Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Holt.
Jonathan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m not sure how far you want me to go back. But I started out by praying to God. He has gotten me where I am at today. I started out by building a smoker with the help of some really good friends and cooked backyard bbq. I liked helping people, so I was fortunate to be able to be there for a friend to do a fundraiser for him and his wife raising them over $5000.00 to help with her medical bills after she had fallen off a latter 25ft in the air onto her head.
One of my friends introduced me to the competition bbq. So I went and competed in some unsanctioned backyard bbq contest and was hooked. I created a team and got a few friends up, and we jumped headfirst in competition. Quickly realizing we need a lot of help, we found ourselves taking a bbq competition class in Florida, which helped tremendously. Then I decided to buy a trailer to make things easier to complete. I was dragging a pull behind homemade bbq smoker and loading tents and took in the back of the truck. I got the trailer thinking maybe we could make money while we complete so we could pay for everything, considering a competition can cost up to $1000.00. once I started to do the vending, I realized that this is what I would like to do. I wanted to start a vendor business and cater to weddings and festivals and such. I developed my own rub and sauces. I’m currently working on getting my sauce bottled. But with this virus going around, I haven’t moved my trailer since March 6th. I was set to be a food vendor at the Atlanta air show in May but it got canceled. I’m fortunate to have a job with the fire service, so I am able to do the business on hold and still help.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Has it been smooth? Ha, not at all. I started this business with nothing just enough credit to buy the trailer. I had to borrow a truck to pull the trailer until I could get a truck. I had to borrow money from friends at times to buy a product. My sister has donated her time at some event to help get this going. So no nothing smooth about it. One of the biggest struggles I had, I think, was when I was lied to about an event. I was told that they had an attendance of around 10000 people, so I planed and brought a good bit of product to make as much money as possible. And when it was all said and done, they might have had 500 people show up. So I lost a lot of money and that put me in a financial crisis. At that point, I almost sold everything. And now, of course, is the virus going around.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am a bbq catering/vending company. We specialize in pulled pork, brisket, smoked chicken wings, ribs and sauce. We are known for different things. The pulled pork, ribs, brisket, chicken wings!! I take pride in making a quality product and not cut corners. Our flavor sets us apart from others.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Other than buying different equipment for the trailer. I don’t know if I would change anything. I enjoyed the learning experience.
Contact Info:
- Email: jholtsbbq@yahoo.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jholtsbbq/
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