As a result of this fine industry being tough to grow and thrive in, there are plenty of things mobile kitchen owners have to learn on the job. You know, if they plan on staying in this industry for a long time. While some days might be easier than others (that’s typically the case for any business, and how life works in general), food truck owners should use every day, every moment, as a learning experience.

Going along with that theme, here are four things a food truck owner has to learn on the job.

RELATED: Cold Hard Truths Every New Food Truck Owner Has To Face. If you are new to the food truck industry, then it is only a matter of time before you have to face these cold, hard truths. For example, attracting customers might be harder than you expected.

Things A Food Truck Owner Has To Learn On The Job

• Figuring Out What Your Customers Want
• How To Be A Manager
• How To Work An Endless Amount Of Hours
• Social Media

Figuring Out What Your Customers Want

Figuring out what your customers want is a never-ending battle, which is why food truck owners have to always be changing up their strategies.

Not only do you have to figure out what types of food your customers love/want, although you are the chef, meaning you are the one who creates the foods and menus, but you are also going to have to figure out what works and what doesn’t work on social media. We will get into social media in greater detail later, but just know this: If you have a solid following on networks such as Facebook and Twitter, then your business is likely not doing too shabby either.

The key with this point is to always be pleasing your customers and really listening to their feedback. You can use this valuable feedback to make your food truck business better — and you absolutely should.

How To Be A Manager

You might have entered this industry to be a chef, but you are also going to have to learn how to be a manager. After all, if your mobile kitchen business is thriving, then you are going to have to hire employees to help you out. Not only that, but you might also have to fire employees as well.

You will have to figure out what you are going to pay them. You will have to learn how to create a work schedule for your employees. And you will also have to learn how to give constructive criticism. Plus — and this is very important — you will have to learn how to be a leader.

If you are trying to break into the food truck industry, make sure to check out these food trucks for sale!

Being a manager isn’t for everyone, but if you plan on hiring employees, then you are going to have to learn the ins and outs of this concept if operations are going to run smoothly.

How To Work An Endless Amount Of Hours

Not everyone is wired to work more than eight hours a day. However, if you want to be a mobile kitchen owner, then you are going to have to come face-to-face with the 10-hour day. Heck, 10 hours might be one of your easier/shorter days.

Here’s the thing: If you want to make it as a food truck owner, you are going to have to work extremely long hours, and likely every day. If hard work, determination and persistence aren’t in your vocabulary, then this might be the wrong industry for you. As a food truck owner, you are going to work harder than you have ever worked in your entire life, and you might not make a whole lot of money — well, at least in the beginning, but it really is a case-by-case thing.

The good thing? Not only will you be your own boss (how cool is that?), but you will be following your goals and dreams. In fact, you will be in the process of living out your dream.

Nonetheless, if you think you can work a little amount of hours every day and make a ton of money, then, well, you are horribly mistaken.

RELATED: Tips For Picking A Food Truck Concept. Are you looking for a food truck? Have you picked your concept yet? If not, then this article can help you do exactly that. Use it to your advantage, kitchen truck owners.

Social Media

Most food truck owners enter this industry with one thing in mind, and that is being a chef. A lot of owners don’t make it because they aren’t business savvy enough. If running a business isn’t your strong suit, then that is okay, but you will have to learn a lot on the job if you want to succeed.

In particular, you are going to have to learn how to run social media accounts. If you don’t know anything about Facebook, then you need to do some serious learning in a hurry. Not only is Facebook a great platform to let people know where your truck is going to be next, but it is also a great place to interact with your customers (and to gain more customers).

If you plan on owning and operating your own mobile kitchen, then you also have to plan on owning and operating your own social media accounts when it comes to your lunch truck, and Facebook is a great start.

If you are looking to break into this industry, make sure to request a custom quote!

To stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer, make sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. You can also find more food truck blogs here.

The post Things A Food Truck Owner Has To Learn On The Job appeared first on Custom Concessions.

If this industry was as simple as buying a truck and dishing out food, then more people would do it. In fact, many people do think it’s that simple, which is why they have to close shop much sooner than expected. We aren’t trying to discourage you from joining the mobile kitchen industry — we just want you to know what you are getting into.

In the spirit of that thinking, we are about to drop five cold, hard truths every new food truck owner has to face.

RELATED: Tips For Picking A Food Truck Concept. Before you start selling your amazing recipes, you have to figure out what your mobile catering truck concept is going to be. Here’s a spoiler tip for you: Cook what you know, cook what you love.

Cold Hard Truths Every New Food Truck Owner Has To Face

• The Long Hours
• The Cash Flow Dilemma
• Attracting Customers Can Be Tricky
• You Have To Love This Industry
• Cooking Food Isn’t Your Only Job

The Long Hours

When you first start up your food truck, you are going to find out that you are working longer days than you have ever worked before. If you aren’t, then you are likely not making a whole lot of money. There might even be times when you aren’t even making minimum wage when you total up the amount of money you made and the time it took you to make said money. If that doesn’t sit well with you, then this might be the wrong industry for you.

If you stick with it, you will start gaining more and more customers, which will result in your business making more and more money. Once that happens, you might have enough money to hire an employee or two. However, until you actually get to that point, and until you can actually trust these employees (preferably a manager) to run your truck, you are going to be stuck at your mobile kitchen for double-digit hours at least six days a week.

If you are trying to break into the food truck industry, make sure to check out these food trucks for sale!

The Cash Flow Dilemma

Ah, the cash flow dilemma. Not only could it be a nightmare to get the money to buy a food truck in the first place, but you might not start making a profit for a long time after that. After all, if you finance your truck, then you are going to have to use a lot of the money you make to pay off that bill (among others). This means you likely won’t have a whole lot of money left over when it comes to paying yourself, which is where the cash flow dilemma comes into play.

If you think this industry is going to make you rich overnight, you better think again. Owning a mobile kitchen is the same thing as owning a business, and a business typically doesn’t become a major success overnight. Therefore, it’s so crucial to not only have the money to buy your truck and all of the supplies that go with it initially, but to also have some money put away to survive on top of that.

Attracting Customers Can Be Tricky

Customers aren’t just going to flock to your truck because you decided to open up your own business. If you don’t do marketing, then no one is even going to know you are open. Therefore, if you don’t hit social media and advertise your truck’s grand opening, don’t expect the first day to be an instant success.

Now, if you do practice the concept that is brand awareness and if a lot of people know about your truck before the grand opening, then you might attract quite a bit of customers right off the bat. However, the key is getting return customers and continuing to attract new customers. It can be tricky, but if your meals are great, your customer service is next level and everything else is on point, then you should have no problem in this department.

You Have To Love This Industry

You have to love this industry and everything that comes with it if you plan on being a success. Simply wanting to be a chef is not good enough. You have to love the people, rain or shine, you have to love owning and operating a business, you have to love being extremely hot in the summer and rather cold in the winter. Okay, so you don’t have to love those last two things, and it might not be that hot in the summer or cold in the winter in your truck, but you still have to come to terms with the fact that being in a food truck might not be the most comfortable environment.

Above all else, if people and food are your passion, and if you love this industry, then you will be motivated every day to do your best.

RELATED: 5 Reasons Why A Food Truck Is The Perfect Startup. If you are a business owner and are looking for your next project, then a food truck might catch your eye.

Cooking Food Isn’t Your Only Job

Here’s a cold, hard truth for you: Cooking food isn’t your only job. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be that easy. You are running a business in every sense of the word, which means you are going to have to do business-like things, such as managing employees, coming up with business plans, implementing new strategies, learning the ways of digital marketing and social media, etc. On top of that, yes, you are also going to be cooking and making menus.

If the cold, hard truths above aren’t news to you and they don’t scare you away, then you might have what it takes to make it as a food truck owner.

If you are looking to break into this industry, make sure to request a custom quote!

To stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer, make sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. You can also find more food truck blogs here.

The post Cold Hard Truths Every New Food Truck Owner Has To Face appeared first on Custom Concessions.

One of those decisions — and it is a very important one — is figuring out what you want your concept to be. Figuring out your concept and menu might not be the easiest decision to make, but once you have made up your mind, you need to stick with your concept (and love it).

Branding and marketing aside, your concept and menu alone are going to attract customers. After all, people go to food trucks for the — wait for it — food. And if your concept is good enough, your lines will be flocking with customers in no time.

RELATED: 5 Reasons Why A Food Truck Is The Perfect Startup. Calling all business owners! A food truck is the perfect startup, and this article will break down five reasons why for you. Sneak peek: Food trucks have low start-up costs.

Tips For Picking A Food Truck Concept

• Be Unique
• Be Simple
• Don’t Choose The Same Concept As The Other Trucks In Your Area
• Cook What You Want To Cook
• Cook What You Know

Be Unique

Don’t be afraid to be unique. Being unique is only going to lead to your mobile kitchen sticking out, and that is crucial in this industry. For example, if your concept is unique enough, picking your truck over a hot dog stand might be a no-brainer for customers.

With that said, you don’t want to be so unique that your concept and menu throws customers off altogether, or scares them away.

Figuring out your concept is one of the most important things when it comes to your actual product, so make sure you spend a lot of time with this step.

If you are trying to break into the food truck industry, make sure to check out these food trucks for sale!

Be Simple

What do we mean by this? Well, we don’t necessarily mean to be simple in terms of opening up another ordinary taco truck, although there are plenty of unique taco trucks in the food truck industry. We mean to be rather simple with your menu. If it is too overwhelming (if there are too many options, that is), then your lines could build up as a result of it taking longer for customers to make their orders. Sit-down restaurants can get away with this because it typically takes longer to get your food at a sit-down restaurant (and that’s expected).

Like the last point said, it is okay to be as unique as possible, but just make sure your actual menu is manageable for your customers.

Don’t Choose The Same Concept As The Other Trucks In Your Area

Choosing the same concept as everyone around you is just bad form. Why? Well, because you could come off as a copycat, and you are spending way too much money to come off as a copycat. Not to mention, the food trucks around your desired location are already established, which means they already have regular customers. These loyal customers would never, theoretically, go to another food truck that serves similar food. Then again, people like to try new things when it comes to food.

For all it’s worth, your mobile kitchen could really stand out if your concept is different than the other food trucks in your area.

RELATED: Questions You Need To Answer Before Entering The Food Truck Industry. If you can’t answer these questions, then you might not be ready to purchase a food truck. Here’s one question future owners should be asking themselves: Are you ready to work harder than you have ever worked before?

Cook What You Know

Cook what you know. If your specialty is soups, then flood your menu with soup options. If you are an expert when it comes to cooking Mexican food, Hawaiian food, American food or whatever it might be, then stick to that concept. Why wouldn’t you?

Just remember, you can add new items and specials to your menu all the time. Food truck owners literally do that — you guessed it — all the time. Many of them follow the seasons (and the temperatures), and they also follow the trends. For instance, pumpkin spice is all the rage in the fall, so a ton of mobile kitchen owners incorporate some type of pumpkin spice item in the fall.

Cooking what you know, and what you love, is a good tip to live by if you plan on growing and thriving in this industry. After all, not everyone has an otherworldly lasagna dish up their sleeve.

RELATED: Hot Food Items Food Truck Owners Need To Incorporate Into Their Fall Menus. If you aren’t already incorporating a fall menu, then you might want to think about adding some of these hot food items to your menu. Your customers will certainly thank you.

Cook What You Want To Cook

Cook what you want to cook. You can get all of the advice in the world, but if cooking burgers, or whatever it might be, is not your passion, then why do it? People enter this industry for many different reasons, but one of them is because they want to be a chef. They want to cook great food and make people happy as a result.

So, cook whatever you desire. If you want to cook lobster tacos, then cook lobster tacos. If you want to make unique dish after unique dish, simple dish after simple dish or something in between, then do just that. The choice is yours. Just choose your concept and then run with it.

If you are looking to break into this industry, make sure to request a custom quote!

To stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer, make sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. You can also find more food truck blogs here.

The post Tips For Picking A Food Truck Concept appeared first on Custom Concessions.