The Family Food Truck
Mid Summer our son Shane was the recipient of a sizeable grant after finishing college. He had already finished culinary school and earned an associate there and at a local community college before completing his bachelor of arts degree. He was ready to go into the restaurant business. With all of the cash he had on hand, and the multitude of investors lined up, we managed to help him locate a used food vending trailer to begin his journey – an immaculate 1974 food concession trailer that only needed a thorough decontamination and restoration to bring it up to serviceable standards before we could begin putting it into service for him.
The Food Truck Business is growing
In most areas of the country, entrepreneurs are learning the ins and outs of the restaurant business with mobile endeavors instead of the larger investments required of brick and mortar locations. It not only gives the startups an edge when competing with startup traditional restaurants, but it is also a little more forgiving with the capital outlay. Shane is blessed to have a wealthy family that shares freely with him. We share our credit since we have no money. We share our time since we have little else. What we do have it a sense of togetherness and camaraderie that will allow us to persevere and help him make solid business decisions that will allow him to succeed.
Food Truckies Are Friendly
What I found was totally conflicting with what I had envisioned when we began this journey. I had imagined the cut-throat nature of the business with each of the owners trying to get one up on all of their competition. It is a rough world out there. Yet, that is not what I discovered. The man we purchased the trailer from was very open with his contacts, offers of help and tips on where to buy supplies and how to ensure we didn’t lose our butt with certain gigs we may choose to book. Other food truck owners we have run into were very friendly and offered advice, told us of upcoming regulations or municipal code changes to look for and how they planned to navigate those hurdles. Everyone has been super helpful.
Enter the Regulators – The Men who Put Us Out of Business
Fire Marshalls, Health Inspectors, you name it – they have it out for us… Not the case at all.
The fire department inspectors were very informative and checked our fire suppression systems, alarm system, extinguishers, propane placards and gave us guidance on how to come into compliance with anything where we were not quite within the guidelines. They were very helpful explained why things were required – for our safety and that of the public. Our state health inspector was also very friendly and educated us on the ins and outs of things as she explained what she was looking for and recommended a few things to keep us within compliance.
I believe it all comes down to attitude. A good attitude on our part can have a dramatic impact on their attitude. After all, they are only doing their jobs – which is to keep us all safe.
The Business of A Food Truck
With lots of cash exchanging hands or the lack of it – we swap plastic back and forth so we can scan cards. We have chosen to use Square for its simplicity and features offered at little cost for a small operation like ours. Our son has made his business official and set up an LLC to limit his liability and we have secured his insurance. He’s done quite well with his menu and pricing. He is not quite at 25% costs of raw goods for his food but we are getting close. People think its a big moneymaker, but you have to consider the overhead. He has to pay insurance, taxes, business licenses, health permits, fire suppression servicing and inspections, propane for the burners, appliances, repair costs, fuel, oil, maintenance on the generator and truck, supplemental supplies such as seasoning, deli paper, paper boats, forks, cups, condiments. It all adds up.
He is quite the money manager and uses any tip money received to buy his gas. He has even raised the wages that we earn when helping him out. We get two drinks and a meal for every mealtime we work (four-hour minimum). We also make sure he documents those to track his income and loses.
Marketing and Promotion
His mother has been his biggest public relations agent and has managed to keep him booked for all major events in the area that he is available to work, and multiple smaller ones that he isn’t – which she has voluntold me that we can help him with. They say behind every successful man, is a woman rolling her eyes.
Summary
Seriously though it takes everyone’s effort to make it pay off – especially when all of us are working other full-time jobs… and writing and providing consulting services too! It takes a family to raise this poor little food truck, but I think we can do it. We should have the initial cashflow loan paid off this month. It takes a lot of planning, determination, and discipline on the owner’s part and his close supporters – whether they be family, friends, or just employees. Watching the cash flow, planning for events and expenditure, and putting in the work. It makes it all make it happen.
