Starting your own catering business can be an overwhelming job. One must be very organized and willing to work long and hard hours. Then why do it you ask? Because the rewards are priceless.
*Get paid for something you love to do
*Make tons more money than being an employee
*Gain respect owning our own business
*Self gratification seeing people delighted with your food, presentation, and service.
Now that you are aware of the rewards it’s time to get to work. The starting point before starting a catering business or any business for that matter, is research and development. Find out what catering you will do. Corporate catering or social catering. Personally, I would recommend a combination of both. Using this approach should keep you busy since most corporate catering is done during business hours and social catering is done in the evening and weekends.
Deciding what type of menus you would like to serve is another important decision. This decision is made on two key factors. First being personal ability: Only you can answer this question? How much experience do you have and what do you feel comfortable preparing? The second is involved around research. Find out what your competition is doing. What is popular in your area, and what has been overlooked? Can you create a nook for yourself?
I can’t emphasize enough about sizing up your competition. Find out what they are serving. How much they are charging and what their presentation looks like. Chances are, you will be bidding against them at some point. The more you know about them, the more competitive you can be and still make a profit at the end of the day.
One of the most difficult obstacles to overcome is marketing. You can have the best food, service and price point around but if nobody knows about your business…Well, you know the rest of the story. This can be especially hard if your starting a home catering business. There are a few ways to overcome this situation.
I recommend joining your local Chamber of Commerce and participating in all their networking functions. They also provide you with all the contact information of its members which means leads for you.Joining in any network club is an inexpensive way to get your name out there. I also recommend getting in contact with event facilities and trying to get on their list of vendors. If they like you, they will use you. Contacting Wedding and Event Planners is another great way to network.
Hands down the best way to drum up business is take samples of your food to potential regulars. Call them up and ask if you could make an appointment to discuss your services and would like to bring them lunch.
Eventually, the ideal situation would be to hire a salesperson to perform this task for you. You simply won’t have time. They are generally paid a small salary plus commission. This is the most effective way I have found to get new and repeat business.
Don’t forget your customer once you provide catering services for them. Stay in touch with them, especially corporate accounts. Commercial accounts are continuously getting menus from people, once you get in, keep your name in front of them via phone, e-mail, postcards, etc.
Remember to research your markets, always be networking and don’t be troubled to ask for business. Good luck in all your endeavors and may you find your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
P.S. If you need to get money for your business – learn how to get a grant.
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