Food trucks are becoming more and more popular, which means great tasting foods are becoming easier and easier to access for all of those food lovers out there (reason No. 1 why food trucks are awesome).
Running a food truck isn’t all glamour and fame, though, despite movies like “Chef” making it seem like the new and improved way of restaurant-ing.
No, just like any business, owning a food truck is tough, and these five ugly truths about owning a food truck will show you the light.
5. Long, Long Hours — Good Luck Having A Life
How does working 10-14 hours EVERY SINGLE DAY (yes, Saturday and Sunday, too) sound? If you aren’t about that life, then maybe food trucking isn’t for you?
Basically, if you aren’t doing something for your food truck business, you are either sleeping, or doing something for your food truck business. If that isn’t the case, then you are probably losing money.
4. It’s Not The Easy Way Out
So you want to be a chef but don’t actually want to go through the process of climbing to the top of chef mountain. Why not start up a food truck business and make all of your wildest chef dreams come true?
Perhaps you don’t want to look for a specific space to open up your new restaurant. Or maybe you want to be mobile. Perhaps you want to go where the people are at instead of waiting for them to come to you, so they can finally try your otherworldly recipes.
Stop. Right. There.
If you think owning a food truck is the easy way out and you will become rich overnight, you are mistaken. Big time. Unless, of course, you did your homework.
There’s more to running a food truck than simply cooking — and we will get to that more later.
3. Permits, Permits And More Permits
One word: Permits.
If that word means nothing to aspiring food truck owners, then you are in store for a world of pain … and permits.
2. You Can’t Just Park Anywhere
But seriously … you really can’t just park anywhere. Yes, food trucks are all about where the most people are, but you can’t — once again — just park anywhere.
1. Being Able To Cook Sweet And Savory Foods Is Only Half The Battle
People will start to come to your food truck because your food is “restaurant quality” or exactly what they had in mind. Some of those people might even become loyal customers.
Future food truck owners must know that being able to cook what the crowd wants does not keep the company going forever and ever in a thriving manner. A solid business plan — just like any company — is priorities No. 1, 2 and 3.
Paying employees, knowing where you can and can’t park, inventory and so many other things are part of the business.
If you have mapped out your entire food truck business, then by all means start that bad boy up. Food trucks are becoming more and more popular for a reason — just know they are not get-rich-quick schemes.
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