In the first two units of “How to Start a Food Truck,” we worked on making some basic decisions about your food truck concept and researching the local laws and requirements for trucks in your area. With those lessons under your belt, you’re now ready to start making some real decisions about the business side of your food truck. First up on the schedule? We’re going to show you how to write a solid business plan that will serve as your roadmap to food truck fame.
Now, if you’re a long-time FoodTruckr fan, you might remember the article, “How to Write a Food Truck Business Plan,” a massive 2,600-word post we wrote several months ago. This article was one of our most popular, and with good reason—a business plan will guide you through each step of building your food truck and keep you accountable to the goals you set along the way. Your business plan is a great place to run the numbers and develop a clear picture of what it’s going to take to succeed in this tough industry, and it’s also a fantastic way to show potential investors and business partners that you’re really serious about your truck.
We firmly believe that every FoodTruckr needs a business plan, so we also created a free worksheet to accompany our original post. Though that worksheet was previously only available to members of our email list, we’re reprinting it here today so that every aspiring food truck owner can take advantage of this valuable information. Whether you’ve just started learning how to start a food truck or you’re already a pro with an established fleet of trucks, a business plan is an essential part of long-term success—and that’s why this is one of the most important lessons in the entire “How to Start a Food Truck” series.
As we mentioned before, the FoodTruckr article “How to Write a Food Truck Business Plan” serves as an introduction to this week’s lesson. We highly recommend reading it first and then referring back to it as a guide to understand why each of these sections matters. The U.S. Small Business Administration also has great information for entrepreneurs who are just getting started with their business plans.
Each of the following sections includes a brief summary of the information that should be included and a list of questions or items to help you begin writing. Your business plan will probably take you several weeks to complete, so don’t worry about finishing it in one sitting. When you’re finished, you should have several small essays in each section. The information you gather during this exercise will guide you in all of your future business decisions—and will also serve as a solid foundation if you decide to pursue funding or investment opportunities in the future.
Ready to get started? Let’s dig in!
As we explained in “How to Write a Food Truck Business Plan,” the Executive Summary will appear first in the final version of your document—but you should write it last. The Executive Summary is an overview of your entire truck. It gives readers a brief introduction into what they can find in your business plan and it helps you succinctly explain what your truck is all about in no more than one to two pages. After you’ve completed Sections 2-9, return to the Executive Summary section and write a brief explanation of the following topics:
The Company Description is the section where you’ll highlight the different facets of your business—starting with your pitch and your goals. We addressed many of the questions about what your truck does and who it will serve in the first few lessons of “How to Start a Food Truck,” and we’ll talk more about goal-setting in next week’s post. Once you’re ready to complete this section, here are a few questions to answer:
In the Market Analysis, you’ll explain your knowledge of the food truck industry and report on any research you’ve completed. Be sure to include any data or statistics you have and explain how you arrived at the answers. Consider these questions:
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Next up is the Organization and Management section—the place in your business plan where you’re going to explain who’s on your team and what each person’s roles and responsibilities include. Be as specific as possible while answering these questions:
In the Services and Products section, you get to highlight all of the tasty goodness your food truck has to offer. Explain what you’re going to sell and why it will hit a home run with fans. And if you have ideas for the future, lay them all on the line here. Use these questions to get started:
Every successful food truck shares the same main ingredient—loyal customers. In the Marketing and Sales section, you’ll explain how you’re going to get them. First, let’s focus on the marketing aspect of that process:
Now, let’s think about your sales strategy. Some business owners answer these questions twice, once with their “best guesses” and once with their “worst-case scenarios.” To answer these questions, you’ll first need to calculate your necessary profit margins and develop a pricing plan for your menu—a topic we’ll explain later this month in “How to Start a Food Truck”. Once you’ve completed these estimates, consider:
Because many food truck owners bootstrap their businesses or work with partners to get their trucks running, the Funding Request section is optional. However, if you’re interested in finding an investor to back your truck, you’ll need to answer these questions:
Once you’ve established sales plans and a cost analysis for your food truck, you’ll get more specific about the facts and figures in your Financial Projections section. Here’s what you need to include:
Note: For most entrepreneurs, this section involves a lot of guesswork. That’s okay as long as you clearly indicate where you’re making assumptions and how you’re arriving at your figures. Be sure that any numbers included in your funding request clearly match up with the projections and expectations you’ve outlined in other sections, as investors will carefully examine your document for inconsistencies.
Some business owners also create appendices with important documents to supplement their business plans. Though an appendix is not required, it is a good way to present your most important records to potential investors and to collect the information for yourself.
Your appendix might include:
We’ve tackled a lot of sizable topics throughout the “How to Start a Food Truck” series, but writing a business plan is undoubtedly one of the biggest. Writing a business plan will take some time, and you’ll probably need to think about a lot of areas of your food truck business that hadn’t even occurred to you yet. That’s okay—you don’t need to have all the answers right now. You’ll benefit simply from beginning to compile this information and from thinking about these questions in the space of a single document.
Once you’ve finished writing about the key facets of each area of your business, you can start editing and revising the document to present a clear, comprehensive outline of your food truck’s needs, goals, and assets. If you’re presenting your business plan to an investor, keep in mind that spelling, punctuation, and your writing style matter immensely. Investors will judge your business plan by the information you include and by the way you share it.
Still have questions about what your business plan should include or where to find the answers? Remember that FoodTruckr is here to help! Any time you have a question about your business plan or you need to know something about the food truck industry, contact us on Facebook, Twitter, or via email. We’re always happy to help you track down the best business advice and strategies you need to make your food truck dream a reality!
Coming up next week: We talk goal-setting and the best ways to plan out your dreams. Stay tuned for this important lesson in starting a food truck business!
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image by Elin Schönfelder
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