A Guideline on How to Start Your Own Catering Service
Reading Time: 3 minutes
by ServingIntel
Think your talent for making scrumptious cuisine and excellent desserts are good enough to open your own catering business? We think so, too! But just because cooking or baking is your forte doesn’t mean you can run a catering business right away.
By carefully following a step-by-step process and research plan, you can determine beforehand how likely it is that you can start your own catering business.
Not everyone has the potential to be a business owner. You will need a lot of determination, organization, and self-discipline. While some make every effort to be a responsible owner, others may get overwhelmed.
Start your catering business with these guidelines:
Conduct Marketplace Research
Checking out who else is running a catering business in your area is the initial step in opening your own catering service. Check out their menus, services, customers, and prices. Visit their website to find out their unique selling point advantages. Remember that people get catering services, not just for the food, but also look for the benefit of exceptional food, themes, etc. Be affordable and reliable.
Select Your Forte
Research on how to start your catering, assuming that your idea is enticing to people and is willing to pay for it. Once you have an idea of your target market, it will help you decide the type of catering service you will offer and things that attract them more.
Pinpoint Potential Clients
You may contact your colleagues to get an idea of what their companies look for in a caterer. By doing so, it will help you determine what your customers want. If you don’t have any personal contacts, try cold calling some potential patrons. Inform them you’re not selling anything; rather, you want to ask a few questions about what services they want from a caterer. Make sure to find the right person to contact. Otherwise, you will just be ignored.
Determine Your Budget
To know how much it will cost to launch a catering business, create a budget plan. Spend at least a few thousand dollars as an initial cost for a kitchen upgrade and cooking tools. Get your professional license and permits, improve your office and marketing materials, and spread the word. Usually, the initial investment is around $10,000, depending on how large or small you want to start.
Create a Business Plan
A written business plan is not hard to create if you’re making it one page at a time. Follow a sample template online to get an idea. You can answer all related questions to your venture before taking the risk of investing in your catering service with your business plan.
Takeaway:
Starting your catering service isn’t a competition, work at your own pace. Moreover, start by making a business plan. It doesn’t have to cost you thousands to open your own company. With help from colleagues and other people, you will surely make it work. Work on your plan when you’re interested in doing the work. You’ll be surprised at how soon you can start launching your catering business.
About ServingIntel:
ServingIntel is an international hospitality technology company that creates cloud-based enterprise and point-of-sale solutions serving a variety of hospitality industries, including restaurants, country clubs, hospitals, and senior living communities — providing complete software, mobile hardware, and business intelligence software through its ServingIntel platform. ServingIntel increases revenue and profit in foodservice operations while enhancing service and quality levels for the guests.
Reference:
https://smartycents.com/articles/how-to-start-catering-company/