10 Things A Successful Food Truck Business Tends To Have

While every food truck business is different, there are certain things that successful food truck owners tend to have, and we’re going to highlight 10 of those ingredients in this article.

First things first, how can you make your food truck business better? Are there certain things the competition is doing well that you could be doing? Do you even study the competition? If not, then we encourage you to do so because it could lead to you bettering your business and networking, to say the least.

Without further ado, below are 10 things a successful food truck tends to have.

10 Things A Successful Food Truck Business Tends To Have

• Consistent Food And Service
• A Personality
• A Good Leader
• Some Form Of Online Presence
• A Notable Brand
• Amazing Food
• Constantly Adapt
• Multiple Streams
• Failures And Learning Moments
• Discipline, Persistence, Passion

10.) Consistent Food And Service

While many business owners and companies go down the path that’s emphasizing quantity over quality, successful food truck owners are consistent with their food and their service.

Every time a customer eats at a successful food truck, said customer can expect the same quality in food and service. If the opposite rings true and if this happens often, then a food truck will lose customers.

Customers expect consistency and owners should always put in quality work in the kitchen.

9.) A Personality

Whether it’s the employees, the manager or the atmosphere, many successful food trucks have a personality. It could be the music they play. The way they take an order. A motto the food truck business lives by. How the food is presented. No matter what the case might be, many successful food trucks have a unique vibe and feel and this helps to create a community and environment that people want to be part of, which includes customers, employees and the manager.

8.) A Good Leader

Speaking of the manager…

Without a good leader, the food truck boat will likely sink. Being a good leader is hard to teach but easy to identify when you see it.

A good leader will be responsible, lead by example, treat employees with respect and create a fun and safe environment for everyone involved, for starters.

7.) Some Form Of Online Presence

Not every owner likes to spend time posting on Facebook and Instagram. However, many successful food truck businesses keep their customers engaged and informed on social media. At the very least, they update their website (or social media networks) when it comes to upcoming locations and appearances.

While many people look at social media as a way to stand out, target audiences and make more money, it’s also a great way to keep your customers informed and to add another layer to the customer service department.

6.) A Notable Brand

Not every successful food truck is famous, but many thriving businesses in this industry are at least notable in their local communities. After all, successful food trucks have a wide variety of locations and they tend to make appearances at different outings. At the very least, they are selective when it comes to locations and select locations that are high in foot traffic.

Of course, some food trucks are just well-known.

5.) Amazing Food

This is a no-brainer. Good food alone could lead to your business being a success (a quality product goes a long way). It keeps the customers coming back for more and it also leads to good reviews.

4.) Constantly Adapt

Successful food truck and business owners constantly adapt. Not because they want to, but because they have to.

A million different things can go wrong, and instead of complaining about every issue that arises, successful food truck owners take action and do their best to solve the problem. It might not always turn out pretty, but successful food truck owners do their best when it comes to damage control (and also meeting the expectations of their business and of the customers).

Being adaptable is a necessity in the food truck industry.

3.) Multiple Streams

While this might not be the case for every food truck business (some food trucks make a healthy living off of serving food at normal locations on a routine basis), having multiple streams of income is always a great business decision. Not only can it lead to more money but it can also lead to a business owner not putting all of his or her eggs in one basket.

There are many ways food trucks incorporate multiple streams of income, such as catering gigs, food truck events, selling the product in bulk, adding an online order service, selling merchandise, a delivery service and the list could go on and on.

2.) Failures And Learning Moments

Every successful food truck owner has endured failure, no matter how big or small, which leads to learning moments. These failures help make you and your business stronger and also help you learn from your mistakes so you don’t continue to make the same ones over and over again.

Try a bunch of different things in the beginning, fail early and often and incorporate the things that do work along the way, as well as eliminate the things that don’t work.

1.) Discipline, Persistence, Passion

A successful food truck business tends to have discipline, persistence and passion — well, when it comes to the owner, that is.

For example…

When your friends are out having fun on a Friday night, you are serving at a location or doing any form of work for your business. You might fail over and over again or simply not see as much success as you hoped for in terms of revenue, but you continue to fight through … day in and day out. Along the way, you stay passionate about being a food truck owner, this journey and cooking food. You’re motivated and you will make your goals and dreams come true. Nothing will stop you.

You’re likely going to want to quit over and over again, but you have to continue fighting through the pain and struggles. After all, that’s what so many food truck owners did before you and that’s what so many owners will continue to do after.

Like we stated earlier, every business is different, and while the 10 ingredients above tend to be universal among successful food truck businesses, not every successful business out there has all 10. Sometimes, a great food concept will lead to success. Everyone’s journey is different in this industry.

It might not be the most exciting topic of all time, but it’s essential: We encourage you to read the below article when preparing for health inspections.

How to Run a Food Truck 16: Prepare for Health Inspections

Preview:

During your trial inspections, you should be paying close attention to everything on your truck—no matter how recently you cleaned it or when your last inspection was. Use the list above or the information you received from your local health department to determine what you should be examining. Be sure not to forget things like small crevices between appliances and walls, the condition of your paperwork, and how the outside of your truck looks. Keep in mind—though something like peeling paint on the outside of your truck won’t necessarily factor into your actual health inspection rating, it can influence the inspector (and even more importantly, your customers!) to think that you might not be taking good care of your truck.

Inspect your truck thoroughly by really getting into the role of the inspector. Use a flashlight to examine everything on your truck. Wear white gloves to check for dust and grime on surfaces that may otherwise appear clean. Buy chemical test strips to test things like the concentration of your cleaning solutions. These simple tools will allow you to better examine your truck and to get a much more realistic view of what the inspector will encounter during his or her visit. They will also help your employees see that you’re really serious about making sure your health inspections go as well as possible.

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