How To Legally Start A Home-Based Mobile Catering Business

There are several key steps to legally open a home-based mobile catering business. Every year, U.S. catering businesses earn over $11 Billion in revenue. Solo-entrepreneurs in this field can expect to earn anywhere from $30,000 to $80,000 annually. That being said, it is a great opportunity for those with an aptitude for fine dining, gourmet cooking, and guest entertainment. As a cuisine-savvy entrepreneur yourself, you need to know the most essential ingredients for a successful catering company. Nowadays, you can likely register and establish a business legally – without ever leaving home. Then, you can start serving clients on a mobile-basis, using home as your organization headquarters. To get started now, read on to learn how to legally start a home-based mobile catering business.

Know Your Local Laws

Before starting a company, you need to know the local laws for starting a home-based catering business. Many cities, counties, municipalities, or entire states have specific regulations for operating food businesses from home. These rules specify kitchen size, ventilation, and cleaning materials. If your kitchen doesn’t meet these standards, you’ll either need to upgrade your space or explore commercial rental options. For commercial kitchens, there is a lot of factors to look for in small business spaces for rent. If you are trying to bootstrap costs in the beginning, you can share space with a local restaurant, community center, or church.

Get Licensed And Permitted

Next, get your legal home-based catering business licensed, registered, permitted, and approved. Most states require all food service establishments to receive a permit from local health authorities. This is commonly a county health official or community officer. If you plan on serving liquor, you may need to contact the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. These officials will require you to pay a premium for every alcohol-serving event within the jurisdiction. Indeed, get your home-based company licensed and permitted when starting a catering business legally.

Pick The Right Food

Now, you are ready to pick the food your home-based catering business will serve. Think of this as your actual brand. Ultimately, you need to pick something that you’re passionate about preparing. Plus, it needs to be something a wide range of guests will enjoy as well. So, it may help to consider your business target audience during this stage. Once you have this part down, think about costs. Ingredients and labor can heavily influence your food business decision. Generally speaking, fruits and vegetables are more affordable than seafood and meat. Ideally, your food should be affordable to create, reasonably quick to prepare, and easy to market to a wide audience.

Create A Menu

At this point, it is time to create the first menu for your home-based catering business. When creating your menu, you should already have an idea of how much kitchen space and what appliances you need to operate. With these core elements down, you can start brainstorming different menu ideas to suit a variety of tastes. When starting off, try to specialize in one specific type of cuisine. Many caterers offer spicy food, international dishes, or American classics. To improve your marketability, try and incorporating some dietary specific as well. Many clients request vegan, gluten free, or allergen-specific dishes when hiring caterers.

Recruit, Hire, And Uniform Your Staff

It is hard to run a home-based catering business as a one-man-show. You’ll need employees to help cook, prepare, transport, and serve all your food. Many startup catering companies hire staff members one-by-one, as needed. This way, you can grow your business organically, and avoid taking on overwhelming costs. Most of the time, you’ll be able to find staff members through word-of-mouth marketing and connections in your personal network. Or, you can always publish listing on specialized foodservice job boards. Once you start adding members to your team, you’ll need to outfit them. Most catering companies opt for professional uniforms with embroidered logos. Plus, you may need to get some aprons, branded cookware, hats or hairnets too.

There are several key steps to legally start a home-based mobile catering business. First and foremost, know all the local regulations, restrictions, and rules in your area. Next, get your new company licensed, permitted, and approved. Additionally, you need to pick the right food for your business to serve. Once you’ve done so, get to work on your first menu. Now, you are ready to hire staff and purchase workwear uniforms. Follow the points highlighted above to learn how to legally start a home-based mobile catering business.