New to the forums

[cjm]

Hey everyone. I read the book about 3 weeks ago and have been checking the forums frequently. I am still trying to figure out what to use a a muse. I am an executive chef and am over being tied to my job day in and day out. I design and build websites in my free time. Lokking forward to hearing if anybody has any suggestions. Thanks.
-cjm

[Marcie]

Hi there! I will sleep on it :) Welcome!

[Drewkerr]

First off start with your current job. Hire a VA to eliminate some of your "busy work", put the 80/20 rule into play.

See how much time you can free up at work, this might help make work a little more enjoyable. And then with the free time you can start working on your muse some more.

Drew

[cjm]

Thanks Marcie. Drew, I wish I could delegate most of my busy work to a VA, but my job pretty much requires me to physically be present, managing staff, dealing with customers, cooking, ordering, ect....

[darrin365]

cjm,

How about some affiliate sites with strong cooking content - recipes, how to articles, etc.?

[Talon]

as a executive chef
muse ideas off the top of my head
develop a seven day meal plan that mets persons diet requirements
you could outsource the purchasing, prep work, and cooking time

muse ideas cake factory
develop birthday cakes for birthday etc
you could outsource the development and icing etc

muse ideas
cook books for churchs
you could sell to charity events new ideas etc

cookies you could bake yourself a cookie that could be sold as a franchise
sell to major company

salad or fruit cafe
instead of a hamburger and fries sell fruits nuts etc franchise yourself call it the executive salad and nuts place

hope this starts your path to riches
:cool:

[Marcie]

I was thinking of some kind of cookbook too - a lot of people seem to be searching for recipes to go along with whatever the fad diet of the moment is, and a lot of them are the same (low carb) spin...this is a very saturated market though, hmmmmmm.....

[beaver]

Hello,

I am a photographer in Vancouver (photographer - means you are the product and it is very difficult to duplicate yourself). This year I began looking for ways to make royalty income from photography. I started a project called dog as art www.dogasart.com to begin collecting a bunch on images to license and to publish a book.

The publisher thinks the images are great and they are just looking for writing. After reading the 4 Hour Work-Week I placed my book idea on the www.elance.com web site to outsource the writing. I already have some great quotes from some excellent talent.

Heres the interesting bit, publishers only need to see the concept (the first chapter or a sample of the work). Which means I could have spent one weekend (instead of the year) to put the images together and send it off to a publisher and still get the same result.

As a Chef you could easily do the same, outsourcing all of the work. One way to get good talent cheap is to call your local art school and ask for the best student photographers. Make sure you get a look at there portfolio and that it matches your vision. These people are very eager to build there portfolio and I can tell you right now that they would sweat blood to get a book deal.

Create the concept (the first chapter) and send it around to publishers. There are so many publishers out there it would be impossible not to get published or publish as an ebook on your website.

The book also drives people to the website that can sell other things etc...

[cjm]

Beaver, I am really liking that idea. Thanks to everyone who has chimed in on this thread so far.
-cjm

[boyd84@sbcglobal.net]

Do you have any "secret" sauces?

[cjm]

Ok, so I have been going crazy over the past few weeks trying to come up with a muse since I read the book. I think I have finally nailed it down. Here it is: seeing how I am an executive chef, I figure I will develop a culinary website that focuses on the real deal environment and mentality of restaurant kitchens and applies them to home environments. I want this to have an industry insider type feel to it. Revealing tips and tricks that we use in our kitchens everyday. There will be recipes, culinary advice, entertaining and planning advice, ect...I will have a members only section, a newsletter that is distributed. I am thinking that revenue would be brought in from the members only section (fee charged). Paid adverisements in the newsletters, maybe work out some kind of referral/ coupon program with restaurants. Please give me feedback and any other ideas you think would be beneficial to this muse, and if you think it is a crap idea, please let me know either way. thanks and I look forward to your advice.

[cartoonfan1983]

I think the idea could be really good. Chefs are popular right now on TV Iron Chef, Top Chef, and Hell's Kitchen. By tying this together with kitchen expertise, I think you would have a very interesting product. What about some mailed recipes to customers? I feel (and I may be wrong) that if you send physical stuff to clients they will have a higher percieved value of your product. I can't imagine charging a higher premium for something online as opposed to a physical product. That's just me.

[WriteDoc]

CJM, I am a Food Network fan, enjoying the offbeat ways that food becomes entertainment. Talon has some great ideas on the same line as my thoughts. Find something that allows amateur chefs to feel like a pro with time and resources of the average home kitchen. Then sell, sell, sell. Good Luck WriteDoc

[kindwomanxx]

I have a friend that watches "good eats" reads anything like "kitchen confidential" by Anthony Bourdain. I'm a sucker for "gourmet" recipes that
are easy and good on a diet. (I have bunches of cookbooks LOL) I might not
sign up for a subscription, but I'd probably buy some recipes on a cost per
download basis. (I don't cook often enough to be interested in the subscription)

Joann

[jazzdrive3]

Just charging for downloading recipe probably isn't the way to go. There are too many quality sites out there doing it for free already. But something behind the "secrets" of cooking, and how flavors/smells interact, and why some things taste good and some don't, followed with practical advice...that might be something even I'd be interested in. And I don't cook.

[gr8kidsmom]

cmj

I think that is a fabulous idea! So many people I know (myself included) are always looking for restaurant-quality recipes and tips to use at home. Personally, I think the market for this will be greater than you can imagine. Good luck! :)

Shauna

[cjm]

Thank you all for the great feedback on the idea. I have actually begun the design and layout of the website. I am handling all of the web design myself as well as putting together the content for the site. What are your thoughts on adding a store to the page where you can get ingredients, utensils, ect....?

[cheez avenger]

Thank you all for the great feedback on the idea. I have actually begun the design and layout of the website. I am handling all of the web design myself as well as putting together the content for the site. What are your thoughts on adding a store to the page where you can get ingredients, utensils, ect....?




I'm right behind you cjm.

My first muse stalled, so I moved on to a culinary-esque muse.

I'm in the writing stage now. I'll figure out the design stuff later on.


Cheers!


-cheez avenger