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A Guideline on How to Start A Food Truck Business

This article is written to guide people on how to start a food truck business. A win-win option for a business is to choose a niche that will always be in demand. Food truck business meets this requirement in the best way possible, therefore this idea often becomes a priority. But this business, like any other, has its own nuances, which are very important for a novice entrepreneur to know about.

Things you should know:

1. Not all neighborhoods allow food trucks. The first thing you should know before starting a food truck business is to find out if they are legal. Some cities have restrictions for mobile providers. Determine where you can set up the store, first.
2. Food trucks cost money.Although it is much cheaper than a brick and mortar restaurant, a food truck will cost thousands of dollars, even more. Unless you have a lot of extra money around, you will probably need to seek financing, whether through a bank, a small business agency or investors.
3. 3. A mobile food truck business requires licenses and permits.Depending on where you are doing business, you may need to apply for licenses and special licenses. Sometimes, the number of permits allowed in an area is limited, causing a long waiting period for food truck owners.
4. Health and safety are important in a food truck business.If you plan to serve food to the public, whether at home or through a food truck, you need to take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of customers. Food must be stored, prepared and served in sanitary conditions, at the appropriate temperature.

Read Also: How to Start Frozen Food Business

You will need to apply for a health license before you can do business. Your local health inspector will accompany you through the necessary regulations to make sure that your food truck business is safe.

5. Restaurants and food trucks don’t always mix. The restaurants in your neighborhood cannot kindly take you to park your food truck nearby. Competition in the food sector is always fierce.
6. Location is important to a successful food truck business.One of the biggest advantages that a food truck has is that it can bring food to customers. But you still need to know where the customers are. Bearing in mind that you cannot just park anywhere (due to restrictions and licensing) it is a balancing act to park in a legal area that is also occupied.
7. Social media is a great tool for food trucks. More and more mobile food truck companies are turning to sites like Facebook and Twitter for promotion. You can tweet where you are going to be every day and post specials and other promotions.
8. Owning a food truck business is a lot of hard work. Owning any small business is a lot of hard work. That means long hours, juggling different positions, from cook to server to accountant. While it is certainly rewarding, never think that the food truck business is easy money.

Food trucks are still one of the most popular business concepts at the moment.

They offer low startup and low cost. But, like a traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant, a food truck is still a business and, as such, still requires a lot of work and dedication to make it successful.

Read Also: How to Start a Catering Business

If that doesn’t discourage you, here’s what we will discuss in this article:

1. Getting Started
2. How to Start
3. Success Tips
4. Conclusion

Getting Started

Before getting started, you should be able to:

1. Think small.If you don’t want to invest a lot of money, a food basket costs a fraction of a food truck with many of the same benefits.
2. Be prepared for emergencies.Start saving money on equipment repairs or other unforeseen events.
3. Get ready to work long days.You can only serve food during lunch, but you must prepare all food and clean, plus keeping accounts, ordering and other mundane chores.

How to Start

1. Ask Yourself the Right Questions

The opening of a food truck is often perceived as the good alternative between the opening of a restaurant and that of a fast food. It offers many advantages, in particular greater flexibility and lower start-up investments. But even if there is always a strong enthusiasm for these food trucks, the competition is tougher than at the beginning of the phenomenon. It is therefore necessary to put all the chances on your side to profit from this business without taking the risk of having to close in the first months of activity. To avoid finding yourself in such a situation you must ask yourself the right questions  :

• Are you motivated enough to open your own food truck?
• Do you have the skills to run a business?
• Is your personal life in line with your professional goals?

2. Find a Concept.

Creating a food truck implies having imagined a concept and found an economic model. Concretely, it will be a question of proposing an attractive offer, sufficiently remarkable to engage word-of-mouth and to bring new customers.

To be viable, your concept must have certain characteristics:

• It should be in line with market trends and customer expectations,
• It should be consistent with the locations you are targeting,
• It should be consistent with what you want and what you can do,
• It should be visually attractive, identifiable and easy to remember,
• It must highlight the taste and quality of the products,
• It will have to achieve profitability (sufficient sales, sufficient margin).
• You will also have to regularly renew your offerand offer products in the appropriate format.

Read Also: How to Start Gourmet Popcorn Business

3. Conduct Market Research

Now that your concept is well established, you need to confront it with the reality on the ground. For this, the market study  will allow you to determine the real potential of your food truck. You will get these answers by analyzing the fast-food sector for lunch in your catchment area. Thanks to it, you must know your competitors, the various potential suppliers, the customers and their expectations. The objective of this study is to give the “go” or on the contrary the “stop” of the launching of your project. It is also important to draw the conclusions from this analysis, whether in terms of positioning, price or waiting for your offer. This will allow you to maximize the chances of success for your food truck.

To support your market research, you need to do a field study. This is the most important part because you will meet your future customers. You will then have to collect your customer expectations:

• Types of dishes (local, exotic, burger, etc.)
• Sources of motivation (price, quality of service, etc.)
• Obstacles (budget, reputation, etc.)

You can also establish a profile of the local customer:

• Customer profile (gender, age, professional activity)
• Consumption habits
• Their level of satisfaction

4. Business Plan

Assemble a work plan. It presents short- and long-term plans to guide the business, thus, it will develop the food truck and prepare for unforeseen situations as processes, as well as to establish more financial security to buy permits, insurance and supplies.

Put on paper all your business objectives, finances, marketing strategies and execution plan.

Create an executive summary that clearly outlines your goals for potential investors.

Be as detailed as possible, but allow some flexibility in some suggestions. Finally, include in the table the costs of authorizations, salaries and provisions.

5. Buy a Truck

Now that your business plan is stabilized and that you have put figures on your project, it remains to find the vehicle suitable for your future activity, within the limits of the budget that you have set.

All prices exist, but beware, the vehicle must have the following characteristics:

It must have a hand basin and a supply of drinking water,

It must be equipped with a working fridge,

Surfaces in contact with food must be made of smooth materials, easy to clean and disinfect (no wood),

The components of the vehicle must be fire resistant. A fire extinguisher must be present on board.

Success Tips

• Propose an original offer:You must build a universe around the food that you sell. Offer your customers something new, with a unique experience, that only you can offer them.
• Forget the clichés on fast food:Your business must be of quality with quality homemade ingredients, to satisfy the most demanding customers and thus ensure their loyalty.
• Build your own identity:The name of your food truck is decisive. Forget the overly common names that won’t help you stand out enough. Instead, adopt a name that has character, is easy to remember and that represents your concept and your values.
• Personalize your food truck:For example, use the total covering technique to enhance your bodywork and attract the attention of passers-by. This consists of applying a decoration film to the entire vehicle, in particular to the glazed parts
• Product: Define the type of dishes you want to serve based on your skills and the target market. It is also crucial for the image and reputation of your food truck to have a culinary specialty that will make your reputation.
• Price: This is one of the strengths of this type of business. It must be between the average price of   traditional fast foodand that of a classic lunch in a restaurant .
• Promotion: The success of these restaurant trucks depends on their ability to be connected to the internet via social networks (twitter, facebook, etc.). It is essential to offer this link with customers who will be able to know the location of the truck on a map but also the map and the various offers in real time.
• Business plan: As with any business creation, this document is essential to set up a long-term and secure business. It will help you write your ideas and thus be able to convince the banks to trust you.

Read Also: How to start a restaurant business

Conclusion

Food trucks are the hottest trends at the moment and show no signs of slowing down. If you have ever considered opening a restaurant, a food truck is a good option. It offers lower start-up costs and overheads.

Once you have the impression for the food truck business, this article will help you make a good startup decision.

Foods and Healthcare

Tags: Business ideas, Food Business Ideas