main courses, and desserts.
2) When choosing a location for the party, make sure that your guests will consider it convenient and safe. If it is at night, make sure there are enough parking spaces available in front of your home or apartment building. If they do not feel comfortable walking to your door at night with heavy bags of food and drinks, they may choose not to attend.
Set up a blog on your website
Being a personal chef is a great way to make money during your free time. However, you need to market yourself and your services.
A blog is a great way to do this as well as to use it for your recipe ideas. When you start blogging, you build up an audience that’s interested in what you have to say. Sharing your recipes on your blog will allow people to see the meals that you prepare and the ingredients used in each dish.
The next step is getting people to trust you with their food preparation needs. This can be done through social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook or by reaching out directly to friends, family, and colleagues.
Those who are impressed with your work will share it with others, creating more traffic for your blog and allowing you to gain more followers.
Once you have some traffic coming into your blog, it’s time to start promoting yourself through paid advertising. You can pay for ads on search engines or local websites that will drive new customers directly to your page.
Numerous social media sites offer advertising opportunities if you want to target a specific age demographic or location of customers.
Social media marketing
Creating an effective social media marketing strategy is one of the most important parts of a successful personal chef business. There are many ways to use social media as a marketing tool, so there are many different approaches.
A few basic ones are outlined below for your consideration.
Set up your accounts on all the major networks and begin posting regularly. The more active you are on social media, the better! It’s important to have a presence on all of the major networks—Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram. When you start on all these platforms, it can feel confusing and overwhelming at first. Start with one network that you feel most comfortable with at first. Once you have that social media account set up, it will be easier to move on to others in the future.
Be consistent! Consistency is key—post every day or several times a week at the very least. If you only post once a month or even less often than that, no one will see your posts and they will not be able to connect with you to learn about your business. You want to build relationships with your followers so they become interested in knowing more about what you do and how they can get in touch with you.
Talk about the importance of being healthy when marketing your chef business. Become an expert in health and fitness, so that your potential clients can learn more about how they can improve their health through what they eat, as well as by exercising regularly.
Tailor your posts to the platform. Some platforms are more conducive to certain types of content than others, so be sure that what you’re posting is a good fit with the network. For example, LinkedIn users tend to be looking at status updates as a way to gain professional knowledge and make professional connections, whereas Twitter users are more likely to follow individuals they find interesting or entertaining.
Treat social media as a conversation – it’s not an ad, it’s not an announcement, it’s not a mass mailing. It’s a conversation with your customers. Social media marketing is successful when you can engage with your clients and customers – when they feel heard and valued.
Final Thoughts
While there are many personal chef services to consider and the marketing approach you choose will depend on your unique style, your most effective method of outreach will likely be through email campaigns, personal chef websites and blog posts, and social media.
Don’t forget to include a well-written description of your service to help position yourself as an expert in the field. In addition, try to sit down and develop a plan for your business before you begin strategizing; this will help give you a clearer idea of where you can best market yourself and what approach you should use.
