If you are browsing food trucks for sale and think you are about to hit on the new get-rich-quick scheme, think again. Unlocking concession trailer space and opening your own food truck business is hard. Being an owner, once again, is hard — but it can be done.
Therefore, here are the eight biggest challenges for new food truck owners.
8. Long Hours
This, sadly, is the most simple thing on this list. If you quit your 9-to-5 job thinking you are going to be working less, then you clearly weren’t thinking properly. Even when you do become an established mobile kitchen owner, the hours are still going to be long. Dedication is the name of the game when it comes to owning your own customized truck.
7. Giving Up On One Dream And Starting Another
To make a long story short, you have to give 100 percent of your focus to your food truck business. You can’t be working a side gig, going to school or whatever it might be and still run a mobile catering truck. If you do, then you will likely fail.
6. Staying Ahead Of The Game
Competitors exist. If said competitors drop or raise the prices, get a new item that everyone loves, starts targeting special events or whatever it might be, you have to stay ahead of the game. You have to get in your competition’s head and think like they do, and also think how they would not — which is how you stay ahead of the game. You can’t stand still in the food truck industry … literally.
5. Getting The Funds (aka Financing)
This goes for any business. Say you have the perfect idea, an incredible business plan and everything is set in place … except for financing. Well, that simply means you don’t have a business because with a food truck, you need money to make money — well, initially, that is.
4. Chemistry
You can be the best owner, have the best chefs and have the best customer service, but everyone still needs to get along. Chemistry happened when the Golden State Warriors won a championship last year. Chemistry happened when Apple climbed to the top of the food chain. Good chemistry needs to happen for your mobile food truck to succeed.
3. Cooking Is Only Half The Battle
By now, this should go without saying: Cooking is only half the battle. Your kitchen truck is not going to thrive just because it serves up some amazing food. However, that is one battle that you have to win.
2. Actually Being The Boss
Clearly, if you want to own your own mobile kitchen, you have to be the boss. That means you have to tell people what to do, worry about the food truck being stocked, worry about raising prices, worry about lowering prices — you basically have to worry/deal with everything, because you are the boss.
1. Everything Falls On You
Taking being the boss of your own company a step further, everything falls on you. EVERYTHING. If your gourmet food truck isn’t selling enough food, guess who that falls on? You.
If you are looking for custom trucks for sale, you have to remember all of these challenges, and deal with them if your lunch truck actually becomes a reality — but you can do it.