The Business of Food Trucks for Beginner: Simple Strategic Plan to Build and Maintain a Successful Mobile Business

By Daniel Silva

A small investment in a food truck can provide an annual revenue of $250,000 to $500,000.

When you combine this with the wonderful independence and flexibility that establishing a business, let alone a food truck, offers, it's easy to see why so many individuals are intrigued to the concept of starting a food truck.

In reality, the food truck is an ideal business model for a startup:

•    Low start-up costs 
•    Low overheads 
•    You are your own boss from the start 
•    You require very few employees to run a successful organization

The market for innovative and exciting fast food is massive, but your competition will be as well.

That's why, before you start scouting trucks and designing menus, you'll need a sound plan.
If you have a food truck business idea, chances are you can make it a success.
You may have heard that roughly half of all startups fail within the first year. That figure is far smaller in the food truck market, but knowing how to avoid failure is still critical to developing a successful business.
A thorough approach to building a profitable food truck can be found in The Business of Food Trucks: A Beginner's approach. You will learn:
•    The most common causes of food truck failure and how to avoid them
•    A step-by-step guide to writing a business plan tailored specifically to your food truck business The most successful ways to get financing without dipping into your own pocket How to find your niche, and why doing so is critical to your success
•    The six most enticing mobile food options - how to decide which one is appropriate for you and how to discover the ideal vehicle
•    Strange psychological methods to increase menu sales
•    Everything you need to know to ensure that your business always passes inspections How to maintain your food truck thriving long after the initial stage 
•    Ways to extend your business once you've reached spectacular success And much more.

If you recognize the huge potential of the food truck industry, you have your sights set on the prize.
All you need to know now is how to ensure that your firm gets off to a good start and stands out from the crowd.

The good news is that if you stick to a strategy, you will start with everything you need to make your food truck a success, putting you well ahead of other businesses in the industry.

If you can already see your food trending on Instagram and hear excited sighs when you spot your food truck at a festival, it's time to get started.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edwards Howard
• Release date: May 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223531913

Book preview

Introduction

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I knew that if I failed, I would not regret it. But I knew that the only thing I could regret is that I never tried it. - Jeff Bezos

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Do you stay up at night dreaming of new recipes and owning your own business? You are not the only one. There are not a few people who would love to have their own restaurant, but do not have the drive to do so. Notice that I said impulse, not money or capacity or anything like that. The only thing that matters is the will to act. The food business is both the best and the worst of businesses.

The positive aspects of opening a food business are many. People are always in need of food and a good number of us are foodies. Just turn on the TV and you will see that there is no end to the number of Master Chef type cooking shows.

There is an entire channel, The Food Network, dedicated to the subject, with cooking shows throughout the day. Cooking blogs and cookbooks are one of the most downloaded materials on the Internet.

If we turn to YouTube, there is no limit to the types of recipes and cooking techniques that people demand. It's clear that people love food, so it makes sense to provide it to them. However, this is also what creates the negative aspects of running a food business. A high demand is not a guarantee of success. It's just a start. Just because you cook well doesn't mean you're going to be successful. Surveys indicate that most new restaurants close within their first year of operation ( Restaurant Failure & Profit Rates: What You Need to Know , 2019).

Why is this happening? Saturation is an important factor. You're not the only one who can see that people are willing to pay top dollar for food and enjoy spending their money on it. Consequently, restaurants abound. On every corner there is an attractive-looking store that allows customers to choose. Walking down an average high-level street, you will find the whole world represented on it. If your street is in a big city like New York or San Francisco, this is literally true.

Popular kitchens have their own sub-kitchens. For example, Indian food is no longer just chicken curry. There are many restaurants that serve food from the southern and eastern regions of the country and that food tastes very different from what can be considered traditionally Indian. With so many operators in the industry, it is not surprising that many of them fail. Ultimately, it is about the survival of the fittest.

Running a restaurant is a tough business and your margins are low. Most people who open restaurants are great cooks, but it takes a lot more than that to run a successful business. You have to take into account costs, margins and marketing. All of this can make your head spin, but it's what the average restaurant owner has to deal with.

Is your head spinning already?

Food trucks

One way to avoid falling into the restaurant trap is to open a food truck. I'm sure you've seen them everywhere. They are mobile food joints that operate out of the back of a truck, literally. They park anywhere, serve food, and head off into the sunset laden with money. The reality is a little different, but the food truck business is booming in the United States.

People demand more than ever quality food that is easily accessible. The rise of social networks has made trendy gastronomic concepts gain followers very quickly. While some of these influencers profit from business, food trucks don't have those drawbacks. First of all, the concept of a food truck is attractive enough to attract passers-by. Second, it's not like an influencer can just drop by your food truck and pretend they've eaten there. After all, it's not a restaurant where you can order a glass of water and walk away.

Food trucks offer customers the convenience of being able to pick up their food and eat it wherever they want. They don't have to wait close to an hour at a restaurant or stand in line to eat greasy food at fast food joints. The quality of a restaurant combined with the convenience of fast food is what makes food trucks such an attractive offer.

Best of all, the economics of a food truck business are much easier for beginners to understand, as I will teach you in this book. I'll take you from step one, why you need a food truck business, to marketing, business plan writing, location scouting, and choosing a good truck.

The most intimidating part of running a food truck business is getting licensed. Dealing with the government is always a headache, but in this book, you're going to discover that it's much easier than you might think. Besides, there are more important things you need to take care of.

Thinking like an entrepreneur is paramount, but unfortunately most people don't have a clue what this means. To be clear, this doesn't mean you just chase money everywhere and cut costs indiscriminately. That's what someone who knows nothing about business thinks. Ultimately, being a business owner is about taking responsibility and accepting that being in charge is the best thing that could have happened to you.

Why this book?

What makes me uniquely qualified to advise you on a food truck business? For starters, I have been successfully running a food truck for over five years. And more importantly, I didn't have anyone to teach me through a book like this. I went out, made a fool of myself, and learned how the business works. There were difficult moments, but my drive and my vision kept me going.

I have always been passionate about food, both cooking it and eating it. There is nothing that makes me happier than seeing people enjoying the food I have cooked and asking for more. The prospect of running a restaurant seemed daunting to me. Who wants to be cooped up all day when you could be out enjoying the sun? Also, I thought that if I opened a restaurant, I would be a prisoner of my place.

I loved the idea of being able to move to another place if a location didn't suit me. He could set up a pop-up restaurant in case there were special events or concerts in the area. This flexibility is what makes food trucks such a wonderful business. In this book, I'm going to show you how it's done.

All I ask is that you be willing to work hard and believe in yourself. Yes, it's hard to run a business, but that doesn't mean you can't do it. You have lived for all this time, haven't you? You have already faced difficult situations. What are you afraid of? Get ready to take the big step and live your dream. You are about to embark on the first steps of a successful food business.

Let's get started!

Chapter 1:  Food truck jackpot

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Food trucks are potential gold mines if managed correctly. Because? I have listed some of the reasons in the introduction to this book, but in this chapter you are going to learn more about them. However, not everything is positive, there are some negative aspects that you should take into account. The success of your food truck business depends on how well you can navigate the negative aspects.

A truck is not your only option. There are numerous mobile restaurant ideas you can try if the idea of buying a truck intimidates you. The daily routine of a food truck owner is very hectic, so you have to love what you do if you want to be successful. The hard work pays off, and besides, you don't have to work on your truck all the time for it to be successful. These are some of the topics that will be covered in this chapter.

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Why a Food Truck?

There are clear advantages that food trucks offer compared to restaurants or traditional food service businesses. The average restaurant manages to saddle their owners with overhead and other expenses before they even get started. Running a restaurant is a serious undertaking, and if you've never run a business before, it's almost impossible to succeed. Surround yourself with the right talent before committing. The price of failure is high, since the costs of establishment are also high.

lower costs

This is not the case with a food truck. Your biggest expense will be the truck itself. On average, food truck startup costs will range from $50,000 to $60,000 ( 25 Most Powerful Food Truck Industry Stats in 2020 , 2020). This is much lower than what restaurant owners face. With a restaurant, let's look at the number of things you need to buy before opening your doors.

First of all, you will need tons of kitchen equipment. You'll be serving customers who expect fresh food, and presumably you'll be renting a large space. This means you'll need top-notch equipment that can store and cook your food. You will have to hire at least one more cook in the kitchen, since you can't do everything by yourself, unless you want to go crazy.

Someone will have to constantly wash the dishes and clean the floors. Your restaurant will have to be open several hours a day, since you will have to cover more tables to recover the money. Take a look at the life of an emerging chef and you will see how tough it is. The kitchen is an extremely demanding place and you have to spend many hours in it to have any chance of success.

Of course, none of this has to do with the problems in the room. A supervisor capable of directing the waiters and employees is needed to guarantee good service. Finding these people is difficult. What happens if they quit or do their job poorly? You can cook the best food in the world, but if it doesn't get to the customers on time, they won't come back.

The success of a restaurant depends on much more than its food. The added costs put more pressure on owners, who will have to focus on a lot more than just food. If the restaurant makes a mistake in the choice of the menu, it will have to start over, which means more expenses. With a food truck, just change the brand and that's it. You don't have to worry about the waiters or the cleanliness of the tables.

Thanks to lower costs, your break-even points will be lower, which means fewer working hours. You will be able to set your schedules in a more convenient way and earn more money. Why not love it?

brand recognition

It turns out that food trucks are also a great way to open your own restaurant in the future. What do all great restaurants have? The recognition of your brand. If you walk down a street full of restaurants, chances are you'll choose the one you recognize or feel the most affinity for. The choice of gastronomic offer influences, of course, but for the most part, people opt for the brands they recognize. That's why Nike shoes sell for five times the price of their cheapest competitors.

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To build a brand for a restaurant, you have to invest a lot of money in advertising and juggle the other aspects that I have highlighted above. It's a task that is beyond most restaurant owners. Famous restaurants capitalize on the popularity of their chefs and the way they cook their food. Some try to make a splash with décor and other innovative concepts. If this is someone who is trying to start their business, opening a restaurant is not the way to go.

Instead of spending all that money on a fixed location, start your business with a food truck and build a reputation in the minds of your customers. The food truck scene is always lively and well covered by the local media as there are so many options available. A food truck that served Greek food last week may serve Thai street food the next. Consumers are always attentive, and gastronomic parks seek to make the offer as varied and exciting as possible.

All of this means that you can get free advertising without having to do any work. I'm not saying you don't need to advertise your business or invest in advertising. However, you certainly don't need to advertise and invest as much as a restaurant owner would. A traveling food truck also generates excitement. Food truck locator apps exist for a reason. Consumers feel like they've received a gift of good food when a famous food truck visits their neighborhood.

Call it the ice cream truck effect or whatever, food trucks create excitement and buzz when done correctly. Which means you'll be building a good customer base for the future. If you opened a restaurant later on, it would probably be full. Also, taking the truck to different places and selling your food there is a good way to get to know a place and check the demand in that area. Restaurant owners usually spend a lot of time in an area before opening a location. This costs them money since they are not selling anything during that research stage.

As a food truck owner, you can park, watch and earn all at the same time. Another advantage is that you will be running a restaurant