Just imagine that you can earn money by going where the people go and making them happy. By what? By food, of course! Fairs, outdoor parties and celebrations, and just busy spots in general tend to be accompanied by mobile food carts. As opposed to buying a restaurant, it is cheaper and more convenient.
The idea of starting a mobile food business attained its popularity among entrepreneurs, as it is cheaper than opening a restaurant. Why do people love food trucks? They create a special atmosphere and sell delicious food/drinks at affordable prices. Swarms of people who want to try something delicious on the go are your potential customers, as well as lovers of taking photos of unusual things.
Starting a food truck? Check out the following steps of your future business plan. Before expanding your own culinary ideas and creating a community, it is better to use the previous experience. Here are the basic SEVEN steps needed to launch a winning food truck business!
1st Step: Buy A Food Truck
Have you already thought about the vision of your brand and the menu? The truck is the base of operations and foundations for your ideas! There are several situations: you may have your own truck (generally unequipped), or you may have to buy a food truck. Let’s start with the beginning!
In the first case, you only need to prepare all the necessary documents. Every city has its special requirements. Contact your local government to get the information considering policies, truck permissions and parking restrictions, let alone the availability of a driver license and health department certificate.
There is a wide range for starting up a food truck. If you want to save your money, the best way is to buy a used vehicle. However, there is a 100 percent chance the previous owner equipped and customized the outside dining establishment. Make it over according to your specific idea by finding the unpainted truck. Is it expensive? Actually, there are a lot of websites where you can purchase your first food truck. The price can start at $15,000.
2nd Step: Make Customization
If you want to sell food that customers can’t buy from another truck, you should emphasize your uniqueness by design. If your food truck has a pretty unusual design, people will appreciate sharing the pictures of it on social media and it will be a nice additional promo for your brand.
By what means can you do this?
- Buy vinyl food truck wraps.
- Paint your food truck.
Vehicle wraps are considered to be highly effective. According to some studies, wraps are the most eye-catching forms of advertising, but they are actually more expensive than painting.
3rd Step: Develop A Menu
The winning menu should be a combination of unique dishes and old favorites, but it shouldn’t be a huge list of items. Your menu dishes should be easy and fast to prepare. Fit the season by offering specials. If you are afraid to fail, hire a chief or another expert to help you with menu creation.
4th Step: Use Social Media
Even if you haven’t organized everything completely, you may intrigue your potential customers by sharing pictures of the creation process and general ideas of your future project. You shouldn’t be an expert in social media marketing and sacrifice most of your time on maintaining accounts. Present the main advantages of your food truck on free Facebook and Twitter accounts by interacting with your fans, friends and followers. For instance, post short videos about your special of the day, use “#” and report your location to promote.
5th Step: Calculate Additional Expenses
You should remember that purchasing a vehicle is not the last important investment. $25,000 is recognized as an average sum of money for starting a food truck.
Calculate how much you spend on:
- Fuel
- Workers’ Salaries
- Design
- Products
- Cooking appliances, etc.
All additional and regular expenses have to be included in your financial plan. By the way, plan the budget in such a way that you are ready for unexpected situations.
6th Step: Find Location And Parking
As a food truck is a mobile food cart, you should always be where the people are. For instance, selling near educational establishments is a great idea, as students seek for dining options around the clock. Consider your customer, meet the demand and earn money! As this type of vehicle is large, you may have difficulties with parking. Will it be safe to leave your truck overnight? The place of your parking should be safe and legal.
7th Step: Improve Step By Step
It is okay that not everything will be perfect from the very beginning! Work on the development of your brand, expand your idea, create a community of fans and collaborate with local restaurants and shops. The more unique your idea is, the more people will become your regular clients. In order to make your food truck a household name, you should prove your quality by means of point-by-point improving process.
Good Luck!
Editor’s Note: This article was a guest post from Lisa Griffin. Lisa is a blogger and freelance writer for Edubirdie. Her lifestyle credo is “Your behavior is the sum total of your action and reaction to issues and people around you.”
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About the Author
FoodTruckr is the #1 online destination for current and aspiring food truck owners looking to succeed in the mobile food industry. Self described “food truck devotees,” the FoodTruckr team enjoys reading about successful entrepreneurs, salivating over photos of burritos on Twitter, and long walks through food truck parks. Chat with FoodTruckr on Facebook or check out the FoodTruckr School podcast for more awesome tips to level up your business.