If youve decided that being a mobile food vendor is the career for you, the next thing you need to do is start planning. Its not as easy as just buying a van, buying your food products and driving off. There are many things to be considered and organized before you start operating.
The first step along the way to being a mobile food vendor is deciding what you are going to sell. You have probably already got this far as there is something you are good at making or passionate about and have decided this is how you will make your money. Make sure you have considered all aspects of your chosen line of food, such as the equipment you will need, the accessories provided in the sale and the demand for that particular food.
The next important thing is to get your business license or trading permit and register your business. A mobile food vendor is not exempt from normal business trading regulations, and in fact you may be subject to more.
You will probably need a special permit to carry out business in public places or by the roadside, so make sure you have checked all this out. You will also have to get permits from the Health Department, and you will be subject to an initial and possibly further random health inspections.
Buying your
food vending equipment, including the truck or trailer, is a huge decision, as is selecting your suppliers. If you have chosen to work for a franchise, a lot of this hard work is already done for you, and your franchise fee will include all the initial equipment and training to use it if necessary.
However, if you are starting out as an individual vendor, you need to consider your equipment purchase very carefully. Your truck or trailer must be NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) approved, and you also need to check out local requirements such as sink facilities, etc. There are endless rules and regulations governing the state of the mobile vending unit, which must be adhered to, and you need to check these all out beforehand.
As important as your mobile unit are your suppliers. You need to set up contracts with these, as you will most likely need new supplies every day if your business is successful. You want to make sure that they will not let you down (you cant run a food business without the basic foodstuffs), and having a contract should give you priority over other buyers who turn up on the off chance.
The
food supplies must be good quality as well. Using inferior quality foodstuffs will guarantee that you do not get regular or repeat customers.
Another important thing for a mobile food vendor to remember is insurance. This is to cover you for any claims made by customers who may get sick after eating your food. Hopefully this will not happen, but it is better to be safe than sorry. Some sites that you work on may insist that you have a certificate of insurance so that they are covered as well.
