running a food truck

7 Important Lessons You Can Learn from Running a Food Truck

Gone are the days of street vendors selling just tacos, hot dogs, and pretzels. Running a food truck is an exciting profession that offers a fast-paced environment that is constantly evolving (We even have our own at CIV!). Yet the food truck industry isn't without its own challenges. You can learn many important lessons from operating your own food truck, including:

1. Focusing on a singular point-of-view

The most successful food trucks highlight a narrow culinary point-of-view. Choosing a specific cuisine for your food truck allows you to specialize and create the innovative dishes your customers are searching for. For example, the Seattle Biscuit Company is known for its handmade southern biscuits and innovative menu creations featuring local Northwest flavors. They focus on biscuits as their point-of-view and are able to perfect their recipes without worrying about other cuisines. 

2. Getting personal 

Many food trucks' successes are thanks to a close, personal connection with their customers. It is important to create a menu that meets these customers' needs and keeps them coming back. Take the time to talk to individual customers, learn what they like most, and make strategic additions to your menu and locations to meet their preferences. Asking questions such as, "We're looking for new locations for the food truck. What areas are most convenient for you?" or "What is one menu item you wish we offered?" will give you a good idea of what customers want and need. 

3. Evolving and adapting 

The beauty of the food truck industry is that you have the freedom to evolve and adapt to an ever-changing landscape. Remaining flexible with your business plan is important to all industries, not just running a food truck. Positioning yourself to take risks while evolving to adapt allows you to grow while staying true to your core business principles. Consider a city such as Austin, Texas with a thriving food truck industry. Many trucks have discovered that staking out new locations for daily service allows them to stand alone from other food trucks that remain in the heart of the city. This evolution of location selection allows specific trucks to be seen away from their competition. 

4. Setting limits 

There will always be more opportunities for your food truck than you can reasonably commit to. Consider each opportunity or invitation on its own merit before saying yes. Just because you may be invited to local food truck events doesn't mean you always have to participate. 

5. Innovating your marketing 

Many food trucks have discovered innovative ways of marketing including social media. Roy Choi, a Los Angeles food truck pioneer, was one of the first chefs and truck owners to use social media to market his business. Now, most food trucks announce their locations and menus on a Twitter feed but there are many other ways to innovate. Perhaps you could broadcast a live Periscope session where customers can view you at work or you could also encourage customers to post their meals to Instagram with a specific hashtag related directly to your food truck.  

6. Learning from your competition 

Competition isn't necessarily bad. You can view the other food trucks in your town as a valuable learning opportunity. Take the time to study their operations, menus, marketing strategies, and interactions with customers. You can learn a lot from both their successes and failures. This analysis should also extend to your own food truck operations. What are other food trucks doing that you could adopt as new practices? What are some things you are currently doing that have failed in other food trucks? Being observant about your competition can certainly help grow your business. 

7. Enjoying your freedom  

One of the greatest benefits of running a food truck compared to a brick and mortar restaurant is the freedom it offers. This freedom includes the ability to adapt your menu, change locations, or better cater to your customers' needs. Taking the approach of exploring every opportunity will allow you to enjoy your freedom and maximize your potential. 

Get Started Here! Cruise into Culinary School

Are you interested in learning more about the fast-paced world of running a food truck or a future in food service management? Contact EPCI University today to learn more about our Bachelor of Science degree in Food Service Management. It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!

Learn more about ECPI's College of Culinary Arts TODAY!

DISCLAIMER – ECPI University makes no claim, warranty or guarantee as to actual employability or earning potential to current, past or future students or graduates of any educational program we offer. The ECPI University website is published for informational purposes only. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information contained on the ECPI.edu domain; however, no warranty of accuracy is made. No contractual rights, either expressed or implied, are created by its content.

For more information about ECPI University or any of our programs click here: http://www.ecpi.edu/ or http://ow.ly/Ca1ya.