Joe's Hotdogs video segment 1 of 9

Click on the title to watch the video on YouTube.

The Joe's Hotdogs story has two parts.

The first part consists of a little journey along a beach, an exploration of thoughts and feelings on the discovery of Joe’s Hotdogs on this walk along the beach.

The second part of the Joe’s Hotdogs story is further exploration of those thoughts and feelings and their business implications. They are business concepts applicable in many different types of businesses serving many different markets.


So, you are taking a walk along a beach, let’s say on Vancouver Island, Canada. As you walk along the beach, you notice a bluff to your left and the ocean to your right. On top of the bluff, there is a sign that says "Joe’s Hotdogs".

You are not really looking for a place to eat, but the Joe’s Hotdogs sign has come to your attention. You decide, "I’ve already had my breakfast and I’m not hungry for lunch yet. I’m here for a beach walk, not to eat. Besides, I don’t feel like eating a hot dog."

As you walk along the beach, you begin to think to yourself, "If I were to order something from Joe’s Hotdogs what would I order?" Well, you might want a hotdog, you might want a footlong, you might want a veggie dog, or you might want a smokie. (I don’t know exactly what a smokie is, but it seems to be the kind of thing people buy from hotdog stands).

Well, you'd probably want a beverage with it. Maybe you are a coffee drinker, or a tea drinker, or an iced tea drinker. Maybe you'd prefer some kind of pop or juice. Would you like fries with that, or would you like onion rings? If you ordered a hotdog, maybe a veggie dog or a footlong, which garnishes would you put on your dog? Maybe you like pickles or relish. Maybe you like a particular variety of mustard. All these things rest in your mind as you walk along the beach.

Then, you notice a sign saying “This way up.” It doesn’t specifically say, "Joe's Hotdogs, this way", but you noticed that Joe‘s Hotdogs is on top of the bluff, and the path leading upward seems to be a fairly well-worn path. You see some people up there, and since the beach looks pretty much the same ahead of you as it does behind you, out of curiosity you walk the path up the bluff and you discover that there is a dozen or so people standing around this little hotdog stand that looks sort of like a little hut overlooking the ocean.

People are enjoying all types of hot dogs and drinks: different sodas and colas, different types and sizes of hotdogs with different garnishes on them. Some people are eating onion rings, some are having french-fries, and you happen to notice that there are some people ordering french-fries only. There seems to be some enthusiasm for the french-fries at Joe’s Hotdogs.

So, even though you just decided a few minutes ago, on your walk along the beach, that you really didn’t want anything from Joe’s Hotdogs, here you are, having climbed up the path on the bluff along with a bunch of people who seem to be enjoying themselves, and you’re curious. “Well gosh, maybe Joe’s Hotdogs’ french-fries would be good, even though I have already had my breakfast and I am not all that hungry for lunch. Maybe I should try Joe’s Hotdogs because I might want to come back some other time and I'll need to know if the hotdogs are worth the climb up that steep path.”