The food truck industry is not for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of hard work to get where you want to go with your truck and your business. You can expect to work a whole lot of hours, expend lots of creative energy, and learn a whole lot about how to run a small business. You have to have a drive to succeed.
If you think you have the necessary determination, awesome! However, there are also other important ingredients you will want to have if you plan on running a food truck business.
4. Your Food Truck—Of Course!
Let’s get the most obvious ingredient out of the way right at the top—the food truck. Of course, you have to have a food truck to run a food truck business.
Our advice? Don’t purchase the cheapest food truck you can find, because that mistake will be costly in the long run. Going with a customized truck is your best option.
A truck made just for you will look the way you want it, with custom graphics that match your branding. You can even add a shadow box TV on the outside to showcase your menu, or custom rooftop sign boards for that extra touch of glam.
Your custom truck will also have all the right equipment for your particular food enterprise. Need specialty equipment like a pizza oven, espresso machine, or ice cream dipping cabinet? Done. Have a specific way you want your kitchen laid out? No problem! That’s exactly why having a custom truck is the way to go: you can make sure everything is designed to your desired specifications.
3. Recipes Your Customers Will Love
This is one of the most important ingredients on this list, because it’s your actual product. Don’t try to be the next McDonald’s or Subway. Try to be the next you. You can achieve this by serving up your own unique recipes.
Your food has to stand out from the crowd. You want your food to be so good and so unique that customers can’t get it anywhere else. Do you have dishes that you are known for among your family and friends? Try those out on your food truck customers and see how they go over.
2. Your Business Plan
If you are trying to break into the food truck industry, then you’ve probably already heard that a business plan is essential.
In order to be as accurate as possible, your business plan has to map out everything, including one time and recurring expenses:
- Initial inventory, and restocking costs
- Employee pay
- Your salary
- Your food truck build
- Insurance (for your physical truck and for your business as well)
- Licensing and Permits
- Storage (if you don’t have somewhere to park your truck when it’s not in use)
- Gas for Transportation
This is not an exhaustive list by any means, so be sure to add any other foreseeable costs to your business plan. These costs may vary, depending on the type of food you plan to serve.
The more detailed your business plan, the better prepared you will be to face the day to day running of your food truck operation. An impressive business plan can even help you secure your food truck financing.
1. A Vision for Your Food Truck Business
Successful business owners need a vision, food truck owners included. A little imagination never hurt anyone, right?
Part of having a vision is being able to picture yourself succeeding, and making a plan to get there. It takes a whole lot of creativity to be a food truck chef and a business owner at the same time.
In order to make your vision a reality, you need to create concrete goals that will help you get there. Set aside time for planning and strategizing. Have a set period after which you will review your goals, and see if you have put in the work you planned to. If you have, congratulations! Now set your next goal and keep on trucking. If you haven’t, examine what you can do differently to meet those goals by your next self-review.
Don’t Let Your Food Truck Dream Flop
Some of these ingredients are going to take a lot of work, creativity, and trial and error. Don’t let that scare you away from pursuing your goals. Every successful business has to start somewhere, and food trucks are no exception.
Looking to take the next step in your food truck journey? Fill out a quote request form and one of our food truck experts will help you out!