Transcription
So, you've been dreaming of starting your own food truck business. You've got the perfect dish in mind, maybe a killer concept, and you're ready to hit the road. But where do you even begin? Well, you're in luck.
In this video, I'm going to start my very own food truck business. And by the end of it, you'll have a step-by-step blueprint that you can follow to create your own food truck empire.
Now, you may be thinking, can Rachel really pull this off? Well, I work really well when the stakes are high, and it's either I create a road map to success, or I'll have failed, bringing dishonor to my entire family. So, if you want to join me for the ride, get in and buckle up. We're going on the road.
Step one, find your flavor. Step one may seem obvious, but hear me out. It all starts with your concept. What gets you fired up? What's that dish that gets your mouth watering and could get others excited, too? For me, it's gluten-free donuts because that hits close to home. A lot of people I love are celiac, and with their severe allergy to gluten, they're always looking for gluten-free options. Pick a concept that feels authentic to you and ideally has an existing audience.
This is the best day of my life. Right now, I'm on a grilled cheese truck called Faux Cheese and this is Sandor. Hello, Sandra. How's your day going? What's going on? Just making grilled cheese, making people happy. Making people happy. Yeah, we got some cooking right now. Some food trucks might have like grandma's recipe from the old country or something like that, which is great for, you know, a smaller market. You know, this appeals to everybody.
Keep in mind, you can do a lot with a little. A Mexican taco truck run by Arturo Rivera Martinez was the first food truck to gain a Michelin star and they only sold four different tacos on the menu. I mean, I can't think of a better example of quality versus quantity. And that's the mindset you got to have. With a savvy approach, daily sales can reach $500 to $1,000, leading to $20,000 to $50,000 monthly and potentially $250,000 to $500,000 annually. With profit margins of 10 to 20%, food trucks are fuel for your bank account.
When it comes to food trucks, consider whether your menu falls into one of these three categories. So, one, is it a prepackaged food item? Or two, does your menu require simple on-site cooking/reheating, such as a grill for hot dogs and a toaster oven? Or three, will you require a full operational kitchen in order to make your menu from start to finish?
Step two, taste and tell. Now that I've picked my dish, it's time to announce it to the world. Yeah, you heard me right. Tell your story early. Why? Because your story is what connects you to your customers, builds trust and accountability. It turns strangers into supporters, especially with some free samples. So, test your recipes on friends, family, strangers, and your community in order to get support and generate buzz for your future endeavors. People want to know why you're doing this and what makes your food unique. For me, it's all about setting a new bar for what gluten-free food can taste like and giving more options for the people that I love. Obviously, opinions will vary and you won't please everybody, but this is all market research. Look for what folks are saying, especially your competitors.
Which brings us to step three. Snoop the competition. You need to scope out the local food truck scene. Who's doing something similar to your idea? What's working for them? What could be better? You've got to get a feel for what the competition is up to, both to learn from them and to find your own unique space. For instance, I'm from Toronto, which I consider a pretty foodie city. However, I was let down. Recently, my friend was visiting and in desperate need of gluten-free croissants and cornbread, I was like, "Say less. My city has so many options, we got this." How wrong I was. To my surprise, only one place offered them and only every other Saturday. Why this was the case, I don't know. A heartbreaking letdown by my city disguised as an opportunity. Imagine someone with celiac discovering they can once again experience the joys of flaky goodness. Those opportunities are what you're looking for.
Step four, branding your business. It's about creating an identity that sticks in people's minds. The most iconic food truck in the world to me is the ice cream truck. I can't count the amount of times I've run barefoot out the door to chase down the jingle of an ice cream truck. I'm not saying I'll have a jingle. I mean, unless I'm feeling wild, but think about it. Your truck needs to be recognizable from blocks away. So, don't skimp on the look. When you're driving down the road and you see some kids, they're like, "Fy and like, you know, they're this big and they know who you are." It's just it's it's amazing. It's a great feeling. Your truck is a moving billboard. You want a name that's catchy and your design should scream your brand. Bold colors, fun graphics, and a killer logo are all a must. You know, the very first year we're finding our way. We used to just do stuff in this and, you know, very boring. So, we wanted something a little more fun. Started doing it all in cones. You know, you see this walking around, you see it, you think of us.
Thinking about my hunt for the gluten-free croissants the other day. I'm thinking about calling my truck Atlas Bakery because I know that's what I would have said had I found one. Maybe it's not a perfect name, but there's a clear story behind it that I can use to build my brand off of.
Step five, the popup. Pop-ups. Wait, you want me to make a pop-up? You say, "I thought we were making a food truck." Well, hold on a minute. We don't want to bite off more than we can chew here. And pop-ups will help you test your learnings before committing fully. And it will help you learn about the paperwork you need to get an order to make your business official. Most farmers market websites will usually have a vendor handbook that will list the requirements, fees, and paperwork you will need to have in order to apply. So, a business license, insurance, a vendor license, and food safety certifications such as a food handlers and a food service license are all some examples of what we will need. Requirements vary across the world, so be sure to satisfy the requirements of your area. When you get approval, we ain't using ifs here, people. It's going to happen. Remember to use this event as a networking opportunity by talking to other foodies. And hey, don't forget to support other local food trucks, too. You never know what tips or advice you might get from them. It's also a great opportunity to test and see if your branding is catching the attention it needs to thrive out there on the road, in person and online.
Speaking of which, step six, get social. Build your online presence. You're going to need to have a killer website, an Insta, a Facebook page. The list goes on. Yeah, I know it's going to sound like I'm trying to sell you something, but I really can't help that Shopify is just kind of really good at this stuff. If you want to make your life easier managing all of these different pages, using a website builder like Shopify is really helpful. So, check out the free trial in the description below. In order to have a successful online presence, you have to make it an extension of your brand by creating captivating ad campaigns. Communicate thoughtfully with your growing audience and stay on top of trends. With Shopify, there are tons of automation options you can use to manage ad campaigns, posts, customer messages, emails, and so much more.
Step seven, crunching the numbers. All right, it's crunch time. Let's talk money. We've got our paperwork in order. We've run a very successful popup. It's time to finance to fuel the dream. So, let's imagine that I ran my pop-up event for my business and it cost me $3,650 in expenses after 3 days. I sold four donuts for $10 per person to 200 people per day. My gross sales were $6,000, making my net profit $2,350. If you get overwhelmed easily by numbers like me, quick tip, take this information and input it into ChatGPT or Google Gemini and watch what happens when I add this prompt. I am building a food truck gluten-free doughnut business or whatever yours is. I recently ran a pop-up for 3 days at my local farmers market. Insert where it was. Below is the breakdown of my expenses, gross, and net sales. Act as my financial adviser and build me a business plan and a step-by-step guide for how I can finance my business and purchase a food truck. Look at this breakdown. Again, this doesn't replace advice from an actual financial adviser, so remember to double check, but it's a pretty good ballpark.
Step eight, getting your truck. This truck used to be an old fire truck. Really? Yeah. Oh, what? Like this one right here? This one used to be a fire truck. It's got flashing lights on the outside right now. This one? Yeah. Pull it out. I feel like you're asking me to set off a bomb right now. It might happen. Wow. This is almost like being in a fire truck because this used to be a fire truck, but it's a grilled cheese truck. Best day of my life. Best day of my life.
When getting the truck, it's important not only to consider the cost of purchasing new, used, renting, or leasing a truck, but also the equipment you'll need. The prices between a full-scale kitchen and a shop on wheels will greatly differ. So, let's go shopping. Buying a truck outright will allow me the freedom to customize it to my heart's content. However, I'm looking at needing anywhere from $40,000 to over $100,000 for the truck. Let's see what it looks like for a used food truck. Looks like they range anywhere from $20,000 to $90,000. I can rent a truck, which can be anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 a month. Gives me a cheaper upfront payment and saves me ongoing maintenance costs. And companies like Roaming Hunger do provide custom branding services like a design wrap.
Speaking of which, do you remember that question I asked you at the very beginning? Your answer to that question will determine how much your kitchen will cost. Hypothetically, for Atlas Bakery, I could bake a lot of my products off-site, which would mean for my truck, I would only need some kind of hot holding cabinet to keep my pastries warm, a refrigeration, food prep area, and dry storage. If I choose to bake fresh on-site, then I would need some kind of convection oven, a fridge, and a freezer, mixer, etc. In both cases, don't forget for food safety to include a separate sink for handwashing and dishes. The minimal path could mean anywhere from $20 to $50,000. And the high-scale option is an estimated $50,000 to $100,000 and ongoing. Lots of factors to weigh here before I determine the right path. Most of it financial.
Now, I know what you're thinking. Rachel, how am I supposed to afford all this in this economy? Don't panic. Instead, see, step nine, which brings me to investors and partners. Now, yes, there are angel investors you can connect with who will provide financial support in exchange for equity. Tail as old as time, but don't be afraid to partner up with other businesses who would consider selling your products as well. For instance, I could reach out to a number of coffee shops in Toronto who could sell my donuts or croissants to expand their clientele that I get sales and exposure from. And that's what I call a win-win, baby. Once you've filled out all the paperwork and registered your business, reach out to your bank and explore small business loans. Remember, you won't save money if you're losing money. Keep on top of your expenses and follow the 50/30/20 rule. 50% of your budget on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings. To save on expenses, keep yourself in balance, try sourcing suppliers that give deals in bulk, or reoccurring orders to keep costs down and raise your net income.
Step 10, tech is your friend. Having the kitchen display where the orders come up here, I didn't do that right away. So, I actually went like 11 years without that. Yeah, tech-ant. So, tech is very important. As someone who has worked in the service industry, slow credit card machines and outdated, confusing order systems are the bane of my existence. I still have nightmares about not being able to split a bill or having tables walk out because the credit machine wouldn't connect to Wi-Fi. Investing in the right tech for your business is crucial. Cash is great, but being able to take credit cards is better so you can get your customers' contact and track your sales. Thankfully, Shopify has a point of sales system that integrates into their website and helps you process sales, track inventory, customer data, etc. So now, not only do you have a website, but you can track all of your inventory, sales, and customers all in the same place.
But wait, there's more. Here are some apps I suggest you check out to optimize your store's efficiency. Freshly batch inventory. Keeping an eye on your perishable goods, pretty essential. Nobody wants food poisoning from bad cheese. This app helps you keep track of your inventory's expiry dates and even gives you demand forecasting. So, if your cheese is almost going to expire, you can adjust your menu to include more of it so it doesn't go to waste. Smile. Have a few regulars in your lunchbox in the city. Get even more and keep them coming back by developing rewards and referral programs with the Smile app.
Now, at last, see what I did there? I have a menu people love. I have a community of supporters. I have an amazing, gorgeous website, plus tons of helpful apps and money to buy and build my dream food truck. Hooray. Yes, it may not be physically here right now, but I think I held off the shame and dishonor on my family thing. But here are some final things to consider. Plan efficient routes so you can save money on gas and lower wear and tear of your vehicle. Make sure you have all further parking permits you will need, and keep your certificates and insurance up to date. Build a port/base of operations for your truck where you can store your produce, offload any waste safely, and refill. Maintain food safety and cleanliness because, no, the 5-second rule does not apply here. But that popcorn that one or 10 times, yeah, sure. Dream big. Start small. But remember, festivals like Osheaga and Montreal get 300,000 visitors in 3 days. And the only places on site that festival goers can eat are food trucks. Just think how much you can make there in just three days.
Building a business is no small feat, but we did it, folks. By using this blueprint, you now have an outline to start your dream food truck business today. Thanks so much for watching, everyone. I've been your host, Rachel Fischer, and if you like this video, be sure to press that thumbs up to let us know and follow for more videos like this. I'm going to go hop in my food truck now and eat the rest of these donuts. See you.
[Music]