Starting a Catering Business – Ten things to think about

If you are looking for a small business opportunity in a growing industry and you are also fond of food and entertaining then why not start planning your own catering company.

Below are ten steps to follow to get your home-based catering business off the ground.

1) Researching the Market and Education – Start by thoroughly researching the catering market in your city. Take note of what competitors are doing, find out more about market demand and try to identify market sectors that offer the best opportunities. Interview people who have used nearby catering businesses in the past and ask them how you could improve on the services that they had experienced.

2) Industry Experience – While most states and countries don’t require you to have any work experience or qualifications to start up a catering business, if you have had experience working in the food and hospitality field (or even with another catering firm) you will have an immediate advantage.

3) Health Restrictions and Paperwork – As a catering business operator you will have to comply with the rules and regulations of your local health authorities. Ensure that you fully understand them and set out a plan for complying with them.

4) Where are you going to Prepare Food for your Clients? – Will you operate out of the kitchen in your home, rent commercial kitchen space or only accept on-site jobs that let you use a kitchen at the place where the event will be held?

5) What Insurance will you Need? – Make sure that you are covered with an appropriate insurance policy in case things go wrong and you are liable for damages.

6) Creating Menus -Think about the kinds of menus you will offer prospects and start to look at wholesalers and other sources of ingredients in bulk volumes.

7) Be certain that you can handle the stress of catering for an event by having a trial run. Invite some friends or family members to come to your home for a fully catered meal so that you can try out dishes on them and get their feedback.
Branding – Start thinking about a suitable name for your new company and think about how you want customers to perceive your business. How will you stand out against competitors? What about your company philosophy?

9) Start Up Financing – It is important that you know exactly how much you will need in the way of start up capital so you should carefully note down all of your expected start up expenses.

10) Once you have given serious thought to the above factors you can then proceed to prepare a plan for your business. A well researched plan will help you to organize your research findings and prove to yourself that your idea is workable. You will then have a blueprint to follow and help you to set and reach goals.

Get your catering company off to the best possible start by following the above ten steps before you open your doors for business in this exciting industry.

For our next article on Choosing a Name for a Catering Business and to read reviews of some of the top start up kits visit – Start a Catering Business

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