5 Most Common Mistakes New Food Truck Owners Make

Food trucks have become the latest craze for new entrepreneurs. Everyone has eaten at one and nearly everyone thinks they can do it at least as well as those they've patronized. Before you jump into the fray, heed these warnings for new food truck owners. These are the five most common mistakes new food truck owners make.

1. Time Commitment. It looks like so much fun to cook food and then sell it for cold hard cash. The reality is the huge commitment of time involved in just getting that first item out the window. Running a food truck is more time intense than running a brick-and-mortar restaurant. You must locate good locations or events, then re-locate or find new events. Don't forget to consider travel time in your schedule. Your kitchen is movable, so each stop or event requires a re-set of your key kitchen components. You can't fly down the road with utensils, paper products or food items flying all over the back of the truck at the same time. When serving time is over you've got take-down and clean time. Then you start all over. These are just a few of the things that add hours to your 'normal' work day.

2. Licensing Requirements. Many otherwise intelligent people seem to think you can buy a food truck and then just drive on down the road selling their culinary delight. Though they vary from state to state, there are licensing requirements for food trucks. Failure to follow them could mean a truck full of food you cannot prepare and sell. Just because you're licensed in one area, city or county doesn't mean you are ready to roll and cook. You've got to follow the rules for every area you travel. Refer back to item #1 above and add this to your time commitment.

3. Lack of Experience. Why would someone who's never cooked anything but a frozen pizza buy a pizza truck? It's been done. Terribly, of course, but it's been done. Many new food truck owners don't have any experience cooking for the masses; some don't have any cooking experience at all. That doesn't mean you can't operate a food truck, it just means you must either learn the skill or product you're going to provide or hire someone who does. It's also important to remember that cooking for the public is not the same as cooking for your family. Your family will courteously eat what you've placed in front of them or push it around their plate until they can discreetly feed it to the dog. The public is not quite so forgiving. While some will not-so-politely demand their money back, others will simply warn not to purchase from "that" truck. Either will break your business very quickly.

4. Menu Development. Everyone can't sell hot dogs and hamburgers. Don't think yours are better or different. They aren't. Developing a menu that is suitable for mobile production is one challenge. Food unique enough to get noticed but not so unique as to turn people away from trying it is another. Having too large or too narrow a selection of food may mean you can't get into events or attract attention on a street corner. Menu development should be one of the first things you consider, even before deciding on the food truck you're going to purchase. You don't want a physical space that cannot accommodate the requirements of the food you're going to prepare. Likewise, if you don't have the intellectual or physical ability to make the products (see Lack of Experience above), then you must develop a menu accordingly.

5. Overbooking and Under-booking. Working in the food truck business requires a careful balance between not working enough and working yourself to death. It's easy to do both. The most common mistake is overbooking; scheduling too many events or days on the street. This happens because you've failed to consider the time required to prep and recoup from each previous event or day. Newbies are most susceptible to overbooking due to lack of experience. Continuous overbooking results in rapid burnout, remorse that you've even gotten into this business. Interestingly, under-booking can result in the same remorse. If you haven't considered and spent the time necessary to find new locations or events to work, you'll spend more time looking at that expensive food truck sitting in your driveway not earning any money. That's a disheartening feeling. Finding events or locations is a full-time occupation in itself, adding to that Time Commitment in item #1.

6. Undercapitalized. In this business it really does take money to make money. You may have enough money to purchase a truck and buy food supplies but there are other costs involved you of which you may not be aware. Licensing, food safety certification, fees to set up at events, inspections, signage, and travel expenses are just a few. You will be amazed by the number of little things you must buy to prepare and serve food. While it may be readily available in your home kitchen, it can be a real challenge when you're on the road in your food truck. Profit margins are smaller than you thought; weather can wreck a day or an entire event. Not having enough money to keep the business running is devastating after you've spent all your money to get started. When planning your food truck business also plan for cash reserves to cover the day-to-day expenses of running the business. You can't depend on daily sales that may or may not happen.

The best way to avoid these five common mistakes of new food truck owners is to learn more about the business before you jump in with both feet - and all your savings. Read books and articles about the business. Talk to other food truck owners about their experiences. Meet with event promoters so you can learn how they operate. Be aware of the pitfalls before you experience them. Your food truck business will be better for it.

Rosie Lee is the author of Concession Connections, a start-up guide for food trucks. She also owned and operated her own food truck business. She regularly provides consultation to new and potential food truck owners.

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