Running a Food Truck For Dummies. Richard Myrick

night’s service is over, and you’ve made your way back to the commercial kitchen. You clean out the truck and wash it down so it’s ready for the next shift. You break down and marinate the meat and, in some cases, even order the bread for tomorrow’s pick-up or delivery.

      You store the food and lock up the truck. It’s finally time to head home.

      On the trip home, you reflect back on the day and are very thankful that the oil in the fryer didn’t explode or that you were able to start the truck without any issues, and finally, you see it – home sweet home. After a final round of reading emails and listening to phone messages, you go to bed. Your 9-to-5 workday is over, only to start again in a few hours.

      Discovering Whether You Have What It Takes to Run a Food Truck

      Have you ever wanted to start your own business? If you’re self-motivated and have a love of food and people, opening your own food truck can be a great career option for you. Not everyone is cut out for this diverse industry, though. Are you? You can find out with the help of the following sections.

Monitoring your motivations

      Owning your own food truck takes a special type of person. A successful food truck owner needs to have some business sense. Patience is an important asset in owning your own mobile food business, as are good people skills.

      

Before you invest any more time or money in the process of starting up your food truck empire (except for purchasing and reading this book), you need to find out the real reasons you’re motivated to do this. Be as honest with yourself as possible; fooling yourself is only going to hurt you and your pocketbook in the long run.

      People have many reasons to want to own and operate a food truck; some of my favorites include the following:

      ❯❯ They like the business aspect of owning a food truck.

      ❯❯ They have a passion for food.

      ❯❯ They want to provide a service to their community.

      ❯❯ They’re self-motivated.

      ❯❯ They like being around other people.

      

The following list contains some reasons that shouldn’t be motivation for starting a food truck:

      ❯❯ Thinking it’ll be easy

      ❯❯ Thinking it’ll make you rich

      ❯❯ Wanting to be a celebrity chef

      ❯❯ Being tired of having a “real” job

      

If you happen to be motivated by any of these reasons, don’t fret. Just make sure they’re not your only (or primary) motivators to enter this industry.

Tracking key traits

      

A food truck’s success isn’t based on any magic formula, but most food truck owners who do well share many of the same personality traits. They’re a special breed of culinary entrepreneurs who are highly motivated, caring, and curious individuals. They effectively balance their personal and business goals, take advantage of others’ expertise, and continually seek to figure out the best practices exhibited by their competition. Some common traits shared by food truck owners include the following:

      ❯❯ Hard workers: Successful food truck owners work hard and play hard, too. They get up early; they rarely complain; they expect high performance from others, but they expect extraordinary performance from themselves.

      ❯❯ Self-reliant and not afraid to take responsibility: Successful food truck owners don’t worry about blame, and they don’t waste time complaining. They make decisions and move on.

      ❯❯ Focused on the future: Food truck owners who have thrived are good at both short and long-term planning. They’re as likely to have a well-thought-out plan for the day-to-day running of their business as a road map for how to run the business for years.

      ❯❯ Eager to learn: Strong food truck owners are always reading, educating themselves, and asking questions. They ask for advice, try things out, consult experts and amateurs, and always look for a better, faster, and cheaper solution.

      ❯❯ Action oriented: Successful food truck owners are proactive and always differentiate themselves from their competitors. They’re less worried than other small business owners about the state of the economy and are more likely to look at adversity as a sign to keep moving forward.

      ❯❯ Tech-savvy: Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that the best food truck owners invest both time and money on improving their website and are likely to rely a great deal on technology, such as social media and point-of-sale systems, to help make their business more efficient.

      Doing Some Initial Work to Start Your Food Truck

      

Starting a food truck business may not be as expensive as opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant. With that said, it still costs more money than most people have on hand, and it can still be as potentially risky as opening a diner or fine-dining establishment. Because of this, you have to plan ahead and get your ducks in a row. Here’s what you need to do so:

      ❯❯ The first thing everyone thinks of when discussing the mobile food industry is the vehicles the food is served from. Depending on your area and the laws there that regulate the industry, you need to determine which type of food truck platform best suits your needs. Chapter 2 covers the pros and cons of each type of truck as well as what you need to consider when determining which will be the best for your business.

      ❯❯ Even if you have the best truck on the streets and the most delicious menu offerings, without understanding the needs of your marketplace, a food truck business is going to have a tough time surviving for long. Chapter 3 gives you a firm grasp on how to research your market and how to understand the way to provide your customers with a product and service they keep coming back for.

      ❯❯ A business plan is the best tool for figuring out how much money you need to start your business. It describes why, when, and how you’re going to start turning a profit. Chapter 4 has the steps to prepare a plan.

      ❯❯ After you create your business plan, you’ll need to start using it to help secure capital for your business. Chapter 5 runs you through calculating your start-up costs and who to approach to get the financing you need.

      ❯❯ To assist you with getting your numbers together for your business plan and financing, you should hire an accountant (preferably one with restaurant or food truck experience) early in the process of starting your business. Chapter 6 has tips on hiring a good accounting professional.

      An attorney also can help provide a smooth start-up process for your truck. She can help you get through the mountain of paperwork you’ll be required to fill out and submit for your operational permits. She can also assist you in reviewing contracts and setting up the business structure of your company. So make sure you’re working with a good attorney before you sign your first vendor contract and kitchen lease, or even hire your first employee. You can find these topics and more in Chapter 6.

      ❯❯ Whether they purchase a new or used food truck, most people want to either change up the equipment or at least give it a clean, fresh look to match their truck concept. You also need to plan where to set up shop in your area – what locations are best for parking? To help you sort out these topics, check out Chapter 7.

      Preparing