Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
1 So You Want to Start a Food Truck Business 1
Why I Chose Barbecue 1
What Barbecue Means to Me 2
Why Should You Choose a Mobile Food Business? 2
Who Requests a Mobile Vendor's Services? 2
Where Can Mobile Food Businesses Work? 3
Five Biggest Consumer Markets 4
Do You Have What It Takes? 8
2 Getting Started 10
The Mobile Food Movement 10
Food Truck History 11
The Food Truck of the Future 12
Hurdles Facing Mobile Food Vendors 13
Commissary Space 14
The Health Department 14
Mobile Food Trends 19
Major Cities with a Food Truck Presence 24
3 Market Research 26
Competition Research 26
Who Is Your Market? 27
Product Research 27
Location Research 28
Creating a Preferred Vendor List 30
So What Message Do You Want to Convey to Your Followers? 32
4 Setting Up Your Business 33
Creating a Business Plan 33
What Business Entity Is Right for You? 44
Are You the Owner and Operator? 44
Start-Up Costs Associated with Food Trucks 45
Setting Up Your Home-Based Office 48
Employer Identification Number (EIN) 49
Business Checking Account 50
Merchant Account 5o
Bookkeeping and Management 51
Time to Call the Accountant 55
So How Do You Manage a Food Truck? 56
05 Legal Aspects and Food Safety 59
Licenses and Permits 59
ServSafe Certified 60
Health Department Inspection 61
Wash Your Hands 62
Cross-Contamination 63
You Need Insurance 64
Legal Timeline 65
6 Outfitting Your Food Truck 67
Mobile Kitchens … Truck, Trailer, or Cart? 67
Food Truck Design and Layout 69
What Does Your Commercial Mobile Kitchen Need? 72
Purchasing a Second-Hand Truck, Trailer, or Cart 73
Keeping an Inventory 75
7 Menu Planning, Price Structures, and Catering 77
Menu Planning (What Do You Want To Sell?) 77
Structuring a Menu 79
Menu Flexibility 84
Menu Pricing 86
Let's Not Forget About Catering 87
Catering Menu Packages and Pricing 88
8 Understanding Marketing, Promo, and Advertising 92
Free Marketing First 92
Creating a Logo 94
Business Card 98
Time to Build Your Website 98
Search Engine Placement 102
Blogging Your Way to Customers 102
Pay-Per-Click Advertising 103
Use Videos to Promote Your Business 103
Mobile Food Groups and Organizations 104
Don't Just Sell the Food, Sell Your Brand 104
09 Dealing with Customers 106
Satisfying Your Daily Customers 106
Attracting New Customers 107
So Your Customers Want You to Cater 108
Proposal and Contract Development 108
10 Operational Concerns 116
The Planning Stages 116
Site Survey 118
Operating Your Food Truck 119
Preparing Your Food Truck for Large Gatherings 123
Are You Ready? 128
11 Open for Business 130
Ready, Set… Let's Prep 131
Setting Up Your Food Truck, Trailer, or Cart for Business 131
How Catering Is Different 133
Ready, Set… Let's Cook 133
Feeding and Serving Your Customers 135
Collecting Your Payment 136
End-of-Day Cleanup 136
Evaluate Your First Day on the Job 136
So What Does Tomorrow Bring? 137
12 Growing Your Business 138
Let the Selling Begin 139
Teaming Up with Other Trucks 142
The Investors Are Calling 143
Does It Make Sense to Expand to Two Trucks? 143
Participating in Competitions 143
Concluding Thoughts 144
Appendix A Mobile Food Operator Resources 146
Associations 146
Food Truck and Trailer Builders and Equipment Suppliers 149
Food Truck Support Sites 152
Magazines and Online Publications 153
Domain and Website Services 154
City Health Departments and Mobile Food Vendor Government and City Resources 154
Appendix B Mobile Food Truck Cooking Resources 169
Cooking Class Is in Session 169
Food Truck Barbecue 101 (Methods, Woods, and Cooking Equipment) 176
Sellable Recipes to Get You Started 179
Metric Conversion Tables 191
Food and Farmers' Markets Across the Country 192
Appendix C Special Event Planning Guide 200
Glossary 209
Index 213
About the Author 218
