How To Start My Own Catering Business – With lower start-up costs than a restaurant and the ability to control your own hours and dishes, a home cooking business can be an exciting entry into culinary entrepreneurship.
Because it doesn’t require a “customer-facing” position, starting a home-based catering business can be very affordable** and a great way to supplement or replace your full-time income.
How To Start My Own Catering Business
Still, this is a big company. However, you can follow this step-by-step guide to get useful tips to start your home cooking business and surprise your customers with your delicious food.
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Catering services generally fall into two categories: on-site and off-site. With on-site catering, food is prepared and finished on site, such as a wedding venue or hotel. With off-site catering, the food is cooked elsewhere and then brought to the venue. This is often the case for company lunches and private parties and catering.
As a housekeeper, you may have the opportunity to incorporate one of these methods into your business. You can do the prep work at home and bring everything to the place for cooking and final service. Or you can cook everything in your home kitchen and have the finished dishes delivered instantly.
The method you choose may be affected by food regulations in your city and state. So make sure you do your research well before deciding on your business model.
What? What is your ideal culinary profession: gastronomy? Your own restaurant? patisserie? Get our self-assessment guide to find out!
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Before submitting any paperwork or spending dollars to establish your business entity, you should know what is possible (and legal) in your area.
Does your city/county/state even allow pickup? And if so, does your kitchen comply with Ministry of Health guidelines? These regulations may require additional ventilation, a three-compartment sink, and impervious surfaces such as stainless steel counters. Laws vary from state to state and city to city. So be sure to check out the specifics for your area!
Catering & Food Service Business Name List Generator
You may find that while you can run the commercial portion of your catering operation from home, you may need to rent a commercial kitchen where you can cook yourself off-site. You may need to rent a commercial community kitchen, or you can cut costs by using a kitchen at a local church, restaurant, or community center. Be creative!
There are two aspects of a company’s profitability: income and expenses. Before you jump into your new business, start by explaining your financial outlook and making predictions so that you can build a profitable business.
There are costs associated with every business – it’s up to you to figure out how much you can spend to get your home cooking business up and running. Also, you should calculate your expected income to determine how long it will take you to recoup your start-up costs.
Keeping your costs low in the beginning can help you turn a profit quickly. What can you buy or lease instead of buying new equipment and service tools? Can you buy and store ingredients in bulk to save money?
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After determining your startup costs, think about how you plan to pay them. Can you cover those startup costs from your personal bank account, or do you need to apply for a small business loan or grant? Even if you don’t need the money to borrow right away, you may want to take out a loan to cover emergencies that may arise during startup. Unexpected costs may arise, such as higher food prices or broken equipment that needs to be repaired.
How many events can you effectively manage in a year? And how big are you planning these events? This is an important part of your planning process and goes to the heart of your home cooking business.
It’s not just about how many events you can host, but how many you want to host. Flexibility is the appeal of this business model, so it’s up to you to decide how you want your business to be.
Will this be a full-time project with a team that handles large weddings and corporate events? In this case, you want all weekends to be reserved.
Free Catering Contract Template
Or do you think it’s a side job to your full-time job or a fun money-making hobby? If you think about it, you might be planning just one small, high-quality dinner a month, with an emphasis on personal service and premium ingredients.
Thinking of being a sole proprietor? This limits the size of the event you can manage, but it can also reduce your costs.
These factors determine how much income you can earn in a year. Make a rough estimate of how much you can earn against your expected costs to make sure there is a chance to make a profit.
If financial planning seems a little daunting, the Online Food Entrepreneurship program can help you learn the fundamentals of culinary mathematics for starting a food business, such as: B. Cash management, purchasing, reception, menu pricing, inventory and more more!
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Contact your Secretary of State (if you live in the US) if the name is still not registered. It’s also a good idea to search the web for the name to make sure no catering companies already have that name. Remember: You want to make it easy for people to find and remember you.
Also, doing a little research beforehand can help you avoid any confusion or legal issues with a company with the same name.
Consult an attorney and/or accountant to help you decide which business structure is best for your business.
A sole proprietorship is the easiest to get started, but it doesn’t separate your personal and business assets. A limited liability company protects your personal assets from business debts or liabilities, but is more difficult to create. If you need help starting your business, you should contact your local small business center.
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After you’ve determined your business name and structure, you can register with the IRS for an Employer Identification Number (EIN).
Keep your personal and business finances separate so you can accurately track your profits and expenses. This can also make paying your taxes easier at the end of the year.
Each state, county and city has its own permit and licensing requirements. To get started, you’ll probably need a commercial license. Contact the Small Business Administration (SBA) for information about the laws in your area.
If your state allows cooking in your home kitchen, you may need an annual health exam from your local health department. You may also need a grocery store or food handler’s license.
Catering Contract Templates (& Samples) ᐅ Templatelab
And if you plan to sell alcohol as part of your catering services, you’ll need a spirits license to comply.
In short: know your permissions and licenses! A mistake here can lead to financial or even legal problems later on.
Want to learn more about the licenses and permits you may need? Read our guide to licenses and permits for hospitality businesses.
Even if you take the proper precautions, there are some risks whenever you cook for others. If someone gets sick from eating something you cooked, even if it’s not your fault, you can be held responsible. Liability insurance can protect you and your business if something unfortunate happens. A specialized insurance provider like a Food Liability Insurance Plan can be ideal for this type of business.
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You may also need to update your home insurance since you run your business from home. Contact your insurance company for more information.
Hoteliers can choose from many specialties, from regional cuisine to farm-to-table and plant-based restaurants. Choosing to specialize in your menu plan narrows your customer base, but it also makes it easier to stand out from the crowd and sell your product directly to your ideal customer. Because if I’m a client who wants to serve their guests a gluten-free vegan meal, I’ll probably hire a gluten-free vegetarian chef instead of a “gluten-free person”.
“The most important part of my trip was the knowledge I received from all the chefs. Everyone had a different perspective on things. It was a great experience.”* Kathy Gadison, Culinary Arts Graduate
To avoid having to reinvent the wheel on each occasion, you can offer customers a limited number of foods to choose from. You may also want to configure a “step”.
Meet Jerrell Aka Rell Young: Caterer
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Hi, I am Erick Norman. A blogger specialist in Kitchen Design.