STARTING A FOOD TRUCK SERIES

The Ugly Truth About Starting A Food Truck

Everybody thinks starting a food truck is such a great thing to do. You don’t know how many people have told me, “Hey Damion, I was just let go by my job and now I have my severance packages, I want to open up a food truck! Can I come and shadow you?”

Please, go take your money, put into something passive, like real estate! This is actually what I tell them.

maybe you know somebody that wants to open a food truck? Don’t encourage them just because they are great cooks. Being a food truck owner is more than being a great cook.

I tell everybody, “You can have the best food, in the worst location and Somebody else could have the worst food in the best location and he’ll make more money than you.”

It is just how food trucks are. It’s a lot of late nights, hoping to make $100 and apartments (because that’s all you are getting in the beginning) that don’t want to pay you but expect you to provide a service to their tenants.

I don’t want this to sound like a rant but I’d like to let everybody here know that it’s not an easy task. I’ve been in the business for 13 years now (owner/employee). It’s always been great, I’ve loved it the whole way and it’s opened so many opportunities for me. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the food truck.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel for the beginners, but you have to be honest with yourself.

1.) Do you have what it takes to sit for hours without having a customer?

2.) Do you have the hustle to market your business?

3.) Do you have the smarts to understand your business financially and operationally?

4.) Are you handy with repairs? A lot of people don’t think about repairing your truck and if you can do it yourself, it’ll save you a lot of money!

5.) Do you love the struggle?

if you have these, you might be okay!

I just want to close with, food truckin’ is great—you can make a lot of money and you can travel all around your city doing it! You meet some great people along the way, we have a tight community amongst our food truck friends. It’s a lot of work and you just have to be prepared to get down and dirty. You can make a lot of money if you do it right, which leads me to my next blog…. How to grow your food truck at a beginners stage… to start making money quickly!

Stay tuned! Please leave your comments below, if you liked the blog, hated it, or just want to put your opinions in. I’d be happy to hear you all out and comment back!

Damion
Owner
​True Dog Houston