Want to start a Food Truck Business

There’s a lot that’s appealing about running your own business. First of all, you get to be your own boss – and if you are busy enough, someone else’s boss. Secondly, while with a 9 – 5 job you’re stuck on a salary with measly yearly pay rises, running your own business can result in skyrocketing income, if you’re savvy and have a bit of luck. Also, there’s a certain freedom in setting your own hours and your own goals and striving to achieve them. Today, we’re going to have a look at how to start up a particular type of business – a food truck business.

Why food trucks? Well, besides from the fact that the hipsters just love them and will flock to them? They’re mobile, so you can set up anywhere you can obtain a permit and when a spot dies down you can move to the next one. You can also get into festivals and events where there’s lots of hungry people. And people are always going to need a feed. Let’s look at the next steps.

How to Get Started

First of all, you’re going to need to purchase a food truck. You’ll need to check out some food trucks for sale and pick one. This is obviously going to require some upfront capital. If you’re in a position to purchase one outright, great news. You’ll eventually see a return on investment once business gets going. Otherwise, you’re going to need finance. You should consider asking friends or family to back you first, as they may be able to loan you some money without asking for interest. If that’s not an option then you’ll need to approach a lender.

Try a business loan comparison site to get the best deal on your business finance.

Pick a Cuisine

The next step is to pick a cuisine, or the type of food that you will serve from your food truck. This can be a difficult choice as there are as many cuisines as there are countries in the world, and even some countries have wildly different cuisines depending on geographical location. Pizza is a safe bet, as are burgers. Everyone loves a slice of pizza or a nice juicy burger. If you want to spice things up a bit you could opt for Thai street food or Indian curries. The choice is yours. The next step is to find some folk to cook and serve it for you…

Hiring Staff for your Food Truck

Even if you’re going to work on the food truck yourself, a food truck isn’t a one-person show. You’ll need some staff to assist with the cooking, taking orders, serving the food and cleaning up. Here’s a hot tip – be prepared to offer above award rates. It can be tempting to offer staff cash in hand but if you pay peanuts you’ll get monkeys. Offer your staff a decent wage, including penalty rates for late work and weekends and you’ll find that they go above and beyond the call of duty. Happy staff means more money in your pocket at the end of the day, as your business will flourish.

Find Sporting Events to go to

Follow some other food trucks to see the venues and events they are going to. Perhaps you can contact your kid’s sporting events and give them a special offer to get started. You could set up your Food van for food sales at football matches, soccer games, netball tournaments, calisthenic competitions, basketball stadiums… Also look out for local school events, school fetes, and other community events.

Weddings Love Food Trucks

Weddings are very popular for Food trucks. You could get to know a few other businesses in the wedding industry. Try to meet some Wedding Planner to build relationships with. You may be able to advertise at Wedding Expos too. Why not look out for DIY wedding venues, often they allow couples to supply their own food –  so a Food Truck is a perfect idea.

Your Food Truck is almost ready to go

To start with, you’ll need to purchase a food truck. You can either do this outright, with help from friends or family or via a lender. After you have the truck you need to pick a cuisine to serve. Finally, find some loyal staff and pay them decently and your burgeoning business will be on the fast road to success, literally. Good luck!