Food Business & Food Trucks
A specialized practice for mobile and small-format food businesses.
Food Truck Coaching covers trucks, trailers, carryout concepts, small restaurants and mobile food businesses, from the concept through to the operation that has to run every day.
The truck is the visible cost. It is rarely the deciding one.
Mobile food businesses fail on the costs around the truck far more often than on the truck itself: commissary access, permits, insurance, event and lot fees, packaging, fuel, and the working capital to trade through the months while a schedule fills up.
This practice covers the whole picture, including the parts that are unglamorous and decide whether the business survives its first year.
What We Help With
Concept to operation, and the exit if it comes.
Engagements pick up wherever the business currently is. Some start before a truck is bought. Others start when one is already losing money.
Concept development
What the business actually sells, to whom, and why it is worth queueing for.
- Concept and positioning
- Menu development
- Pricing and ticket size
Truck sourcing
Finding the right vehicle for the menu, the market and the budget.
- New and used sourcing
- Inspection and condition
- County compliance fit
Purchasing and sales
Buying well, and selling well when it is time to move on.
- Purchase support
- Valuation and resale
- Transition planning
Truck builds
Layout designed around the menu, because seconds per ticket are the margin.
- Build specification
- Workflow layout
- Build management
Equipment
What to buy new, what to buy used, and what to finance.
- Equipment selection
- Equipment financing
- Maintenance planning
Startup planning
Permits, commissary, insurance and the order they need to happen in.
- Permits and plan review
- Commissary and storage
- Insurance and compliance
Marketing
Filling the schedule, and filling the line once you are parked.
- Events and lot strategy
- Social and local presence
- Repeat and catering work
Operations and admin
The daily running of a kitchen on wheels, and the paperwork behind it.
- Prep and service flow
- Staffing and scheduling
- Records and admin
Financial planning
Modelling a realistic week rather than the best Saturday of the year.
- Food and labour cost
- Break-even by service
- Cash flow through season
Formats
Who this practice is for.
- Food trucks
- Food trailers
- Carryout concepts
- Small restaurants
- Mobile food businesses
- Operators buying or selling a unit
Financing
Trucks, trailers and equipment can often be financed.
Where a purchase needs funding, Strategic FIRM Finance can advise on equipment and vehicle financing options and introduce you to third-party lenders. Strategic FIRM Inc. is not a lender, and no financing outcome is guaranteed.
See the full Food Truck Coaching practice.
Food Truck Coaching has its own site, with the full service structure and how to start.