While many first-time entrepreneurs and business owners are starting their businesses online and more and more long-time businesses are taking their talents remote, there are still plenty of viable businesses that need to be operated at a specific location. For example, restaurants.
With that said, starting up a restaurant is a very time-consuming and expensive process. Of course, your dream is to become a cook and run your own kitchen. Luckily, there’s another avenue: A food truck business.
While there are many aspects of running a food truck and just because they’re popular, it doesn’t mean every owner is getting rich, here are five reasons why you should start a food truck business.
Lower startup and overhead costs
Food trucks tend to have lower startup and overhead costs than brick-and-mortar restaurants, which means it’s less money to open a food truck and operate it on a daily basis. After all, you’re not having to pay a large amount of money for rent at a high-end location (especially if you live in Los Angeles where many restaurants and food trucks reside) and you also have fewer employees.
Of course, food trucks aren’t cheap and you still have to spend money on routine maintenance or if anything major happens to the truck or equipment, as well as pay your employees and other business expenses.
Still, if your passion is cooking food, then the food truck industry might be a cheaper and more reasonable option from a money standpoint.
Experiment with locations
You can’t just park your food truck anywhere you’d like (permits, rules, regulations, laws, etc., need to make an appearance); however, there are a world of options since you’re not stuck in one location like sit-down restaurants.
That means you can travel to different locations and serve food to a larger target audience. It also means you can go where the customers are, whether that be a business district, an event, an apartment complex, a gym, a catering gig, etc.
Food trucks are personal and hands-on
Since food trucks are smaller venues and the owner is typically running the show every step of the way, from creating employee schedules to cooking food to taking orders, mobile kitchens tend to be personal and hands-on for the owner.
This allows food truck owners to get close to the customers and build an enjoyable community and atmosphere. It also allows owners to ensure operations are running smoothly at all times.
The freedom
The food truck industry provides a ton of freedom for owners.
For example, owners get to set up their own hours, which can change on a weekly basis based on locations and times of catering gigs/events. Not to mention, you get to be your own boss and call the shots. On top of those perks, the food truck industry is also known for fusion cuisine, which means you’ll have freedom in the kitchen.
The food truck industry sees many different and unique food concepts. As an example, a crab restaurant on wheels can cook crab tacos one moment and crab enchiladas the next. That’s because, although every business is different, it’s common to experiment with meals in the food truck industry as well as mix and match elements of different culinary traditions.
Since this industry does provide freedom and the owner can have business hours whenever he or she would like, as opposed to a sit-down restaurant that typically has the same hours on a weekly basis, you can conquer other dreams, such as pursuing one of many accredited online and continuing education degree programs. In fact, if your passion is food but you aren’t business savvy, then earning an online degree can benefit your food truck business in a big way. Not to mention, you can earn your degree while running your truck since online degrees can be done wherever there’s an internet connection.
From the food you cook to the hours of operation, there’s plenty of freedom in this industry.
Follow your dream
If cooking is your passion, then becoming a food truck owner will allow you to follow your dream. On top of serving customers and making them happy with your food, a food truck business can lead to other dreams of yours coming true, such as franchising your trucks or opening a sit-down restaurant.
Needless to say, there are many reasons to start a food truck business.
