Hi, my name is Kate, and as I have been married to a chef for over fifteen years, I have learned a lot about how to create ambiance and style in a restaurant. I would love to start our own restaurant, but it's just not possible right now as we are super focused on our two kids under the age of two. Maybe, when they get older, we'll be able to open one. Anyway, I love exploring that world and decided to create a blog related to food service and food service ideas. In particular, I am going to focus on making food that tastes like a holiday, engaging your clients and relaxing them. I hope you enjoy these posts and that they inspire you to explore new culinary avenues.
Do you have a flair for flavours? Perhaps you have presentation prowess and can lay your dishes out superbly? Maybe you can finesse food to a fine degree, too, but do you have the sort of business skills necessary to run your own catering business? There are many great cooks who are highly experienced with food preparation but don't have enough commercial know-how to make a catering business succeed. What do you need to know in order to take your culinary skills on the road and make an income from catering?
Marketing
All businesses need to be marketed properly in order to attract customers, and mobile catering businesses are no different. If you are planning on cooking from home and delivering to a client's home or business address in your area, then social media, press adverts and word-of-mouth recommendations are the most cost-effective means of attracting customers. If you plan on a mobile catering business that operates from a stall or van, then make sure yours stands out from the crowd with a distinctive livery and signs that you can set up in the area to attract passers by to your business.
Stock Rotation
Be prepared to use up your stock in creative ways. If items of food go bad, then that is simply money down the drain. Make sure you don't over cater, especially with foodstuffs that have a short shelf-life. Be prepared to alter your menu to use up older things even if that means reducing the options you offer customers. A little compromise on what you have for sale makes sound business so don't let your culinary heart rule your commercial head.
Get Paid
Never give away your catering for free. If you do offer a sample, then make sure it is just that and not something that will break the bank. Mobile businesses of all types can benefit from portable point of sale equipment which allows card transactions to be taken over the internet these days. Therefore, there is no reason to invoice clients after you have provided your services and offer credit terms. Take payment when the food is handed over and don't rely on cheques or cash.
Work Out Your Bottom Line
When setting up a mobile catering business, you may never know exactly how much food you will sell in a day. Work out how much you need to sell in order to break even and set your pricing so that this figure is as low as possible. Once you have passed this figure, all of your sales should be considered gross profit. If you don't start generating profit, then you are either operating in the wrong location and not generating sufficient custom or setting your sales price too low.
Share21 November 2016
