A catering plan that will include possible food options and places you might want to cater for. You should also create a menu with prices, which you can use to begin acquiring clients.
Start by creating a catering plan that will include places where you may want to cater, places that are close enough for your customers or employees of potential clients to come pick up catering orders on their lunch hour, and places that are open early enough on weekdays for breakfast catering. A good way to decide on places is to keep a list of places that you visit and places that you eat out at regularly. Then, find places that aren’t in your immediate area but are places where your employees or customers might go for lunch. Keeping in mind potential events is also important when creating the catering plan; if there will be an event with say 300 people attending, you will want to make sure you have a place to cater for that many people. Finally, create a menu using places you found in step one and deciding on prices.
Once you’ve created your catering plan, start acquiring customers by promoting yourself to places where your customers or potential employees might eat out for lunch or breakfast. Promote yourself with flyers and business cards, and then start catering to places you acquire customers. If you get regulars, keep them happy by giving them loyalty cards or drawing their name in a raffle for free food.
As your business begins to grow, hire more employees; make sure they are trustworthy enough because this is your livelihood. Also, look into selling your goods wholesale i.e. to places that might be interested in catering for offices, rather than catering for individual customers themselves. This takes a large burden off your shoulders and can free up more time to focus on taking care of clients and running the business itself.
As your company continues to grow, consider opening a storefront with a kitchen where you can make food during the day and sell it to customers that come by. This is a great way to expand your business, as you can provide catering for places, as well as selling food out of the storefront.
Using places where employees might go out for lunch or breakfast as places to cater is a good way to start, but as your company continues to grow, you can also consider catering for places such as corporate events and office parties. However, if you plan on going this route, make sure to have a license that allows you to serve alcohol at these places.
Finally, keepin mind that running a catering business is a lot of work. It is not something that you do overnight or complete just by thinking about it. It will take a lot of work and dedication to see its success.
Step 1: Create places where you can cater for
Create places where you can cater for, places that cater for different places, places that are open early enough on weekdays for breakfast catering, places close enough for your customers or employees of potential clients to come pick up catering orders on their lunch hour, places that are not in your immediate area but places where your employees or customers might go for lunch.
Step 2: Promote yourself to places
Promote yourself to places with flyers and business cards. Cater to places you acquire customers. Keep regulars happy by giving them loyalty cards or draw their name in a raffle for free food.
Step 3: Hire More Employees
Hire more employees; make sure they are trustworthy enough because this is your livelihood.
Step 4: Consider selling goods wholesale
Consider selling goods wholesale to places that might be interested in catering for offices, rather than catering for individual customers themselves.
Step 5: Consider opening a storefront with a kitchen
As your business continues to grow, consider opening a storefront with a kitchen where you can make food during the day and sell it out of the storefront.
Step 6: Find a Better Spot
Using places where employees might go out for lunch or breakfast as places to cater is a good way to start, but as your company continues to grow, consider catering places such as corporate events and office parties that may require a license allowing you to serve alcohol at these places.
Step 7: Be Ready for Stress!
Keep in mind that running a catering business is a lot of work. It is not something that you do overnight or complete just by thinking about it. It will take a lot of work and dedication to see its success.
Start your catering business: The most important part
Catering isn’t an easy business. We say you have to “know what you’re getting into,” because of the physical and demanding nature of the niche.
We also consider you can be a great cook, and that doesn’t necessarily make you a great caterer.
But we are able to build a massively successful business little more than an idea that was born in a church kitchen. As Istanbul Grill Catering we are on top brands in LA.
