Sample

1. Introduction


Many people become dissatisfied with their day-to day job and dream of setting up their own small business to achieve a better sense of independence and satisfaction. There are many opportunities available to start up a successful small business, which will have adequate income to provide a reasonable living. However setting up any small business is no walk in the park, and there are a number of hurdles to overcome to ensure continued success. Starting up with a mobile catering business has many advantages a over other forms of new business opportunity, including:

Low start-up costs- most people starting up in business do not have vast resources of funds to plough into the venture. It is much more common that people may have managed save a few thousand pounds or see the possibility of using the equity in their home to fund a new business. The success of any small business depends on keeping costs as low as possible during the start-up phase and this is why mobile catering has so many advantages. The main cost associated with starting up as a mobile caterer involves purchasing a mobile catering unit and a practical vehicle to tow it with.

Low overheads - the day-to-day costs of running a mobile catering unit are low compared to many other small businesses. The main fixed costs you will have to pay will include paying off the loan on your mobile catering unit and vehicle, if you needed one, and a small contribution towards business insurance costs. The main variable costs are relatively simple and include the cost of the food and drink itself, the fuel for your generator and gas.

Cash based- virtually all your customers will be paying with cash. This immediately makes any business a lot more likely to succeed. There is no waiting around for weeks for payments from clients and bank managers will have a far more sympathetic view to a businessman who is banking money regularly, even if in small amounts to start with. At the outset many people question whether they will be able to make a living from running a mobile catering unit. To provide an answer you only have to check each lay-by and industrial estate next time you take a longer journey by car. You will start to notice just how many mobile catering units are already operating. Most of these have to be making some sort of profit or the owners simply would not continue. How much profit you make it is really down to your ingenuity and skill in finding good sites and providing quality food and drink for your customers.

Minimal skills and experience required- the food you will be selling from your mobile catering unit is always going to be quick to cook and simple. Over the past few years there have been huge changes in what people eat in the UK and the variety of foods available, however mobile catering units have, for the most part, remained traditional in the type of food customers demand. Ask anyone running a mobile catering unit what their best-selling products are and they will tell you a bacon sarnie on white bread, with a mug of tea. Consequently the only skill you may have to acquire to operate a mobile catering unit is basic food hygiene, which local councils regularly provide courses on at reasonable cost.

Qualities required to run a mobile catering business:

1. An interest in food and hospitality, and to be able to adapt to ever-changing trends.

2. As with setting up any new business a good degree of self-motivation and perseverance is required. No one will be telling you what to do; you will be making your own decisions. Are you the sort of person who can get up by yourself early on a dark, frosty morning to start trading?

3. People skills-you are going to be dealing with customers face-to-face from day one. These customers will be from all walks of life, ranging from truckers to executives from larger companies. No one is expecting you to be the life and soul of the party, but it is important to understand customers' requirements and to quickly build a friendly rapport to ensure customers come back. At first everyone finds dealing with customers daunting, however after a couple of weeks of practice you will find it is second nature.

4. Organisational skills- preparing and setting up a mobile catering unit requires the co-ordination of a large variety of tasks. For each day’s trading to be a success, each of these tasks has to be carried out correctly and at the right time. However with a little practice, and maybe a crib sheet to remind you of tasks to be completed, there is no reason why anyone cannot run an efficient operation.

5. Financial awareness- one of the key factors in setting up any business is controlling costs to ensure the venture is profitable. Without this you are more likely to end up with an expensive hobby rather than a profitable business.

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