When you start any type of business, you're bound to make a few mistakes along the way. But the important thing is that you learn from these mistakes. In today's blog post, we share some of the top five mistakes first time food truck owners make so you can avoid them. Some of these mistakes end up costing people their business because they aren't able to course correct in time. Others never recognize they are making these errors at all and ultimately fail. Don't let this happen to you! Saving Money on Branding Built by M&R Specialty Trailers and [...]

A solid catering business can be an amazing extra revenue stream for any mobile food business., or even the primary source of income for many concessionaires. But before you bake catering services into your business plan, let’s consider a few of the pros and cons. BBQ Trailer built by M&R Specialty Trailers and Trucks. Pros: Booking a catered event for your food truck or trailer removes a lot of the doubt and anxiety that can surround the food truck business. After all, with a scheduled, catered event, you’re not roaming the streets, looking for a place to park [...]

Can you install an air conditioner into the kitchen of a food truck? This is a frequently asked question we receive from prospective clients contacting our manufacturing center. The short answer is yes! You can get an air conditioner installed into a mobile kitchen. In fact, this is an extremely common feature in our builds. Let's face it. It gets hot in the summer even if you operate in a Northern state. When you combine summer heat inside a food truck kitchen while running a hot oven or deep fryers, the temperature can quick climb over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This [...]

Operating a food truck business can be complex, but sometimes we as owners / operators make things more complicated than they need to be. One simple way I've found to make things easier to operate is by cutting back on the number of suppliers I work with. If you can narrow the number of suppliers you use, you can drastically simplify your life (not to mention your bookkeeping). For example, at one point, we had a sandwich menu that used six different types of bread.  The rye and the sourdough were easy; they came from a commercial bakery and could be [...]

Stories are introduced to us almost immediately when we are born. These parables help us to learn important lessons, remember things easier and entertainment us. Even the simplest and best children's stories have the power to be passed along and retold for generations. Even though this form of communication is natural and effective, most of us don't think about sharing our story in our businesses, especially in the food truck industry. But it's essential that we do. By taking some time to reflect on our personal journey starting a business, we can use those experiences to help connect on a [...]

Feeling stressed? We get it. As a food truck owner you're being pulled in 101 different directions at once. You're probably wearing a couple dozen hats in the business as well. From CEO to chef, customer service to strategic marketing director and driver. You can do it all! But after awhile this type of ongoing responsibility will weigh on anyone. If you're feeling the pressure of being a small business owner, you're not alone. Running any self-funded business is extremely stressful, especially in the critical first year of the business when you don't have everything figured out yet and are [...]

Growing in popularity across the country, but especially in the South, are food truck parks. In the city of Austin alone there are more than seven food trucks parks you can dine at. Food truck parks are locations that a group of food trucks gather together to operate in one spot. Often there are permanent spots for diners to come and sit down on park benches and tables. These locations also have regular hours of operation much like a restaurant so customers know exactly when and where their favorite spots are serving. One good comparison is that these places are [...]

While the web has replaced the need of business cards for sharing basic information like telephone numbers, email addresses, and menus there are still situations where this form of marketing can benefit BBQ catering businesses. Places like vendor fairs, networking events, or even when you're out serving the public can provide an opportunity to distribute cards to connect with folks interested in future catering events. Not only can these cards help prospective customers remember your brand, they still add a level of professionalism when executed right. There's been a lot of disruption in the business card industry making it easier [...]