Who works in the catering business?

Answer 1

Make sure you have all of your licenses required by your city/state, know what you want to prepare and contact the health department about your new business (better to be prepared than surprised), purchase all of the necessary equipment, create a contract (I suggest you charge 3x the food costs), and you may want to consider culinary school if you aren't already an amazing cook.

Try these sites for more info:
- Entrepreneur
http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/marketingbasics/marketingplan/article43018.html
- Global Gourmet
http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg1296/eggtrick.html
- Mission Restaurant Supply
http://www.missionrs.com/catering-supplies.html
- Business Licenses
http://www.businesslicenses.com/

Answer 2

1. Check your city/state regulations about health codes, licenses, certifications, etc.

- http://www.business.gov/

2. Decide on a budget: how much you want to spend on supplies, if you are going to have a separate vehicle, if you are going to hire someone to help you, etc.

- http://www.mint.com/

3. Buy catering supplies that fit your needs. If you don't know what kind of supplies you'll need check here:

- http://www.missionrs.com/

4. Market yourself. This is the most helpful tip I can give you. Getting business cards, setting up a website, attending bridal shows and trade shows, and getting involved in the website linkedin.com are MUSTS.

- www.vistaprint.com/

- www.linkedin.com/

Lauren

Answer 3

the key is probably offering good quality service and making them seem like they are in control. offer many many food choices and give them the choice of customizing different things also make sure you have a professional and family feel to it

Answer 4

One of your favorite pastimes is cooking food for friends and family. Everyone always raves about how well you prepare food every time you cook. You may even have experience as a chef at a major restaurant in your area. Why not turn this passion for food into a successful personal catering business that you can own for yourself? One of the big advantages of having your own catering service is that you can dictate when you work and their are always thousands of jobs available to professional caterers at any one particular time.

The first aspect of the catering business that you want to establish for yourself is what type of catering you would like to do. Some people like to be in charge of the full-service aspect of catering while others are simply happy with a corporate style of serving food. Whatever your choice is, you want to make sure that you have the proper resources made available in order to satisfy the demands of the customer.

You will also want to look into the type of supplies that will be necessary to get your catering business off the ground. From food to silverware to cooking utensils, all of these items need to be acquired before you can begin to prepare the food. Quality is the key in this area, as you will probably be using these tools over and over again while running your own catering business.

Setting your prices and figuring out how to give estimates to interested parties can be one of the most difficult aspects of specializing in catering. You don’t want to price yourself out of the market, but you also want to be able to get a fair amount of work to keep your company solvent enough to do business in the future. Good estimate skills will develop over time, and concentrating on developing prices that will cover your expenses and leave you with some profit is an important element of this business.

Once you actually get yourself a paying job, you want to make sure that the food is served exactly as was requested so there are no problems during the event. Transporting food back and forth can seem like an arduous task at first, but it becomes easier once you get the feel for how the entire process works. Starting your own catering business can be a fun, enjoyable, and profitable experience as long as you are well-prepared and open to suggestions from your customers.