Many people have turned their love of cooking and entertaining into a good way of making a living by starting catering businesses.
Catering is a multi-billion dollar industry in the US and as one of the fastest growing segments of the food and beverage industry, the catering business offers great opportunities for those who want to start a small business on a low cost. initial.
In this article, we will take a look at catering business profits, earnings and salaries and how much money is actually possible to earn in this industry. Then we’ll examine some of the things that separate really successful players from amateurs.
Is a $100,000 annual profit in catering possible?
Many people consider a salary or pre-tax earnings of $100,000 to be a benchmark for success and wonder if they can achieve this level of earnings in restoration.
Most struggling small catering business owners can expect to earn between $20,000 and $40,000 in profit per year for the owner for the first few years. After a couple of years in business, you can easily scale up to a ‘six figure’ annual income from catering.
Tips for getting to the ‘six figure’ level
1) Forget home kitchen catering if you want to reach this salary level. Business-savvy caterers do volumes that require them to rent commercial kitchen space by the hour, arrange access to restaurant kitchens outside of business hours, or focus only on ‘on-premises’ jobs and use the kitchens of your customers.
2) Successful gamers love to spend time creating menus, following food trends, and interacting with people without neglecting the business side of catering.
3) Start building a powerful brand from scratch with your logo, company values and a unique service that will become a valuable asset allowing you to command a premium price for your catering services in the market.
4) Develop systems for every part of your business to streamline daily operations. Analyze the way you and your staff work and strive to increase productivity.
5) Understand that there are “niche” markets within the restaurant industry that you would never think of until you actually start looking. Leading caterers find these untapped opportunities and build a business that meets the specific needs of these groups.
6) Perfect the process of consulting with new clients and learn how to politely sell them some of your most expensive offers.
7) Realize that you are leaving money on the table if you don’t sell additional event-related services to your clients.
8) Learn how to hire, train, and organize a small team to help you with food preparation, delivery, service, and even sales if you want to have a realistic shot at earning above $100,000.
9) Don’t neglect traditional advertising methods, but look into other modern marketing methods as well, such as networking, cross-promotions, and guerrilla marketing.
10) Successful caterers also recognize the importance of customer recommendations. Customers may introduce you to friends because they like your food and services, but there are also other ways to get them talking about your business.
To get started on the right track, read as much as you can about general small business management and the catering business specifically. Many highly successful caterers have published start-up guides and you have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes instead of making your own and benefit from their expert advice and insider tips.
It is possible to make a lot of money in the restaurant business if you put in the effort. Reaching an income level that allows you to earn a ‘six figure’ salary in your catering business is entirely possible within your first two years in business.
