Starting your own catering business
Skilled in the kitchen? Know your way around running a business? Love creating interesting platters and throwing extravagant dinner parties? Have you ever thought about starting your own catering business?Think about it. You get to be your own boss and run the show. Your hours are flexible and you spend the majority of your time designing your own dishes and cooking up a storm. Plus, it’s not even close to as expensive as starting your own restaurant.
Of course, starting your own business isn’t easy, but we’ve got some great tips on how to get started.
Find the right location
Big cities may seem like the perfect place to start a catering company, but there aren’t as many opportunities for someone who’s just starting out. You’ll have way too much competition in places like Cape Town or Johannesburg. Rather try small towns on the fringes of big cities, like Stellenbosch. In a small community it’s easier to get your name out there and people are more willing to try something new.
Get your name out there
It starts with friends, moves to acquaintances and then eventually people you’ve never met will have heard your name. It’ll take a lot of effort and quite some time, but it’s worth it. Invite friends over for a testing session and encourage them to bring a guest. Yes, it will cost you, but hand out business cards and make it worth your while. Never underestimate the power of word of mouth.
Decide on your menu
Do you want to specialise in gourmet platters? Or would you rather cook a four course meal? You can’t do everything, no matter how much you want to. It takes a long time to perfect a dish and you don’t want to offer something you haven’t perfected yet. As your business grows you can extend your menu. But when you start out stick to what you know.
Hire a regular staff
It doesn’t matter how skilled and competent you are, you can’t do everything yourself. Obviously you won’t be able to hire a full staff in the very beginning. But when you do start hiring remember that you want to have a regular staff. Besides it being easier to pay them with a debit order, you can rely on them for last minute bookings and you know they’ll always show up.
Network
Networking is really important for someone starting their own business. The most important people you need to associate yourself with are event planners. Whether they’re planning weddings or high-end corporate events, they’ll always need a good (and reliable) catering company. Make sure that every event planner you meet has your name and number.
Starting your own catering business won’t be easy, but at the end of the day you’ll be glad you finally did it. Keep this advice in mind and you’ll find that your hard work will pay off and your business will be booming.