Hot Dogs don’t have much to do with the Shark Tank, but they have a lot to do about entrepreneurship. There are tens of thousands of “dogtrepreneurs” out on the streets selling hot dogs from tiny carts to hot dog trucks to brick and mortar joints. With a few exceptions, most of these small businesses are owner operated. Owning a hot dog business is about as all American as you can get; not only do these entrepreneurs sell the All American food, they represent what is most ideal about the American business person: independent, entrepreneurial, and hopeful.
Before I became, as Shelly Ehler once said, “the best Shark Tank blogger,” I was simply the Hotdogman. In addition to chronicling the weekly lesson in business negotiations that is the Shark Tank, I also write about hot dogs. I also make videos of my visits to hot dog joints on Hot Dog Stories. My partner Kirk is currently redesigning that site to give it a nice, clean look for my National Hot Dog Month Tour.
In July, I will eat a hot dog a day, every day, at a different venue. As I travel through four states, I will sample hot dogs at minor league baseball parks, iconic establishments, and roadside carts. In addition to sampling some fine food, I will be sampling a bit of Americana. Each day, my cameraman, Drew Bennet, and I will shoot, edit and publish a short video of the daily visit. At the end of the month, we will pour through the hundreds of hours of footage and produce a 60-90 minute, feature length documentary about our journey.
The documentary will look at the hot dog vendor through the lens of entrepreneurship and American culture. I also plan to write a book about the tour as well. Over the winter, I managed to get some corporate sponsors, but we are still a few dollars shy of making the tour a real success. Basically, we need funds for travel and lodging while on the tour. I have put up a crowd funding page at IndieGoGo with the hope that we can get this show on the road. The video at the bottom of this post contains some info about the tour too.
Last summer, my little tour gained national attention on NPR, UPI, WCVB TV, The Boston Globe, The Metrowest Daily News, and a host of radio stations and internet media. This year’s tour is sure to attract a fair share of attention too. You can read more about funding the National Hot Dog Month Tour HERE.
Once the documentary is complete, we will make it available for download or on DVD. We also hope to get a cable network to air it. This is a fun project that will have lasting impact, please consider funding The National Hot Dog Month Tour.
Scroll down for the video.
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