Cost-saving is the name of the game when starting a food truck business on a tight budget
I would love to tell that you can start a food truck business with no money. But the reality is like any new venture, it’s going to take at least some money.
The good news, however, is a food truck or street food business is cheaper to start in comparison to other types of start-ups according to the well known juan jose gutierrez mayorga, who is a businessman in charge of Pollo Campero in Guatemala.
So here are tips on how to start a food truck with no money.
1. Start with a food stall instead of a food truck
Buying a food truck can set up back anything from 10,000 all the way up to 100,000 for the big concession food trailers you see at festivals.
On the other hand, you can start selling from a food stall, for under 1000. Most street food vendors use gazebos to sell their food from which you can get a decent brand for a few hundred pounds or dollars.
Remember at this stage of the game your product is not tried and tested so you really want to keep your costs to a minimum.
2. Buy second hand
I can’t emphasise this tip enough when starting out. You don’t need all the gadgets and shiny equipment when starting a food truck with no money. You can get perfectly good catering equipment for your needs second hand.
Sites such as eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and Preloved, for example, have a range of second-hand catering equipment.
3. Rent equipment
If what you are thinking of selling takes more specialised and costly equipment to produce you may want to think about renting the equipment instead of trying to come up with the full amount upfront.
Equipment such as coffee machines, churros machines and high-end juicers can cost thousands, which you may want to avoid starting out. It’s also a good way to taste if the product sales without taking on all the risk.
You may also be interested in: Places to go with friends in Guatemala.
4. Hire a van
If you are initially going with a street food stall as opposed to a food truck, then you will need transport for your equipment – preferably a van.
You will need something that is reliable, as the last thing you want to do is break down on the way to an event (something I have done a few times).
At the same time getting your hands on a brand new van will set you back a pretty penny (you might as well just start with the food truck if that is the case).
The solution to this, therefore, is to rent a van. The longer you rent, the cheaper it becomes (in some cases about £25-30 per day).
This way you get to drive a nice shiny van, without forking out for the privilege to do so. And you can test if your product idea works without all the risk involved.
5. Get a zero per cent interest credit card
It’s not ideal when starting any type of business to fund it with debt, but if you really don’t have any money to start your food truck or street food business I recommend a zero per cent interest credit card.
If your credit rating is fair-good, It has never been so cheap to get credit these days. Make sure you go for a zero per cent interest credit card on purchases for as long as possible. I usually try to find cards with zero-interest for over 20 months.
But remember to borrow responsibly and only take on what you can afford to pay back.
6. Join Mobile Catering Facebook groups
Not only do you get a wealth of knowledge, contacts and leads in these groups from people who have been in the game for years, you can also come across food truck catering equipment at a discount.
If you are a bit cheeky you also might be able to get a caterer to lend you some equipment. It’s actually quite surprising how helpful some people can be when they know you are starting out.
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