If you have had the pleasure of owning and operating a mobile kitchen, then you can likely agree with this statement: Being in the food truck industry is tough—to say the least.
After all, being a food truck owner typically requires you to put in more work than you have ever done in your entire life, and the stresses that accompany owning your own business can be unbearable. Problems will arise, money will be tight (well, until you are established, that is) and the list of worries could go on and on.
If you are discouraged as a result of the daily grind in the food truck industry being rather grueling, then use the techniques below. Said techniques will help you keep your sanity, food truck owners.
How Food Truck Owners Can Keep Their Sanity In The Mobile Kitchen Industry
- Learn How To Delegate
- Take Care Of The Mind, Body And Soul
- Don’t Be Afraid To Take A Vacation During This Lifetime
- Have A Solid Work-Life Balance
Learn How To Delegate
Just like with any business, if you have too much on your plate, then you need to start trusting your employees by delegating some of your work to them. Not only will this take more off of your plate, which will likely allow you to focus all of your attention on bigger and better things, but you will be even more efficient in the process. After all, you will be getting done with just as much work as you were before; however, you will actually be spending less time on certain tasks since one of your employees has taken on these new responsibilities.
One of the best things a business owner can do for his/her sanity is delegating some of his/her tasks. Two crucial things will happen as a result of this method: (1) You will no longer have to do this task, which will lead to you having more time. (2) You will give one of your employees the opportunity to step up. If it works out, then you can delegate even more in the future.
Take Care Of The Mind, Body And Soul
When you are working 10 or more hours a day, it’s kind of hard to get in the best shape of your life — because you really don’t have much free time to hit the gym. With that said, if you plan on making it in the long run in this industry, you have to take care of your mind, body and soul.
Take care of your body by mixing in some exercise time here and there. You know, when things aren’t busy (a walk could go a long way, folks). You can also exercise before or after work. Spoiler: Exercising could also help you get the mind right.
To keep the mind and soul right, you can make it a point to stop working at the same time every day, no matter what the case might be. You can also pick up a hobby or two on the side, or read — anything!
All of these things will lead to a healthy mind, body and soul.
You have to incorporate breaks and downtime. Yes, you have to put in some serious hours in the beginning in this industry, but you also have to find time to take care of yourself.
Don’t Be Afraid To Take A Vacation During This Lifetime
Not enough people take vacations. That’s the case for a number of different reasons. Some people can’t afford vacations from a money standpoint while others are afraid to disappoint their bosses. Not to mention, jobs are getting more and more competitive, and a vacation could lead to someone losing his/her edge.
Here’s the deal, when you finally have an established business, and things are running on all cylinders, and assuming you have your dream team in place, you can afford to take a vacation. You can rest assured that your team members will take care of your business while you are gone.
You might not be taking any vacations when you first open up shop, but surely you can afford to take a well-needed getaway in the offseason, even if it’s just getting away from the food truck for a couple of days.
If you want to keep your sanity in this industry, then you have to take a vacation when the opportunity arises.
Have A Solid Work-Life Balance
Now, while you are likely going to have to stay at your truck for a good majority of your working hours, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a solid work-life balance. You are the boss, after all. In a nutshell, you should be doing non-related work things during the day, such as taking breaks, going on walks, reading, playing a musical instrument, enjoying your favorite hobby, eating a meal with friends or whatever it might be.
The sooner you learn how to incorporate your work life and your personal life in the same day, the sooner you will be able to enjoy every single day of the week.
Now, here’s the deal: You entered the food truck industry because it’s your dream, which means cooking food for a living should make you happy. That doesn’t mean it won’t be stressful, but you also shouldn’t be dreading work, because this is the life you chose.
Reminder: If you want to spice things up a bit, then make sure to enter food truck events. You can also try to land catering gigs. Not only will that shake up the routine but events and catering gigs will lead to more streams of income.
Want more food truck advice? Check out more blog posts here!
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