Food truck owners, are you looking for another way to make more money at your mobile kitchen business? In other words, are you looking for another stream of income? Have you ever thought about doing some catering gigs?
If not, then you are truly missing out on a golden opportunity. You see, not only can you make more money by doing some side gigs in the catering department, but you can also expand your audience by serving food to people who typically wouldn’t venture to your truck. This, of course, could lead to more people taking the journey to your lunch truck after they have experienced your amazing recipes at the event you catered for. Better yet, it could lead to someone at the catering gig setting up another catering job with you. It’s a chain reaction that leads to more money in your pocket, and more people experiencing your otherworldly food.
If you are completely new to this whole catering idea, then we have you covered, as we will be dropping some knowledge that will help you crush your next catering gig. Whether you are about to do your first catering job or 50th, use the tips below to your advantage.
How To Crush A Catering Gig For Your Food Truck Business
- First things first, don’t be afraid to take on an event, even if it is a wedding. (Side note: Food truck weddings are booming nowadays.)
- Get all of the details. You do not want to be blindsided when you show up for the gig. Neither does your client. You know, the person who hired you. Know how many people you will serve, what the occasion is, what you need to make more of (if possible), what you all need to provide (more likely than not, you will just need to show up with your food) and the list goes on and on. You also need to figure out pricing with your client, because this can certainly be different than your normal pricing.
- Promote, promote, promote. Catering gigs provide the perfect opportunity for you to promote your truck. Therefore, make sure you print out plenty of business cards to give away, tell people where your truck can typically be found during the week, make your Facebook page (all of your social media networks, really) known, etc.
- Get creative: Have a sign-up sheet, or something along those lines, that allows others to sign up for more information for catering in the future. Reminder: One business deal could lead to the next.
- Do your research. See what other food truck owners in your area incorporate at their catering gigs.
- Figure out your menu. This step might take place with the person who hired you, and it might not. Do you want to go with a simplified menu, or do you want to pull out all of the stops and make a larger menu that features all of your food items (and then some)? The choice is yours. However, a simplified menu could save you time and money, and it might be the go-to option if you don’t have many catering gigs under your belt.
- Figure out if you need to add on extra help via more employees. Yes, adding on another employee for one gig could be pricey, but you want to make sure everything runs smoothly and your food truck knocks said gig out of the park.
- Take your customer service game up a notch or two. Customer service is key in the food truck industry.
- Have fun. Interact with your customers. Enjoy the process. Show off your passion by cooking up a storm in the kitchen. So many people are, understandably, worried about all of the troubles that life throws their way; however, you are living out your dream of being a chef. Do not take that for granted. Enjoy yourself, make great art (well, your food, that is) and crush your next catering job!
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