Game Programmer Quits Job To Sell Street Food, Doubles Salary
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Re: Game Programmer Quits Job To Sell Street Food, Doubles Salary
#2For the TLDR crowd:
>We had no idea that we'd sell so much—we sold 100 shaobings in a day, business is only getting better and better." said the programmer. "We already earned enough for an apartment and now we're saving up more money. We hope to get married next year.
The story has a happy ending. It's nice to see people, if not doing what they love, then at least loving their newfound life. And that's the whole shaobing.
Re: Game Programmer Quits Job To Sell Street Food, Doubles Salary
#3The streetfood business is awful in the long term. I hope he can quickly move into a brick and mortar restaurant. Depending on the municipality, streetfood vendors get nailed by all sorts of random fines, get shunted around to various "permitted areas" which may or may not have lots of foot traffic, and the worst part: the low barrier to entry. Competitors can come in super quickly, and when they do, they can lower the total revenue by just a few percent for all other vendors in an area and kill profitability.
Re: Game Programmer Quits Job To Sell Street Food, Doubles Salary
#4This is just the upside of running your own business. Summer food trucks have been a fixture in my city for decades around the state capitol. Some folks make a great living doing it.
My favorite was an older couple operating a small hotdog stand... they made a ridiculously delicious meatsauce and basically worked a 35 hour week in the summer in the Northeast, and a similar schedule for a couple of months down South.
They owned a nice house in city, were active in the church and community, and were genuinely good people, who made a great living selling hotdogs, mostly to government and Verizon workers.
But... they faced all of the downside risks of small business owners. Rain == slow or no sales. Big vacation weeks for the workforce == slow sales. Get sick? No pay. That said, it's probably still a better gig than being a game programmer.
Re: Game Programmer Quits Job To Sell Street Food, Doubles Salary
#5The numbers in the article don't quite add up. Shao bing is cheap food... usually 1.5 or 2 renminbi, maybe 2.5.
If they're selling 100 a day, every day, at 2.5元/each, that would be 250元/day and ~7500元/month.
7500元 is only about $1220.
So even if the article is only assuming revenue per month (and not profit), they still have to increase their price or sales (or some combination) by 267% to hit the $3,259/month mentioned.
If you're talking actual profit, which would be a more adequate comparison to his previous salary, then it's probably closer to a factor of 5.
Re: Game Programmer Quits Job To Sell Street Food, Doubles Salary
#6This is just the upside of running your own business. Summer food trucks have been a fixture in my city for decades around the state capitol. Some folks make a great living doing it. My favorite was an older couple operating a small hotdog stand... they made a ridiculously delicious meatsauce and basically worked a 35 hour week in the summer in the Northeast, and a similar schedule for a couple of months down South.…
> But... they faced all of the downside risks of small business owners. Rain == slow or no sales. Big vacation weeks for the workforce == slow sales. Get sick? No pay. That said, it's probably still a better gig than being a game programmer.
Small business owners should be able to plan ahead for rainy days and the slow season. Squirrels can do it. Humans can too.
Re: Game Programmer Quits Job To Sell Street Food, Doubles Salary
#7The numbers in the article don't quite add up. Shao bing is cheap food... usually 1.5 or 2 renminbi, maybe 2.5. If they're selling 100 a day, every day, at 2.5元/each, that would be 250元/day and ~7500元/month. 7500元 is only about $1220. So even if the article is only assuming revenue per month (and not profit), they still have to increase their price or sales (or some combination) by 267% to hit the $3,259/month mentio…
I used to buy shaobing with all the extras at my local street vendor, usually added up to 8元 in 2012 Beijing prices.
Re: Game Programmer Quits Job To Sell Street Food, Doubles Salary
#8The guy should open more street food stalls and scale this business if it is so profitable.
Re: Game Programmer Quits Job To Sell Street Food, Doubles Salary
#9This is just the upside of running your own business. Summer food trucks have been a fixture in my city for decades around the state capitol. Some folks make a great living doing it. My favorite was an older couple operating a small hotdog stand... they made a ridiculously delicious meatsauce and basically worked a 35 hour week in the summer in the Northeast, and a similar schedule for a couple of months down South.…
> But... they faced all of the downside risks of small business owners. Rain == slow or no sales. Big vacation weeks for the workforce == slow sales. Get sick? No pay. That said, it's probably still a better gig than being a game programmer. Small business owners should be able to plan ahead for rainy days and the slow season. Squirrels can do it. Humans can too.
Unexpected health issues? That's a little more tricky.
Re: Game Programmer Quits Job To Sell Street Food, Doubles Salary
#10"The biggest asset any businessman can have is a hungry crowd."
A rare example of an adage which still works when applied literally.