Anyone have any Tips for starting my own Catering Business?!
Anyone have any Tips for starting my own Catering Business?
Answers:
Probably start to out, work for a caterer for a while, next go to the local Chamber of Commerce and check out the kinds of events your service would be suitable for. You need to know what kind of food and drink your local area folks like the best. Check your competition...are you a caviar town or a buffalo wings town? Good luck its a tiring business, you work all the time, but its fun.
Oh my, where to begin? You'll need a food service permit and an approved kitchen to work out of. You will need a tax ID #, a separate checking account. You'll need to know where to get food, either a distributor or a Costco/Sam's. You'll need equipment like chafing dishes and Cambros to keep things hot or cold. And probably a large coffee urn. The name of a good rental place for tables, chairs, linens, more. Then there's the cost of your marketing...business cards, newspaper ads, things like that.
I wish you the best of luck. It's hard to start up, but very rewarding.
Starting a food catering company demands complete dedication and commitment. Before you decide you're ready to make the necessary sacrifices and leave the relative security of being someone else's employee, there are some important things to consider about starting:
Financing
Money. To start, you may have to make a large financial investment, and perhaps put up much of your property as collateral, but you will also have the opportunity to make money. One very important thing to remember when weighing the financial pros and cons of starting a home operation: never gamble more than you can afford to lose.
Catering Service
Freedom. You'll be the boss and get to run things the way you want them done. But you will have to invest longer hours and probably take fewer hours off, at least until you are well-established.
Ideas
Creativity. You'll be able to channel all your energy and ideas into something you really enjoy, but you will also have to deal with all the other challenges of running a catering service, so you may have a lot less opportunity for the "fun" part than you'd like.
Ownership
Owning your company mandates that you not only deal with, but become proficient in all of the aspects of catering. You'll have to be an accountant, secretary, tax preparer, people manager, marketing/sales/advertising representative and bill collector - just to name a few. You don't have to have an MBA to start your own show, but a few courses in services management will go a long way toward helping you handle the various aspects of your venture.
Sales
Do you have the right personality to start a services-oriented operation? Are you a "people person"? Succeeding in this specialty calls not only for the ability to cook well, but also salesmanship, the ability to easily talk to strangers, and a high tolerance for diversity (age, ethnicity, philosophy, etc.).
Attitude
Services also necessitates a lot of effort and stamina (you may be on your feet a lot, sometimes with few breaks in your day). You must to be able to maintain a positive outlook through occasional slumps - to hang in there and always be willing to try new things to improve your talents.
Planning
In addition, you also must have the will to succeed. To start and operate any enterprise, you must have self-discipline, the willingness and ability to make sacrifices, and a strong desire to succeed. You must motivate yourself and demand of yourself that you "work smart" - prioritizing tasks and devoting your best effort to completing each task effectively. Enthusiasm, discipline and intelligent decision-making are key elements to making any endeavor succeed. Be customer-oriented. It requires lots and lots of patience and understanding. Being an owner also requires one to be very outgoing and self-motivated.
Home Based Services
The USBA has developed a short checklist of questions:
What do I like to do?
What technical abilities have I learned or developed?
What do others say I am good at?
How much time do I have?
Is my idea practical and is it in demand?
What is my competition?
What is my advantage over existing services?
Can I deliver a better quality service?
Can I create a demand?
What services or products will I sell?
Where will I be located?
What skills and experience do I have?
What will be my legal structure?
What will I name my food catering company?
What equipment or supplies?
What insurance?
What financing?
How will I compensate myself?
Your answers to these questions will help you make the final decision. They will also help you create a focused, well-researched plan that can serve as a blueprint for your new catering company by detailing how it will be operated, managed and capitalized.
A word of caution: even after you have weighed all the factors and decided to start, you must be certain that your family is supportive of the idea. While you may have decided that it's worth the financial undertaking, your family may not be willing to risk giving up the lifestyle to which they have grown accustomed. And because you will be devoting nearly 100% of you, you'll need all the support you can get.