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How to start a home-based food truck business
Thomas, Eric.
Adult Nonfiction 647.95 T 2012
Thomas, Eric.
Adult Nonfiction 647.95 T 2012
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| Contents | Page |
|---|---|
| Acknowledgments | p. xi |
| Introduction | p. xiii |
| 1 - So You Want to Start a Food Truck Business | p. 1 |
| Why I Chose Barbecue | p. 1 |
| What Barbecue Means to Me | p. 2 |
| Why Should You Choose a Mobile Food Business? | p. 2 |
| Who Requests a Mobile Vendor's Services? | p. 2 |
| Where Can Mobile Food Businesses Work? | p. 3 |
| Five Biggest Consumer Markets | p. 4 |
| Do You Have What It Takes? | p. 8 |
| 2 - Getting Started | p. 10 |
| The Mobile Food Movement | p. 10 |
| Food Truck History | p. 11 |
| The Food Truck of the Future | p. 12 |
| Hurdles Facing Mobile Food Vendors | p. 13 |
| Commissary Space | p. 14 |
| The Health Department | p. 14 |
| Mobile Food Trends | p. 19 |
| Major Cities with a Food Truck Presence | p. 24 |
| 3 - Market Research | p. 26 |
| Competition Research | p. 26 |
| Who Is Your Market? | p. 27 |
| Product Research | p. 27 |
| Location Research | p. 28 |
| Creating a Preferred Vendor List | p. 30 |
| So What Message Do You Want to Convey to Your Followers? | p. 32 |
| 4 - Setting Up Your Business | p. 33 |
| Creating a Business Plan | p. 33 |
| What Business Entity Is Right for You? | p. 44 |
| Are You the Owner and Operator? | p. 44 |
| Start-Up Costs Associated with Food Trucks | p. 45 |
| Setting Up Your Home-Based Office | p. 48 |
| Employer Identification Number (EIN) | p. 49 |
| Business Checking Account | p. 50 |
| Merchant Account 5o | |
| Bookkeeping and Management | p. 51 |
| Time to Call the Accountant | p. 55 |
| So How Do You Manage a Food Truck? | p. 56 |
| 05 - Legal Aspects and Food Safety | p. 59 |
| Licenses and Permits | p. 59 |
| ServSafe Certified | p. 60 |
| Health Department Inspection | p. 61 |
| Wash Your Hands | p. 62 |
| Cross-Contamination | p. 63 |
| You Need Insurance | p. 64 |
| Legal Timeline | p. 65 |
| 6 - Outfitting Your Food Truck | p. 67 |
| Mobile Kitchens ... Truck, Trailer, or Cart? | p. 67 |
| Food Truck Design and Layout | p. 69 |
| What Does Your Commercial Mobile Kitchen Need? | p. 72 |
| Purchasing a Second-Hand Truck, Trailer, or Cart | p. 73 |
| Keeping an Inventory | p. 75 |
| 7 - Menu Planning, Price Structures, and Catering | p. 77 |
| Menu Planning (What Do You Want To Sell?) | p. 77 |
| Structuring a Menu | p. 79 |
| Menu Flexibility | p. 84 |
| Menu Pricing | p. 86 |
| Let's Not Forget About Catering | p. 87 |
| Catering Menu Packages and Pricing | p. 88 |
| 8 - Understanding Marketing, Promo, and Advertising | p. 92 |
| Free Marketing First | p. 92 |
| Creating a Logo | p. 94 |
| Business Card | p. 98 |
| Time to Build Your Website | p. 98 |
| Search Engine Placement | p. 102 |
| Blogging Your Way to Customers | p. 102 |
| Pay-Per-Click Advertising | p. 103 |
| Use Videos to Promote Your Business | p. 103 |
| Mobile Food Groups and Organizations | p. 104 |
| Don't Just Sell the Food, Sell Your Brand | p. 104 |
| 09 - Dealing with Customers | p. 106 |
| Satisfying Your Daily Customers | p. 106 |
| Attracting New Customers | p. 107 |
| So Your Customers Want You to Cater | p. 108 |
| Proposal and Contract Development | p. 108 |
| 10 - Operational Concerns | p. 116 |
| The Planning Stages | p. 116 |
| Site Survey | p. 118 |
| Operating Your Food Truck | p. 119 |
| Preparing Your Food Truck for Large Gatherings | p. 123 |
| Are You Ready? | p. 128 |
| 11 - Open for Business | p. 130 |
| Ready, Set... Let's Prep | p. 131 |
| Setting Up Your Food Truck, Trailer, or Cart for Business | p. 131 |
| How Catering Is Different | p. 133 |
| Ready, Set... Let's Cook | p. 133 |
| Feeding and Serving Your Customers | p. 135 |
| Collecting Your Payment | p. 136 |
| End-of-Day Cleanup | p. 136 |
| Evaluate Your First Day on the Job | p. 136 |
| So What Does Tomorrow Bring? | p. 137 |
| 12 - Growing Your Business | p. 138 |
| Let the Selling Begin | p. 139 |
| Teaming Up with Other Trucks | p. 142 |
| The Investors Are Calling | p. 143 |
| Does It Make Sense to Expand to Two Trucks? | p. 143 |
| Participating in Competitions | p. 143 |
| Concluding Thoughts | p. 144 |
| Appendix A - Mobile Food Operator Resources | p. 146 |
| Associations | p. 146 |
| Food Truck and Trailer Builders and Equipment Suppliers | p. 149 |
| Food Truck Support Sites | p. 152 |
| Magazines and Online Publications | p. 153 |
| Domain and Website Services | p. 154 |
| City Health Departments and Mobile Food Vendor Government and City Resources | p. 154 |
| Appendix B - Mobile Food Truck Cooking Resources | p. 169 |
| Cooking Class Is in Session | p. 169 |
| Food Truck Barbecue 101 (Methods, Woods, and Cooking Equipment) | p. 176 |
| Sellable Recipes to Get You Started | p. 179 |
| Metric Conversion Tables | p. 191 |
| Food and Farmers' Markets Across the Country | p. 192 |
| Appendix C - Special Event Planning Guide | p. 200 |
| Glossary | p. 209 |
| Index | p. 213 |
| About the Author | p. 218 |
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