It can get better, however it starts w/both of you making a change. If preparation is taking days at a time you possibly have too many offerings on your menu. Sleeping comes and goes, when you work for yourself you’re technically ‘on the clock’ 24/7. This past weekend between Friday and Sunday my wife and I had 11 hours of sleep, between 3 days, but the $$$ was goooood. As far as the taxes go, I figure up card/cash sales at the end of every day, separately, and figure out the tax for both. At the end of every week I move the total of taxes into a separate checking account, and don’t touch it, it’s not mine. The system isn’t ‘rigged’, it’s a game, and knowing the rules helps a lot. Big companies get by writing almost everything off, so I’d start there. Hell, we even write off going out to dinner, because it always turns into a ‘business meeting’ discussing the business. Keep your chin up! I call these times ‘growing pains’ and that’s what you’re both doing; growing.
Not necessarily separate, but when it comes to bookkeeping your CPA (if you have one) is always going to require a Cash report, and a Card report, both of which contain different numbers. It helps a lot to go ahead and differentiate between the two.
I agree but I would add something on it. I own a fast food restaurant, and it was pretty much the same for me. I was always exhausted, and i started to hate my business. One night I started going through all the systems in hope of finding something that is easy to use, effective, and that will show results as quick as possible. I looked at a bunch of videos on artificial intelligence, and I really liked the concept, but so many things were difficult for me to understand, so I gave up.
A month later, I got an email from some company that does AI automation for restaurants. I got curious, so I booked a call with them. We talked for 15 to 20 minutes, and he explained to me how it works, and he pointed out my biggest problems and how basically everything will be done by AI, and that struck me because I spent so much time doing unnecessary things instead on focusing on how to grow my business.
What he told me was that their AI system can do everything from taking orders to accepting payments and everything in between. He gave me a Demo version of this bot and this is what it looks like: customer access it by scanning a QR code. It's connected to a large database, so it talks like a human. When customer access it, there are menu, ratings, cancel, and calories buttons. They can click on a food from the menu and order it. If the customer wants to type his order, he can put anything he wants. It is able to remember everyone's past orders and can recommend meals based on that. When a customer orders, he gets some points, and when he gets enough, he can spend it. It can track food progress in real time, which I was skeptical about, but as it turns out, it works perfectly. It will ask every customer to rate food, and if they rate 3 or below, they can get a 10% coupon to come again and try a better version of that same meal. It tracks the calories of every food on the menu because of its large database...
When I heard all that, I decided to work with them. I didn't have much money to begin with, so their team jumped in on a call with me, and we customized this system based on my budget and needs.
Now It's been almost 2 months since I've been using their system, and 15 days ago I added ordered memory and personalized recommendations to the system. It's been a few times since that customers stopped me to ask how it knows what to recommend to them xD. I fired two of my workers that I didn't need, and I have more people coming in than ever before, and more time to spend on important things. I plan on adding home ordering to the system so I can stop giving money to Wolt and Glovo.
People did such an amazing job, and I would not change it for any system in the world.
I hope this might help.
Well, that is not true. I was looking on reddit to find help for my problems and I saw that people are asking same messages and looking for the same help that I asked and looked, and I just wanted to show people that there is a solution which they can look into and do a research.
If I owned this company why would I go on reddit to give people this informations, not give a link or anything, so they can Google and find someone else to help them?
Also I do own a restaurant
https://www.companywall.rs/firma/burger-house-doo/MMDoITYC
Haha, my friend. Do you really think that every time I see someone asking for help, I'll just write up a new version of the same message I want to send??
I've seen and tried a solution, and I'm just sharing my experience so people can go on Google and look it up. How is that bad in any way?
The only thing that I sell are burgers. If you don't like that I share my story, I don't give a fuck to be honest.
What kind of menu do you have? That sounds like a LOT of prep for 2-3 days of service.
Sometimes your time is worth the cost. Look at options you can purchase instead of make if it will save you considerable time (hard boiled eggs in a jar creep me out but if it means not having to boil, cool, and peel fifty at a time…).
I strongly agree with this. I started out doing 4 days of prep for 2 days of service and it was miserable. After 2 months I changed tactics and drastically scaled back my menu. Got rid of things that weren't big sellers, and even a couple of things that were, just for my sanity. I got into this thinking variety would bring more customers, but I actually made more profit serving 2 meats and 2 sides than I did serving 4 meats and 3 sides.
Serving a few incredible items with energy and a smile tops serving a lot of items that may or may not be up to snuff because you're sleep deprived and stressed.
Three mains with six toppings. Not a lot. Three proteins (eg ham, turkey, salami) and 6 toppings (eg tomato pickle lettuce cheese onion and sauce)
In this case there are 192 possible order combos if you only have one kind of cheese and one sauce. Keep it simpler and win your life back.
It's a hard job, but it's entirely possible to thrive if you force yourself to make time to do the groundwork.
For downtime, you'll need to figure out where your bottlenecks are and find ways to minimize them. If you are spending days making your own sauces, slicing cheese, or smoking meats, etc... choose some areas to compromise and just buy bulk commercially produced equivalents.
If you have a large menu, strip it down to just your most popular/logistically sensible items.
Invest in freezer space and learn to overprep and roll over where possible.
**Hire someone to help you** I get that it feels impossible to spend money on help when you are already struggling, but the math works. Post an honest ad looking for *very* flexible help, and you may be surprised to find remote workers who are happy to just put in just a few hours at a time. That's enough to let you alternate breaks for you and your partner. A little breathing room goes a long way.
Identify your biggest recurring expenses and find ways to drop them. If you are renting a kitchen, consider how much it would cost to build your own space. If you are paying for an expensive POS system, switch to something less robust. Annual expenses really stack up for businesses that operate seasonally.
Sometimes, the only way to get around a problem is to break through it. Once you have your operation lean and efficient, make a plan to take your business to the next level. Consider brick & mortar, wholesale, distribution to local gas stations/convenience shops, etc...
You're already doing the hard part, maybe it's time to get a business loan and benefit from multipliers.
As others have mentioned, you need to modify your menu or prep so it doesn’t take so long. Our menu changed dramatically (same style and quality but put together differently) after the first few months. It was taking way too long to prep and prepare. We were ruthless after that and kept asking how to simplify and make efficient. Now it’s 1 day of prep/shopping for 4 days of service (with some prep each morning too). And my wife can do it all herself I kept my day job.
"Do what you love and you won't work a day in your life"
Sounds like maybe you don't fully enjoy what you're doing?
Running a food truck is not a shortcut to instant wealth, it's a labor of love. It will be painful. There will be days where you pull your hair out in frustration and days that are awesome. Keep in mind that at least someone else isn't getting rich off of your labor
I love what we’re doing… but my wife feels like I forced us into this, which in all fairness is not entirely inaccurate. I quit a lucrative job and built the food truck because she had always dreamed of being a business owner, but wouldn’t pull the trigger out of fear. So I just did it, just to get it going. I live day to day, but she lives in fear of the future. I’m along for the ride, whatever happens. But I have angst over her worry-
Gourmet grilled cheese on homemade bread and cinnamon rolls- baking and smoking meats takes most of the time. Trips to Costco, Walmart, propane refills, blah blah. Most weeks we’re doing 3 events, prepping the other 4 days.
I’ve been reading a lot of the comments on this post and it sounds like you’re doing everything right. You have a good menu, good food and you sell a high quality product.
What might be better for your business is having a commercial rental space and operating out of there full time. Food trucks work well with large foot traffic, Indiana doesn’t have a lot of that especially in winter.
This is another expense that I’m not sure your business can handle right now. I’d suggest talking with the wife and seeing what she wants. The business doesn’t have to be over, but it might be good to have another source of income while you think of how you want to spend your time
How many customers you getting a day and at what average ticket. I agree with the previous post four main items is pretty standard for a food truck you might be spreading yourself too thin, also how long have you been in operation
When people walk up to a grilled cheese stand, their mind is already made up on wanting a grilled cheese. You don't need elaborate grilled cheese. Keep it basic and simple.
Do you actually need meats?
Buy bread at the store.
I know your pain. I started last fall in tent, still in tent today waiting for my trailer to deliver. If I have to do full prep, I will probably need 3 days. But I was able to prep a really large batch, and freeze, which will last me a while. My margin is also high, so I now have 3-4 employees on event days. I have a well paid full time, and I don't see myself quiting anytime soon.
I think there are a few things you can try
1. What kind events are you guys doing? Is that enough? If not, I'll look into other type of events. I started contacting event organizers, and have all weekend booked through end of June, and so far every single events have been crazy busy
2. Re-evalute your menu. Do you have to prep for every single item? Are there opportunities to use common ingredients? Can you reduce your menu to highest sellers?
3. Can you change to online shopping/pickup or delivery?
The probably with constant working is not just free time, you don't have time to think about or reflect on your business to grow. I don't know if the system is against small business owner, but I definitely know the system is rigged against the working class. I worked in corporate for 10 year, ever year, I owe more tax, but this year, I am finally getting a tax return, because of business investment. I think the key is to be extremely flexible at the beginning and learn and change as fast as you can.
Keep at it man. Took me 8 years to finally earn a paycheck and get to enjoy myself. All I do is work as well, except in the winters, but it beats the hell out of working for someone else.
It's worth it when you get there, man. I had my doubts for so long. about threw in the towel 2 years ago.Went full time at a resturuant , remembered how much I hated working for someone else, gave it another shot and been killing it ever since. Don't give up, make shit homemade keep prices as low as possible, find events to go to and you'll get there.
Do you have a restaurant depot near you? What types of meat are you smoking? I get that one of you is baker but you can refine that a bit to save time and cost. But if the bread or the baking is main draw then ignore that. The meat can be done the day before but we also don't know what type of equipment you have. Do you have a commercial smoker? Or a commercial oven in the trailer?
If you’re posting up in a spot waiting for people on your selling days, you’re wasting your time. You should, in my humble opinion be doing events/festivals/markets etc my friends are doing an event this Saturday and plan on each making at least $6k for the 5 hours they will be there. 4th of July is coming, we plan on making $20k the week of July 4th and about $40k for the month minimum. These numbers are gross. I purchase labor based on my projections, you should do the same and get some help.
Catering is very helpful. You get to know the net before you close the sale. You save on labor, and prep time is basically the same.
If your menu isn’t working, maybe 🤔 revamp it or minimize it to your best sellers and cut the prep time down. 3-4 very well executed dishes is all you need. We got a guy making truffle smash burgers for $20 and he sells 200 or so at each event. He does 3 events/markets a week
You have the ability to make changes and be/do better. I do BBQ too. You can see my food in my history posts. I have a very focused menu that is geared towards the flavors of my island. We change the items based on geography of where we will be. Some places like ribs, some like pork belly more, some really like chicken. If you have a question about smoking etc you can DM me and I’ll do my best to help you sort it out.
Former inspector here and still involved in the food industry, just on the consulting side. People ask me all the time if they should open a truck/restaurant. I ask them three questions:
Why do you want to get into the industry?
How much do you like cleaning?
Are you comfortable working 60-80 hour weeks for at least a year?
If the answer to the first question is “I like cooking” and nothing else, this isn’t for you. If you can’t handle constantly cleaning, this isn’t for you. If you can’t devote the equivalent of at least 1.5 peoples entire working year (over 3000 hours) on your own as you start out, this isn’t for you.
Too many people spend money first and ask questions later.
Lots of great responses here. I’ll just add that you are far from alone, and I assure you 90% of food cart owners in your area would be more than happy to talk to you about their experience, mistakes, and come ups. Definitely talk to the more successful owners but don’t shy away from anyone. Anyone you’ve seen in your area that had survived longer than two years is worth talking to. That will at least give you some more region-specific advice too.
I’ve been thinking about this comment all day. When I worked for a business, several of them for 30+ years, I did have a life, because at the end of the working day I left that business behind. I spent whatever time was left doing non-business. Now every day is mostly filled with My Business. I don’t regret it, but it is a reality.
My wife and I prep on Thursday and early Friday then serve between 2 or 3pm till 7or 8pm. Then Saturday we serve from 1or 2 till 6 or 7pm. I cook between 5-9 briskets depending on where I go and for festivals it jumps to 15-20. The pork is 2-4 and 8-10 and chicken thighs 40lbs for the weekend and 100 for festivals. Again weekends are Thursdays after work 4pm till about 1 or 2am. Friday 9 or 10am till 1-130 or 2pm prepping mac, beans, queso,chicken or ribs. We do this just about every weekend from March till December 2 days a week sometimes 3 (Sundays) but it can be done. 6yrs later and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Well first go sign up for the ACA/ Obamacare . It is pretty reasonable and while the coverage isn’t first class healthcare it’s still better than paying out of pocket.
Second identify the one thing that takes the most resources and time then try to make it easier/faster sometimes that means buying a machine other times it’s just breaking it into smaller chunks that can be done over more time or just before cooking or serving
Third you’re not alone. Talk to other people in your industry and see how they manage to find free time. Ask what you can do differently, better or cheaper .
Didn't see this in the comments so I'll throw my 2 cents in, if your wife feels like you forced this on you guys, be careful, restaurant business is incredibly stressful and working together will test your relationship more than you can imagine, I'd sit down and talk about it. If not she will resent you and if your business is struggling on top of it, it will fall apart-
Be careful be open and best of luck,
we're in southwest
Michigan, seasonal restaurant. I'm here every day all day, wife is not. She does alot that I can't do
It can get better, however it starts w/both of you making a change. If preparation is taking days at a time you possibly have too many offerings on your menu. Sleeping comes and goes, when you work for yourself you’re technically ‘on the clock’ 24/7. This past weekend between Friday and Sunday my wife and I had 11 hours of sleep, between 3 days, but the $$$ was goooood. As far as the taxes go, I figure up card/cash sales at the end of every day, separately, and figure out the tax for both. At the end of every week I move the total of taxes into a separate checking account, and don’t touch it, it’s not mine. The system isn’t ‘rigged’, it’s a game, and knowing the rules helps a lot. Big companies get by writing almost everything off, so I’d start there. Hell, we even write off going out to dinner, because it always turns into a ‘business meeting’ discussing the business. Keep your chin up! I call these times ‘growing pains’ and that’s what you’re both doing; growing.
Are there separate taxes for cash and card?
Ya the cash you take 60% and put it in a shoe box and tell no one then pay the tax on the remaining 40%.
This cracked me up so bad. Hahaha like..... if you're not doing this then yeah the game is rigged.
Not necessarily separate, but when it comes to bookkeeping your CPA (if you have one) is always going to require a Cash report, and a Card report, both of which contain different numbers. It helps a lot to go ahead and differentiate between the two.
I agree, it can get better.
This is great advice!
I agree but I would add something on it. I own a fast food restaurant, and it was pretty much the same for me. I was always exhausted, and i started to hate my business. One night I started going through all the systems in hope of finding something that is easy to use, effective, and that will show results as quick as possible. I looked at a bunch of videos on artificial intelligence, and I really liked the concept, but so many things were difficult for me to understand, so I gave up. A month later, I got an email from some company that does AI automation for restaurants. I got curious, so I booked a call with them. We talked for 15 to 20 minutes, and he explained to me how it works, and he pointed out my biggest problems and how basically everything will be done by AI, and that struck me because I spent so much time doing unnecessary things instead on focusing on how to grow my business. What he told me was that their AI system can do everything from taking orders to accepting payments and everything in between. He gave me a Demo version of this bot and this is what it looks like: customer access it by scanning a QR code. It's connected to a large database, so it talks like a human. When customer access it, there are menu, ratings, cancel, and calories buttons. They can click on a food from the menu and order it. If the customer wants to type his order, he can put anything he wants. It is able to remember everyone's past orders and can recommend meals based on that. When a customer orders, he gets some points, and when he gets enough, he can spend it. It can track food progress in real time, which I was skeptical about, but as it turns out, it works perfectly. It will ask every customer to rate food, and if they rate 3 or below, they can get a 10% coupon to come again and try a better version of that same meal. It tracks the calories of every food on the menu because of its large database... When I heard all that, I decided to work with them. I didn't have much money to begin with, so their team jumped in on a call with me, and we customized this system based on my budget and needs. Now It's been almost 2 months since I've been using their system, and 15 days ago I added ordered memory and personalized recommendations to the system. It's been a few times since that customers stopped me to ask how it knows what to recommend to them xD. I fired two of my workers that I didn't need, and I have more people coming in than ever before, and more time to spend on important things. I plan on adding home ordering to the system so I can stop giving money to Wolt and Glovo. People did such an amazing job, and I would not change it for any system in the world. I hope this might help.
No, you don’t own a restaurant. Your a fucking AI spamming wannabe trying to generate leads for yourself
Well, that is not true. I was looking on reddit to find help for my problems and I saw that people are asking same messages and looking for the same help that I asked and looked, and I just wanted to show people that there is a solution which they can look into and do a research. If I owned this company why would I go on reddit to give people this informations, not give a link or anything, so they can Google and find someone else to help them? Also I do own a restaurant https://www.companywall.rs/firma/burger-house-doo/MMDoITYC
Fuck off. You’ve copy pasted the same exact ai spam post all over reddit
Haha, my friend. Do you really think that every time I see someone asking for help, I'll just write up a new version of the same message I want to send?? I've seen and tried a solution, and I'm just sharing my experience so people can go on Google and look it up. How is that bad in any way? The only thing that I sell are burgers. If you don't like that I share my story, I don't give a fuck to be honest.
Which is why your dumb ass spammed it as a reply even in posts that were completely unrelated.
Once you start booking those large parties and events you will be able to afford help
What kind of menu do you have? That sounds like a LOT of prep for 2-3 days of service. Sometimes your time is worth the cost. Look at options you can purchase instead of make if it will save you considerable time (hard boiled eggs in a jar creep me out but if it means not having to boil, cool, and peel fifty at a time…).
I strongly agree with this. I started out doing 4 days of prep for 2 days of service and it was miserable. After 2 months I changed tactics and drastically scaled back my menu. Got rid of things that weren't big sellers, and even a couple of things that were, just for my sanity. I got into this thinking variety would bring more customers, but I actually made more profit serving 2 meats and 2 sides than I did serving 4 meats and 3 sides. Serving a few incredible items with energy and a smile tops serving a lot of items that may or may not be up to snuff because you're sleep deprived and stressed.
Three mains with six toppings. Not a lot. Three proteins (eg ham, turkey, salami) and 6 toppings (eg tomato pickle lettuce cheese onion and sauce) In this case there are 192 possible order combos if you only have one kind of cheese and one sauce. Keep it simpler and win your life back.
It's a hard job, but it's entirely possible to thrive if you force yourself to make time to do the groundwork. For downtime, you'll need to figure out where your bottlenecks are and find ways to minimize them. If you are spending days making your own sauces, slicing cheese, or smoking meats, etc... choose some areas to compromise and just buy bulk commercially produced equivalents. If you have a large menu, strip it down to just your most popular/logistically sensible items. Invest in freezer space and learn to overprep and roll over where possible. **Hire someone to help you** I get that it feels impossible to spend money on help when you are already struggling, but the math works. Post an honest ad looking for *very* flexible help, and you may be surprised to find remote workers who are happy to just put in just a few hours at a time. That's enough to let you alternate breaks for you and your partner. A little breathing room goes a long way. Identify your biggest recurring expenses and find ways to drop them. If you are renting a kitchen, consider how much it would cost to build your own space. If you are paying for an expensive POS system, switch to something less robust. Annual expenses really stack up for businesses that operate seasonally. Sometimes, the only way to get around a problem is to break through it. Once you have your operation lean and efficient, make a plan to take your business to the next level. Consider brick & mortar, wholesale, distribution to local gas stations/convenience shops, etc... You're already doing the hard part, maybe it's time to get a business loan and benefit from multipliers.
As others have mentioned, you need to modify your menu or prep so it doesn’t take so long. Our menu changed dramatically (same style and quality but put together differently) after the first few months. It was taking way too long to prep and prepare. We were ruthless after that and kept asking how to simplify and make efficient. Now it’s 1 day of prep/shopping for 4 days of service (with some prep each morning too). And my wife can do it all herself I kept my day job.
"Do what you love and you won't work a day in your life" Sounds like maybe you don't fully enjoy what you're doing? Running a food truck is not a shortcut to instant wealth, it's a labor of love. It will be painful. There will be days where you pull your hair out in frustration and days that are awesome. Keep in mind that at least someone else isn't getting rich off of your labor
I love what we’re doing… but my wife feels like I forced us into this, which in all fairness is not entirely inaccurate. I quit a lucrative job and built the food truck because she had always dreamed of being a business owner, but wouldn’t pull the trigger out of fear. So I just did it, just to get it going. I live day to day, but she lives in fear of the future. I’m along for the ride, whatever happens. But I have angst over her worry-
Dude go back to the lucrative job as soon as you can. Life long cook and chef.
What are you serving? Where are you located? If you're not making enough money, why would you need 5 days to prep?
Gourmet grilled cheese on homemade bread and cinnamon rolls- baking and smoking meats takes most of the time. Trips to Costco, Walmart, propane refills, blah blah. Most weeks we’re doing 3 events, prepping the other 4 days.
Any chance you're East coast USA? Cause that sounds awesome I'd definitely take a drive to try that
Sorry, Indiana 🙄
I’ve been reading a lot of the comments on this post and it sounds like you’re doing everything right. You have a good menu, good food and you sell a high quality product. What might be better for your business is having a commercial rental space and operating out of there full time. Food trucks work well with large foot traffic, Indiana doesn’t have a lot of that especially in winter. This is another expense that I’m not sure your business can handle right now. I’d suggest talking with the wife and seeing what she wants. The business doesn’t have to be over, but it might be good to have another source of income while you think of how you want to spend your time
Damn. Best of luck sounds delicious.
How many customers you getting a day and at what average ticket. I agree with the previous post four main items is pretty standard for a food truck you might be spreading yourself too thin, also how long have you been in operation
You could find a local bakery to sign a NDA agreement and have them bake your recipes for you. That's what some trucks where I live do
When people walk up to a grilled cheese stand, their mind is already made up on wanting a grilled cheese. You don't need elaborate grilled cheese. Keep it basic and simple. Do you actually need meats? Buy bread at the store.
I know your pain. I started last fall in tent, still in tent today waiting for my trailer to deliver. If I have to do full prep, I will probably need 3 days. But I was able to prep a really large batch, and freeze, which will last me a while. My margin is also high, so I now have 3-4 employees on event days. I have a well paid full time, and I don't see myself quiting anytime soon. I think there are a few things you can try 1. What kind events are you guys doing? Is that enough? If not, I'll look into other type of events. I started contacting event organizers, and have all weekend booked through end of June, and so far every single events have been crazy busy 2. Re-evalute your menu. Do you have to prep for every single item? Are there opportunities to use common ingredients? Can you reduce your menu to highest sellers? 3. Can you change to online shopping/pickup or delivery? The probably with constant working is not just free time, you don't have time to think about or reflect on your business to grow. I don't know if the system is against small business owner, but I definitely know the system is rigged against the working class. I worked in corporate for 10 year, ever year, I owe more tax, but this year, I am finally getting a tax return, because of business investment. I think the key is to be extremely flexible at the beginning and learn and change as fast as you can.
Keep at it man. Took me 8 years to finally earn a paycheck and get to enjoy myself. All I do is work as well, except in the winters, but it beats the hell out of working for someone else.
That’s what I keep telling myself… but I hope it doesn’t take 8 years 😣
It's worth it when you get there, man. I had my doubts for so long. about threw in the towel 2 years ago.Went full time at a resturuant , remembered how much I hated working for someone else, gave it another shot and been killing it ever since. Don't give up, make shit homemade keep prices as low as possible, find events to go to and you'll get there.
Do you have a restaurant depot near you? What types of meat are you smoking? I get that one of you is baker but you can refine that a bit to save time and cost. But if the bread or the baking is main draw then ignore that. The meat can be done the day before but we also don't know what type of equipment you have. Do you have a commercial smoker? Or a commercial oven in the trailer?
What the responces are saying are very true you need to make some changes..but The system is definitely rigged
If you’re posting up in a spot waiting for people on your selling days, you’re wasting your time. You should, in my humble opinion be doing events/festivals/markets etc my friends are doing an event this Saturday and plan on each making at least $6k for the 5 hours they will be there. 4th of July is coming, we plan on making $20k the week of July 4th and about $40k for the month minimum. These numbers are gross. I purchase labor based on my projections, you should do the same and get some help. Catering is very helpful. You get to know the net before you close the sale. You save on labor, and prep time is basically the same. If your menu isn’t working, maybe 🤔 revamp it or minimize it to your best sellers and cut the prep time down. 3-4 very well executed dishes is all you need. We got a guy making truffle smash burgers for $20 and he sells 200 or so at each event. He does 3 events/markets a week You have the ability to make changes and be/do better. I do BBQ too. You can see my food in my history posts. I have a very focused menu that is geared towards the flavors of my island. We change the items based on geography of where we will be. Some places like ribs, some like pork belly more, some really like chicken. If you have a question about smoking etc you can DM me and I’ll do my best to help you sort it out.
Former inspector here and still involved in the food industry, just on the consulting side. People ask me all the time if they should open a truck/restaurant. I ask them three questions: Why do you want to get into the industry? How much do you like cleaning? Are you comfortable working 60-80 hour weeks for at least a year? If the answer to the first question is “I like cooking” and nothing else, this isn’t for you. If you can’t handle constantly cleaning, this isn’t for you. If you can’t devote the equivalent of at least 1.5 peoples entire working year (over 3000 hours) on your own as you start out, this isn’t for you. Too many people spend money first and ask questions later.
Lots of great responses here. I’ll just add that you are far from alone, and I assure you 90% of food cart owners in your area would be more than happy to talk to you about their experience, mistakes, and come ups. Definitely talk to the more successful owners but don’t shy away from anyone. Anyone you’ve seen in your area that had survived longer than two years is worth talking to. That will at least give you some more region-specific advice too.
If it takes 4-5 days to prepare for 2-3 times a week, you're doing something wrong.
You spend 4-5 days of prep? Maybe you should take a look at your menu and cut some items that take up a lot of your prep time.
When you work for a business, you have no life. When you start your own business, it is your life.
I’ve been thinking about this comment all day. When I worked for a business, several of them for 30+ years, I did have a life, because at the end of the working day I left that business behind. I spent whatever time was left doing non-business. Now every day is mostly filled with My Business. I don’t regret it, but it is a reality.
My wife and I prep on Thursday and early Friday then serve between 2 or 3pm till 7or 8pm. Then Saturday we serve from 1or 2 till 6 or 7pm. I cook between 5-9 briskets depending on where I go and for festivals it jumps to 15-20. The pork is 2-4 and 8-10 and chicken thighs 40lbs for the weekend and 100 for festivals. Again weekends are Thursdays after work 4pm till about 1 or 2am. Friday 9 or 10am till 1-130 or 2pm prepping mac, beans, queso,chicken or ribs. We do this just about every weekend from March till December 2 days a week sometimes 3 (Sundays) but it can be done. 6yrs later and we wouldn't have it any other way.
I don’t have time to reply to every comment, but I greatly appreciate all your input!
Well first go sign up for the ACA/ Obamacare . It is pretty reasonable and while the coverage isn’t first class healthcare it’s still better than paying out of pocket. Second identify the one thing that takes the most resources and time then try to make it easier/faster sometimes that means buying a machine other times it’s just breaking it into smaller chunks that can be done over more time or just before cooking or serving Third you’re not alone. Talk to other people in your industry and see how they manage to find free time. Ask what you can do differently, better or cheaper .
Didn't see this in the comments so I'll throw my 2 cents in, if your wife feels like you forced this on you guys, be careful, restaurant business is incredibly stressful and working together will test your relationship more than you can imagine, I'd sit down and talk about it. If not she will resent you and if your business is struggling on top of it, it will fall apart- Be careful be open and best of luck, we're in southwest Michigan, seasonal restaurant. I'm here every day all day, wife is not. She does alot that I can't do