adpapa Editor
21 May 2020
I want to give you 8 things to think about if you are looking to start a food truck of course there are a million things to do in order to create a food truck and not only just create one however make one profitable and successful year after year however here are 8 things to keep in mind if you’re just getting started.
I don’t want to scare you away from your goal or dream of having a food truck business, however these are things that you can prepare for and do your best to eliminate the possibilities of them happening and the reason being is that these 8 things can literally put your food truck out of commission.
Food handling
If you’re not cooking or handling the food properly, and an order ends up over cooked or even under cooked, the food can actually lead to somebody getting sick. Even if you’re overcooking it, this leads to losing ingredients, time and payroll as well as obviously inconveniencing your customer who is waiting for their food.
Always be prepared when you are cooking food to stay focused on that one singular customer at a time. If you are lucky enough to have a team with you, delegate to them what they need to be doing and so everyone is on the same page and nobody is going to ruin the food or ingredients.
What ingredients you have on your truck are basically what you are going to be selling and if you are forecasting selling a certain amount of food and you begin to ruin the ingredients or overcook it, then that’s going to limit your earning potential for the day ahead.
Licensing and permits
Most local councils require food permits or food licenses that actually put you through courses or programs so you understand how to handle ingredients and food safety in general.
If food has not been cooked properly, or just even cooked and prepared to the point where it is edible it could cause serious illness for a customer. People can get sick and that would cause a huge problem for your food truck business.
Always make sure that your food is handled properly, not only in your kitchen, however also food on board your food truck. The actual final preparation of the meal for someone to eat, is the most critical point. You want to make sure that the food is cooked properly and thoroughly and handled properly, always.
Gas tanks
Numerous food trucks have them, maybe not all of them do, however one of the most dangerous things in your day to day of a food truck business, is traveling on the roads with an LPG tank or two.
If the tank is not properly sealed or if you’ve got some type of leakage or if it’s not hooked up properly these are things that can be catastrophic. If a tank were to explode or even fall off your truck because it’s not secured properly, it could cause serious damage and of course that would be costly and possibly put your food truck business out of business.
Electrical problems
Not necessarily just for used food trucks or maybe ones that are older, however if you’ve got any electrical problems or electrical wiring that’s not put in properly or not updated, electrical problems can be a huge issue. It could lead to anything from one of your ovens or fryers not working properly or cooking the food properly, to even create fires within the food truck itself.
So making sure that the electrical wiring is good to go, and making sure that the electrician is licensed and insured and who’s ever is doing that inside of your facility inside of your food truck itself make sure that it’s done properly. Any type of loose wiring inside a food truck can be seriously hazardous for you and your customers.
Road accidents
Of course, this is something that nobody can foresee, however keep in mind when you are driving you could potentially get into accidents or even running into buildings. If you’re happen to be in a narrow alley or someplace where you’re having to park your food truck, be cautious of your driving because it’s literally a restaurant on wheels.
Your food truck could have the potential of course to be into an accident and that would be something that would lead to financial issues and of course insurance issues and that could hinder your profitability.
Right stock levels
This is something that can be a challenge for anyone’s business, food truck or not. Having the right amount of ingredients and materials such as napkins, cutlery, dishes, cups and containers you’re putting food in, always be sure to keep in stock as much as you physically can on your food truck.
Money storage
When at a festival or markets with your food truck, you want to have a extra safe or some type of safe place to make sure that you have enough change to transact with your cash customers.
Nowadays, it seems 75% of your transactions will be with cards, so you’re not going to need to have a lot of cash on hand however you need to make sure that you do have enough smaller bills because a lot of people will come in with larger notes.
Equipment breakdowns
A huge headache for any food truck business is equipment breaking down. This could be anywhere from a fryer to a freezer, or a steamer to a blender. Even your engine or something large as well.
You need to check every day to make sure the equipment is really functioning properly and is ready to roll for the day ahead. Put it on your checklist to ensure that every single piece of equipment is functioning properly.
