Food Truck Business: The Hiring Pitfalls That Leave You Broke

Truckers from around the country come to me every day venting frustrations about being unable to hire qualified employees or maintain a reliable team. These problems often lead to BIG issues with the business, leaving food truck owners broke in more ways than one — financially, mentally and physically. Because a highly profitable food truck business cannot thrive with a one-man operation. It needs a unified team to provide top-notch food, service and experience for those served.

Happy employees equals happy customers, which equals a happy bank account!

It’s no easy feat to do this — to keep a team motivated, loyal and productive. Managing people is, in my opinion, the most challenging task in running a business. But it can also be the most rewarding.

READ: National Food Holidays To Watch Out For In June

But I have one HUGE pet peeve to call out, and that’s when truckers say it’s the market. That there’s “no qualified workers” to hire and “when you find a decent few, they still don’t show up.” BULL.

As the great Tony Robbins would say, “If there is a chokehold in your business, it’s either a mindset or a skill-set problem.”

The market is never the problem. I’ve proven this in every single business I’ve built and with every food truck and restaurant I’ve consulted on. The true problem is either a lack of systemization and training (skill set), or with leadership (mindset). Seriously, if I was able to hire and retain extremely loyal and highly productive crews that made crap pay for extremely physically demanding work, as a 23-year-old female in my previous asphalt business, you damn sure can hire reliable and productive staff for your food truck business. #SorryNotSorry

The ROOT Of The problem? A Lack Of Compassion.

As a business owner, the LEADER of your pack, you’ve got to hold compassion for your crew! Most blue-collar workers have little education, many growing up in poverty or worse. They just don’t know what they don’t know. You can’t expect them to do a job the exact way you want them to unless you give them the tools, steps and consistent empowerment to do so. And at the end of the day, you also have to realize that if they were as smart, driven and capable as you, to be a “mini” you, then they wouldn’t be working FOR YOU! They’d be off running their own business!

So you’ve got to hold compassion when it comes to hiring, training and leading your crew. Remember that they don’t know what they don’t know. You’ve got to lead by example. To give your crew the tools, resources and consistent guidance to perform well. You’ve got to respect them with boundaries and loyalty, just as you wish to be respected by. To show up to them how you want them to show up in your business!

There’s so much that goes into hiring rock stars for your food truck and keeping them motivated to not just perform well, but to stick around, especially during the tough times. It’s one of the areas I focus heavily on with my clients who are growing multiple six-figure food truck fleets, and beyond. If you want more resources and tutorials on this, sign up here.

Where can you start plugging the holes that are holding you back from getting the most out of your food truck team?

RELATED: Must-Have Food Truck Revenue Sources

Check Out The Five Common Pitfalls With Hiring And Training

Above all else, the foundation for a powerful and united team stems from leadership. Cast a vision that inspires your team to show up their best each and every day. Lead by example, holding boundaries and compassion. THIS is how you’ll build the food truck empire of your dreams!

Want help optimizing strategies like this and done-for-you food truck systems for all things revenue, marketing, team development and operations? Fill out an application to chat with Ali Walter, The Food Truck Whisperer, HERE.