Chris Koerner describes an "on your honor" unattended bakery stand selling mostly sourdough where customers pay via QR code or Venmo. He argues the model is profitable because losses to theft are smaller than staffing costs and gives a personal example of a successful unattended mini-fridge cookie-bar setup on his porch.
Look at this freaking lady right here. This is genius. She opened an on your honor bakery stand with mostly sourdough items. What do I mean by on your honor? It means that no one is attending it. People have to pay with a QR code or on Venmo. And they could steal it if they want, but she is making out like a bandit. And why? Because people are good. And the small percentage of people that steal from her don't even come close to what it would cost her to hire someone and put them in that booth all day. It's a net win. It's genius. And we are going to start seeing more of this. So you can look at the world as if. Oh, people are so crooked. The world's getting worse every day. I would never do this. And you'll be sad and you'll see in the world what you think. Think it already is. Or you could be an optimist and say, I'm going to do this because I can make a profit and I think people are good. And guess what? I'll do you one more. If you look right here, right outside my window, you see that little mini fridge on my front porch? We've done the same thing. My wife makes cookie bars, and they're amazing. And she puts them in a mini fridge on her front porch and she's never been stolen from. Full business plan right here.
