The Executive Suite: How to Make Money with a Food Cart

Thursday, May 30, 2013

How to Make Money with a Food Cart

Whether you are a trained chef or culinary enthusiast, operating a food cart allows you to blend your interest in food with your entrepreneurial spirit. A food cart can also be an inexpensive springboard to a future restaurant or catering venture. Food carts, known for providing good food and low prices, remain eateries of choice for college students and office workers. Once you select a profitable location, you can purchase a food cart for as little as $2,500 and start making money upon acquiring the appropriate operating licenses.

Suggestions

Sell cost-effective food items. Hot dogs, ice cream, coffee and snacks are cheap to purchase, sell well and increase your bottom line, according to "Food Truck Business" author Rich Mintzer. You can also sell sought-after items, such as healthy salads and smoothies or popular desserts like cupcakes, profit margin permitting. Pre-cooked food items and ingredients should be purchased daily for freshness at wholesale food warehouses.
Provide a consistent menu based on customer feedback rather than your own culinary tastes. Pay attention to customer reactions to food items. Make room for more customer favorites by discontinuing items that do not sell. Engage your customers in conversations to gauge immediate reactions to new items.
Operate in a high-traffic location. High-traffic locations could include, but are not limited to, college campuses, medical complexes, downtown areas and on the premises of large corporations. The presence of other food carts, however, does not mean that the owners have permission to operate in that area. Contact your local government to find out where you can operate your food cart legally in your city.
Open early and close late. Plan to open your food cart earlier and close later than other food carts operating near you. You can make money by capturing "early bird" and "Johnny-come-lately" business, whether you serve a breakfast, lunch or dinner crowd. You must, however, purchase extra food items on a daily basis so that you don't run out during normal operating hours.
Maintain operating licenses and pass inspections. Your ability to make money hinges on paying business license renewal fees and meeting or exceeding health department standards. To continue to operate legally, you must also attend food handler's continuing education and re-certification courses as required by your local health department.