Richard Myrick

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-25-2022

Running a successful food truck is tougher than it may appear. You must plan and prepare everything that a fine dining establishment does (except the china and linen napkins), such as concept development, menu planning, and hiring and keeping a great staff, but then you have to take your kitchen on the road and provide your customers with out-of-this-world food and service. You need to have special traits to run a successful food truck operation, promote your business, and communicate with your customers, especially via social media.

Article / Updated 11-14-2019

Opening a food truck isn’t like the movie Field of Dreams. The mobile food industry is just like any other fledgling industry — it has many success stories, but it also has many stories of failure. If you build it, they may come, or they may just say they’ll come. Or they may show up once and never come back. Having unrealistic expectations before you make up your mind to open a food truck can give you a false sense of security during the decision-making process. Running a food truck is easy To run a food truck, you need to be on the streets six or seven days a week serving lunch and dinner, not to mention the need to be present at any food truck event that pops up. Owning a food truck means working a majority of your waking hours, especially at the start of your business. Running a food truck involves extremely long hours, no matter how good your staff is. The success of your mobile business relates directly to the amount of time and effort you put into running it. You'll get rich running a food truck Because the mobile food industry is seeing huge popularity and expansion, some people think that opening a food truck has become the next get-rich-quick business model. Yes, food trucks can earn a lot of money. However, most of them typically spend almost all they make. Unfortunately, your fixed costs don’t change, and your bills come due every month. Your staff still needs to be paid, too. You must load your truck up with food for every shift, so you must pay for your ingredients, fuel, and insurance. Unless you already own your commercial kitchen, you’re going to owe rent to your kitchen landlord. You can earn a decent living as a food truck owner only if you intend to work in the truck. Many people think they’ll open a food truck and draw a paycheck without actually cooking, managing, or working at the service window. If you love to cook, you should open a food truck Sure, your friends and family keep telling you that you should open a food truck because you’re such a great cook. They’re happy to get a free meal when they visit your house, but are paying customers going to react the same way if their steak sandwiches are overcooked? Instead of jumping blindly into a large investment of your time and money, try catering a few small parties for individuals who aren’t your friends or family. Getting honest opinions of individuals who are paying for your services will tell you very quickly whether you should convert your hobby into your career. Because you've worked in a food truck, you're ready to run the show Working in a restaurant or another food truck before owning one gives you a definite advantage over someone starting a truck who has never worked in the mobile food industry. Having previous professional culinary experience, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re cut out for life as a food truck owner. Owning a food truck is more than a full-time job. It doesn’t go away when you park the truck. You're going to become a celebrity chef Everyone dreams of fame and success, and people in food service industries are no different. Why wouldn’t you think that if you open a food truck you can become the next Jamie Oliver, Anthony Bourdain, or Bobby Flay? Well, there are tens of thousands of chefs and cooks around the world, and literally thousands of talented and highly trained food truck owners and restaurant executive chefs who are completely unknown outside of their local areas. Food trucks compete unfairly with restaurants One of the most common complaints by disgruntled restaurant owners is that food truck operators’ relatively low costs give them an unfair advantage. Before the recent uptick in mobile food vendors across the United States, this occurrence in the restaurant industry was always referred to as a competitive advantage. The current emphasis on value in the market strongly favors the food truck model, and the value of their gourmet fare is what has attracted many consumers to the new generation of food trucks. However, the bottom line is that if food trucks don’t serve quality products, their followers will stop showing up, the same way they stop frequenting restaurants that serve inferior products. Food trucks don't pay rent Food trucks may not have lease payments as high as those of restaurants, but food trucks still have to pay for licenses, permits, food, and staff. In many communities, food trucks also are legally required to pay rent for storage space and the commercial kitchen where they do most of the prep work. The costs can add up! Food trucks go only to trendy areas Of course food trucks go to trendy areas; food trucks thrive in areas with high foot traffic. Why should food trucks be held down to a foundation or lease when they can simply start up their truck and drive to another area where consumers spend their time? Food trucks do have loyal followers; the difference lies in their devotion and, as shown to date, food truck followers will follow their food wherever it goes. So if a food truck has a dedicated following, it can go anywhere and operate, thus creating new trendy areas. Food trucks create more traffic and pollution than restaurants do Unhappy restaurant owners who want limiting regulations placed on food truck owners started the myth that food trucks must create additional traffic and pollution to the areas in which they operate based on the fact that food trucks are trucks. Because food trucks spend the majority of their operating time parked in a lot or on the street selling their fare, the point of creating more traffic seems moot. Another way to look at this argument is from the standpoint that food trucks use social media to inform customers of their location from day to day. Much of their sales come from people already in the area. The longer the food truck industry is popular, the more likely it is that technology will help it to become greener, too. For example, many trucks around the United States already run their vehicles off the vegetable oil they produce so as to cut down on oil costs for fuel and the emissions their trucks create. The health department doesn't inspect food trucks The idea that food trucks are mobile and thus unable to be tracked by health departments is completely incorrect. Food trucks follow the same regulations and are required to submit to the same types of inspections as restaurants. The grades they receive from health inspectors must be placed in spaces that can be seen by the general public or the truck risks being shut down. In addition to standard health inspections of the truck, food truck owners must also be concerned about the inspections that their commercial kitchens receive. If a truck’s kitchen receives a failing grade, the truck must either shut down until all the citations are cleared or move to a commercial kitchen that has passed its health department inspection.

Article / Updated 12-12-2016

Email marketing is great from a customer retention standpoint, not only because it enables you to include promotional information for your food truck, but also because it helps you develop a more intimate relationship with your customers. Email is personal. When a customer gives you access to his inbox, it’s a sign that the customer trusts you and your brand and wants to further the relationship You can use your email list to update customers on what you’re up to, share personal business stories, and include information about promotions and special events you plan to attend or host to bring people back to your service window. So how do you build an email list? After a customer has finished ordering her meal and is waiting for it, have your staff ask her to provide an email address (or business card) for future correspondence. You can add this information to a paper list that you keep near the cash register and then enter into a computer later, or you can use a point-of-sale (POS) system that allows for this type of data to be manually entered at the time of purchase. There are many Internet email marketing sites you can use to monitor your email lists online. A few options are A weber, Constant Contact, and Mail Chimp. Explain that your food truck occasionally offers specials and free meals to its most valued customers and that you’d like to include the customer’s email on the list. Most likely, customers will provide their email addresses, which allows you to create a database of information (including email, name, and zip code) about your customers. You can ask for more information, but many customers are leery of providing too much personal information at the point of purchase. If you want to gather this information at a later date, you can request it during an email marketing campaign. Use this database to distribute special offers to previous customers and drive business to your service window on slow days. For example, if your food truck constantly sells out quickly on the weekends but typically sees little business on Tuesday nights, send out an email on Tuesday morning to invite customers to redeem a gift certificate for a free side dish. Explain that the offer is valid only for that Tuesday evening, and encourage your customers to stop by and redeem the gift. Suddenly, your line will fill up with customers who may have otherwise had dinner at home that Tuesday night. By reaching out to your customers with a few simple emails and giving them a reason to visit you again, you can turn a slow night into a busy one. The goal of this strategy is to keep your business clearly positioned in the forefront of your customers’ minds. Your customers likely won’t think of your business unless prompted by an email, advertisement, or special occasion. In fact, they may always think of your truck as their Friday lunch stop unless you give them a reason to track you down on Tuesday night as well. Make it your goal to casually remind them of the fun they had the last time they visited your truck, and invite them to repeat the experience with a special offer. By doing so, you’re encouraging repeat business by reaching out to customers who you know already enjoy your services. It sets them apart and lets them see how much you value their loyalty.

Article / Updated 12-12-2016

Expectations are the nonverbal agreements you establish with your food truck customers about the food and service you and your staff provide them. These may be things such as the quantity or quality of your food, but they may also include the timing involved in getting an order completed or even the plating and appearance of their meal as you serve it. These expectations are the basis on which your customers evaluate your food truck and measure their satisfaction with it. The more you meet — and even exceed — your customers’ expectations, the more likely those folks are to become loyal followers of your food truck. Setting expectations for your food truck Meeting customer expectations is essential for creating repeat customers; if you don’t, your customers will seek out an alternative to your truck, no matter how good your food tastes. The process of setting customer expectations requires careful attention to the beginning of the initial customer experience. Your job is to describe what you provide, how you prepare it, and what the customer should expect. If you don’t make this clear from the start, customers may define their own expectations, which may or may not match the expectations you want them to have. You can start this process as soon as your service staff greets each new customer. Ask each customer whether she’s been to the truck in the past. If she hasn’t, explain the style of cuisine, the ingredients, or each menu item and any special cooking techniques used, such as how long your beef brisket is marinated before it ever gets on the truck. If a customer is a regular but you have a new menu item, you can provide her with this same type of information and even compare it to other food she’s already had. If you’ve modified your operations, such as preparing a dish in a new way or a new chef trying a new cooking technique, share this information with your customer so you’re able to set her expectations from those she may already have. Going beyond your customers’ expectations After you set your customers’ expectations, set a goal for your staff to exceed them. Exceeding expectations simply means delivering your food on time and as advertised while at the same time providing your customers with excellent service. This formula leads to long-lasting relationships with the individuals who frequent your food truck. You can exceed expectations with simple things, such as giving a first-time customer a sample of a couple of your menu items to help her determine which one she wants to order. Or if a customer orders multiple items off your menu, throw in a free side item or drink. You don’t necessarily need to give anything away for free; just add more value or over deliver to each customer. You can do so by something as simple as a smile on a rainy day or a hand-written “thank you” on each receipt. You’ll find that using these tactics is a great way to create buzz around your business and to get your customers referring others to your truck. Consider two food trucks with comparable menus, meals, and prices: One delivers its services strictly to expectations. The service is good but somewhat impersonal. Customers get what they pay for — no more, no less. The second food truck owner has set a different standard for his employees. Returning customers are greeted by name when they step up to the service window. The individual taking the order remembers the menu item the customer ordered and enjoyed on her last visit and suggests another menu item that he feels the customer may like as well. The chef even comes to the service window before the customer leaves to make sure everything is prepared to her satisfaction. At the first truck, the customers’ expectations were met. At the second, the customers’ expectations were exceeded because of the way they were treated. It didn’t cost any more to provide this extra service, but it did require a customer-focused business owner and staff.

Article / Updated 12-12-2016

If you haven’t created a food truck Instagram account yet, you may want to consider heading out to do that. An Instagram presence could just be the ticket to garnering new business for your food truck. All you will need is a username that ties into your food truck brand (hopefully it matches your Facebook and Twitter user names), and a few photos to get started. One of the things food truck vendors need to understand is that more and more consumers are paying attention to social media while they are outside their homes and offices, so nothing will grab their attention and draw them to your service window than some perfectly timed photos of your business and the food you offer. Today’s social media society thrives on exclusivity. Not only do customers want what everyone else has, but they want it before everyone else. Followers yearn for VIP treatment and first class service in whatever form they can get it. Those on Instagram are no different. One of the best ways to provide exclusivity to your Instagram followers is posting a special code in the form of a photo and letting your followers share it at your service window to get a discount. Giving them, and only them (don’t post it on any other social media platforms), this special attention is what will keep them coming back. Just make sure that posting these types of deals doesn’t become an everyday occurrence. Not only is it showing appreciation to your food truck Instagram account followers, but the lines at your food truck should also see a spike in traffic. Instagram hasn’t always been about marketing and advertising for brands. In fact, most people view Instagram as a private place to share photos of themselves, their friends, and family. So make sure your food truck Instagram account isn’t strictly setup to sell. Keep in mind that most people following your truck are going to want an insider’s view on what’s really going on behind the scenes.

Article / Updated 12-12-2016

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a technical term for techniques used to make it easier for search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing to find your food truck’s website. These search engines are the primary means by which many of your potential customers will find out about your food truck. By increasing your search engine ranking, you raise your site’s popularity and influence. And the greater the number of people who visit your site, the more often (and even higher-ranked) your website will appear in search results and the more likely you’ll be to outrank the millions of other websites out there (including your competition). Although an entire profession is dedicated to assisting website owners in accomplishing this task, here are some basics to help you maximize your website’s visibility on the World Wide Web. Try the following steps to improve your site’s search rankings, and watch your site jump ahead of your competition: Develop a list of relevant keywords that relate to your food truck business. Think about these words and phrases in terms that someone may use to search for a restaurant or food truck serving a particular style of food. Do you plan to have a rolling hamburger joint? Then start your list with terms related to hamburgers and food trucks. Create a list of keywords related to your location. Does the city you plan to work in have a nickname? Add the proper city name, its abbreviations, and its nicknames. After you create your lists, determine which keywords are primary terms and which ones are secondary. A primary keyword is the main keyword you want your website to rank for and should be placed in your header, footer, and primary titles used on the site. A secondary keyword is placed in your content or is used to support your primary keywords. For example, in the phrase Middle Eastern Food Truck Business in Los Angeles, the primary keywords are Middle Eastern food truck, and the secondary keywords are business in Los Angeles. Use these lists to place keywords throughout the text of your website. Proper keyword placement maximizes your SEO efforts. Placing your selected words and phrases within your website’s content enables the search engines to establish your relevancy to them, which results in a higher ranking for you. Within your content, use your primary keywords in titles and sprinkle secondary keywords throughout the body of the content. The best placement within the content is in the opening and closing paragraphs. Using keywords in the opening paragraph helps you immediately establish relevance, and closing out your content with keywords serves as a reminder of the terms’ relevance. The more information you circulate through your site to the Internet, the greater your exposure will be. Search engines love fresh, new content and seek it out. If you have lots of relevant content online, you’ll attract many more search engine visitors. There’s no greater way to provide fresh, updated content on a regular basis than to have a blog on your site. Because blogs are updated on a regular basis, they’re able to attract a lot more search engine attention. Sound complicated? No worries! Check out the latest edition of Search Engine Optimization For Dummies by Peter Kent (published by John Wiley & Sons) to get an even better understanding of SEO and how you can maximize its use on your food truck website.

Article / Updated 12-12-2016

One of the best ways to promote your mobile business is to issue press releases to your local media. You can distribute most of your press releases by email or through online distribution services, such as PRweb or PR Newswire, to editors at newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and television stations. Using distribution services may lead to your news getting syndicated by all your local or regional media outlets. If you plan to regularly send out press releases, you must be aware of the standard format that these media sources use and accept. Include the following elements in every release you write: Title or headline: Use headlines (like those you see in newspapers and magazines) to attract the reader’s attention. The headline is the first single line of text in the press release and tells what the press release is about, so it should be descriptive but not too long (try to limit your headline to 100 characters). Capitalize the first letter of each word and lowercase the rest. A striking headline must communicate your subject matter instantly and convey why the content is new and interesting. It must grab the reader’s attention by creating curiosity while specifically defining the information provided in the rest of your press release. Date and place: Note the release date and the originating city of the press release. Introduction: Highlight the importance of the news in this paragraph, which usually contains three or four lines. The introduction generally answers who, what, when, where, and why. Body: Provide further explanation, statistics, background, or other details relevant to the news in the subsequent paragraphs, which comprise the body, or bulk, of the release. The body is a good place to share some personal quotes. Boilerplate: Include a short, standard “About” section that provides background on you or your company. You can use your Twitter bio as a template and simply expand on it. But don’t make it too long; this section should be only one or two paragraphs. Contact information: Don’t forget to give your name, phone number, email address, mailing address, or other contact information (such as your website URL or Twitter account) so editors can track you down. Ending: Insert a line with the characters “###” centered on it to indicate the end of the press release. Check out the sample press release , which provides a story with quotes that journalists can use as the background of a longer story. Here are a few handy guidelines for writing a press release: Write the news for journalists and media, not as articles or stories; if you do, a good chance exists that they’ll be rejected by the media. Unless you’re submitting your press release to be reprinted word for word, many journalists use the data and quotes from the press release to add to a story that they write themselves. Keep it short (five paragraphs at most in the body of your press release). If you write more than that, you risk losing the interest of the reader and you risk the press release being too long to reprint by some publishers. DON’T WRITE PRESS RELEASES IN UPPERCASE. Copy editors won’t use a press release in this format and won’t rewrite the press release to eliminate your all-caps text. This is just a general set of guidelines for press releases; for more detailed information, pick up a copy of the latest edition of Public Relations For Dummies, by Eric Yaverbaum, Ilise Benun, and Richard Kirshenbaum (published by John Wiley & Sons).

Article / Updated 12-12-2016

Too many food truck owners center all their attention on their food instead of their entire business. Your food is important, of course, but your truck is the platform for getting your food to your customers. If it isn’t properly maintained, you may find yourself in a situation where you waste money not only by throwing away the food you’ve already prepared for the day but also by sinking in a lot of money to get your truck back on the road. You need to incorporate regular preventative maintenance into your recurring scheduled to-do list for your food truck. This maintenance not only helps to provide your truck with a longer lifespan but also keeps your business out of the shop when you’re not planning on it. Unexpected trips to the mechanic can mean lost days of business as well as a lot of extra expenses for problems that could easily have been avoided by having regular checkups performed. Regular maintenance can be difficult to afford at times, but it’s priceless when it comes to maintaining the good health of your vehicle. Regular checks and replacements of the following items will help lengthen the life of your vehicle: Air filter Antifreeze Brake fluid Brake pads Engine oil Fuel filter Oil filter Power steering fluid Tires Transmission fluid Wiper blades The condition and amount of each of these items will depend on the make, model, and age of your truck, so verify how often they need replacement from your vehicle’s service manual or a local dealer. Finding a mechanic When it comes to finding a reliable automotive repair service shop or mechanic, you have various options in your local area. Choosing the right one for you depends on the type of vehicle you select for the base of your business as well as the proximity of the repair shop to your location. Looking for an auto repair shop when you begin the process of purchasing a food truck is always advisable. Many mechanics can help you inspect the vehicles prior to their purchase. They know what problems should be avoided and what to look for to prevent you from buying a lemon. Here are some tips to find a reliable automotive repair service for your food truck: Ask local food truck owners for their opinions. This strategy is one of the best and most reliable options for finding an auto repair business. Many other food truck owners have already experienced the good and bad mechanics in your area, so why not hear what they have to say? You may be able to find a quality service in a very short time by using this tip. Expect the shop to have qualified professionals to perform any repairs or maintenance work. Using an auto repair shop with a National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification ensures that the shop and its mechanics have undergone thorough training. Find out whether the shop has technicians with certification from vehicle manufacturers. Mercedes, Ford, Nissan, and GM are examples of manufacturers that offer technician certification. This certification indicates how serious the technicians are about their job and the service they provide. It also means that the technicians are up-to-date on the latest automotive technology. Keep in mind that bigger isn’t always better. A backyard mechanic can provide service that’s as good as — if not better than — the service of a full-sized service shop. Ask for references. This advice applies to all potential repair shops, regardless of whether they’re big or small. Look for state-of-the-art equipment in the repair shop. Without a well-equipped shop, complete in-house repair can’t be guaranteed. Having to allow the shop to farm out work to another mechanic who does have the proper equipment can cost you more. After you find a mechanic you like, show your appreciation by dropping off some leftovers or a goodie bag filled with your truck’s delicious food once a month. Doing so will pay you dividends when you need them. Knowing what to do in the event of a breakdown From time to time any vehicle may need to pull over due to engine or tire problems. Here are some important tasks to perform in case you have issues while driving your truck: At the first sign of truck troubles, gently take your foot off the accelerator. Don’t brake hard or suddenly. Carefully work your vehicle toward the shoulder, preferably the one on the right side of the road. If you’re on an interstate, make your best attempt to reach an exit. Use your turn signal to inform drivers behind you of your intentions. If changing lanes is necessary, watch your mirrors to monitor the traffic around you closely. After getting off the road, make your truck more visible than it already is. Put reflectorized triangles or flares behind your vehicle to alert other drivers; use your emergency flashers. If it’s dark, turn on the interior lights in the cab and kitchen. When you have a flat tire, be certain that you can change it safely without being close to traffic. If that’s possible, change the tire as you normally would. To help prevent being stranded with a flat tire, check that you have a properly inflated spare tire onboard before you hit the road. When your truck’s issue is beyond your ability to make repairs, get professional help. Wait inside the vehicle with the doors locked, and use your cellphone to call for help (make sure you keep the numbers of your mechanic and a towing company written down and stored in your phone). If someone stops and offers to help, open the window slightly and ask him to call the police.

Article / Updated 12-12-2016

One of your regular expenses as a food truck owner derives from the fact that your kitchen has wheels, and you must bring your food to your customers. Your food truck needs fuel to complete this task. Most food truck operators spend between $250 and $500 a month to fuel up their trucks. With fuel prices in flux throughout the year, determining how much to set aside can be difficult, but unless your truck has a permanent location right next to your commercial kitchen, it’s a sum that must be accounted for. Most of the trucks on the road today haven’t switched over to electric or biodiesel-driven engines and are still running on standard petroleum products. For those in that majority, attempting to cut fuel consumption can be a bit like dieting: Your success depends on setting an attainable goal, implementing a plan to reach your goal, and then making sure you stick to your plan. Improving your fuel consumption is a lot like challenging yourself to lose those extra 10 to 20 pounds; it requires you to stay disciplined and, in many cases, rework your everyday habits. Although you have no control over tax rates or the actual fuel prices, here are a few steps you can take to help lower your overall fuel costs: Be sure to have regular maintenance completed. You’ll use less fuel if you keep your vehicle tuned up. Don’t forget about your vehicle’s wheel alignment, either; you can’t maximize your gas mileage if the truck isn’t driving straight. Improve your driving habits. An estimated 30 percent of fuel costs are determined by engine and truck speed, both of which are controlled by the driver. Continually revving and braking your food truck lowers your gas mileage. Try using the cruise control (if your vehicle has one installed) on the highway to help maintain a constant speed. Don’t be a lead-foot driver. As a rule, each mile per hour above 55 reduces fuel efficiency by 0.1 mile per gallon. Not only will you save fuel and improve safety by driving more slowly, but you’ll also avoid having to pay the fines for those pesky speeding tickets. Remember: You’re not in a drag race; there’s no need for you to drive like a speed demon when you’re on the road. Keep an eye on your tires. Maintain the correct inflation pressure. Find out the proper tire pressure the manufacturer suggests and keep it there. When your tires are under-inflated, they’re less round and require more energy to begin moving and to maintain speed. Take the shortest route. This idea may sound obvious, but it doesn’t always happen. Go to an online mapping website and plan your route for the day. If you can, plan to avoid congested, high-traffic areas (in terms of vehicles, not foot traffic) that continually are filled with traffic snarls and stop-and-go driving. Get a good deal on fuel. Saving a penny or two per gallon really adds up. The GasBuddy app and website can assist you in shopping around for the best prices in your area. Another way to save is to read your owner’s manual to find out what octane level of fuel the manufacturer recommends for your vehicle. Don’t pay for premium (91 octane) if your truck only requires regular (87 octane). Use your air conditioning less. Many in the food truck industry live in warmer climates, but air conditioning makes the truck consume more fuel, so shut it off when you can and use your vents instead.

Article / Updated 12-12-2016

It is a good idea to prepare your food truck staff for emergencies. Do your employees know what to do in case of an emergency? What if there’s an explosion, a fire, or another type of emergency in or around your truck? Your employees need to understand what their roles are in the event of an emergency. Whether an accident happens to a co-worker or one of your truck’s customers, your staff needs to know how to respond. Here are a few steps you and your staff should take: Take care of the injured individual immediately; try to reduce any discomfort and embarrassment the individual may feel due to the accident. Treat the individual with respect by being courteous and helpful. If possible, take the individual away from the area where the incident occurred. If the injury occurs to a customer and he’s alone, ask whether he would like to call someone or if you may make a call on his behalf. Ask the individual to describe what caused the accident. Let the individual decide whether he needs an ambulance or medical treatment. If he’s unconscious, immediately call 911.