If you’re considering opening a restaurant, or have been in the food business for awhile, there are a few things that you might want to know up front. Expertise is one of the key ingredients for success, and luckily we’ve done some research and found ten useful tips from industry experts! Lumpy’s food truck is a great example of the type of food truck you can run successfully and turn a profit.
Expanding your knowledge and getting advice from others will help to avoid costly mistakes. This is a chance to read what other people have learned so that maybe you can avoid the same problems they encountered on their journey through starting their business or simply learning how to succeed in it.
Ten Useful Tips From Experts In Food Business :
1. Do Market Research
Before you begin your food truck adventure and venture out there, do some preliminary research. Attend a food truck rally, like Viva Las Vegas, or check out festivals or events in your area and see what is going on. Research the types of foods that tend to sell well.
Also, find out who the top food truck vendors are in your area. If you can get to know those people first, this will help you to understand how the industry works and will probably lead to good advice from them from time to time as you try to navigate through this new business idea.
2. Learn From You Customers
Instead of simply asking people what they want to eat, learn the tastes of your customers by spending time with them. Ask them questions and see what they like and don’t like. If you know what they like by visiting their home, you can use that to your advantage, then start looking for a location that might be perfect for you.
3. Pay Attention To The Location
When thinking about where to locate your food truck business, you want to make sure that it is close to where the majority of customers live. It’s not just about convenience. It’s also about where there’s a demand for your food. If someone doesn’t live nearby, they may not be willing to travel out-of-the-way because of the distance or the cost in time and money.
4. Look For Support
It is important to find a place that is supportive about your food truck business idea and will allow you to park in the parking lot permanently. You want it to be comfortable for customers that are looking for a quick bite or are looking for something different from what they normally order at their favorite restaurant. In some areas, local businesses will even supply you with extra staples like napkins and baggies so that you can “pop” your products, or deliver them straight to the customer’s home.
5. Secure Your Space First
Once you have chosen a location, make sure that you secure it first before thinking about how to actually sell food. It is usually easier to secure a space than it is to get your business up and running in front of customers! This can really take away some of the stress involved in starting this type of business. Not only do you need a location, but also some way to make money.
6. Have Some Back-Up Business Plan
It’s a good idea to have a business plan, or at least an idea of how you can incorporate the food truck with your regular business, before getting started. A business plan will give you some clarity when you are thinking about starting your food truck and will help to avoid making costly mistakes along the way.
In addition to the business plan, make sure that you have another source of income that is not dependent upon customers from your food truck and can be used in case it doesn’t work out as well as planned.
7. Go Slow
If you want success , be patient and make sure to go slow. You can always add more on to the menu, but you can’t take it away. If you think that your food truck is not going to fly, then don’t do it. Talk with other food truck owners and see what they have done in the past and what kind of success they had with their versions of a food truck. You should be confident in your way by now, so sit down and brainstorm before jumping into any new idea for your food truck venture.
8. Don’t Worry About Tipping
Check to see if there are laws requiring tippers. Usually restaurants and food trucks are not required to pay tippers. Tipping is usually done on a voluntary basis by the customer, but if it’s required, you must comply. Ask your customers what they would like you to do in this situation.
9. Try To Keep Everything As Original As Possible
We’ve all seen food trucks using the same vending machines that any restaurant uses! Well does this help business or does it hinder it? Be creative and try to find the best location for your food truck business or permanent location for your brick-and-mortar restaurant . Being unique means that you have something strong that makes you stand out from others.
10. Be Flexible When It Comes To Pricing
This is tip number ten, but it could be number one when it comes to food truck success. Be flexible with your pricing and don’t be afraid to lower the price if you run out of supplies. Many food trucks have a rule like this: If you run out of a certain item, then you will sell it at a discounted price in order to let clients know that you have actually run out!
