Hawaiian Shave Ice Pointer #5 (Focus)

[ShaveIce]

Tip #5
Staying focused

Over the past 2 decades, we have sold many shave ice machines and supplies around the states and internationally, and we have seen the ones that do succeed and the unfortunate ones that don't. When a customer calls us or walks into our store hopeing to learn more on how to start a shave ice business, aside from teaching them the right ways to make a proper shave ice, our utmost concern is to teach them to succeeed. Shave ice is a business that is actually harder than it seems. Many people wish to open a shave ice store because of the long lines they have seen at other stores, the low cost of opening one, and the relative ease of training. However there is much more involved and the journey is usually hard and tedious.

Perhaps the most important part of any business, but more so for shave ice is to stay focused. What we tell our customers is that if they wish to succeed in their shave ice operation, what type of machine or flavoring they use is not as important as staying focused on presenting the right product. Shave ice is a very niched industry that is not well known to the general population. It is up to the store owners responsibility to introduce a shave ice for their customer and have them try what a real shave ice tastes like. Alot of businesses buy a shave ice machine and let it just sit on the counter hoping somehow it will generate profit by itself..it won't.

In order for a good shave ice business to stand out, the store owner has to make shave ice one of the staple items he/she is selling. This means that if you plan to carry 20 different products in your store, the focus and effort you put into shave ice has to be on the top three product list. All the successful shave ice establishment whether it is stores, caterers, or lunch wagons all have put heavy emphasis on their shave ice product. Unlike many other products, you simply could not be a great shave ice store if you do not put priority on it.