Foodtruck owners worry about covering expenses with a new business
14 posts across 5 communities in the last 60 days; 64% from r/foodtrucks.
“Worked a pizza truck for 2 summers in my cousin's operation. The marketing side you got is actually huge advantage, most people in this business are terrible at promoting themselves. But the demand thing is tricky, depends a lot where you are and what kind of events you target…”
“Did everyone here get the same business idea to quit cooperate and about pizza shops 😭 [re: Entrepreneurs who got a degree & worked a 9-5, what was your degree in & what kind of business do you own?]”
“Sure [re: Would you let someone else create a menu item for your food truck if you got paid per order?]”
Several users discuss the risk of leaving a stable restaurant management job to launch a pizza food truck, highlighting concerns about initial costs and proving the concept before fully committing. They emphasize the importance of covering expenses and gradual growth rather than immediate salary replacement.
SOURCES (39)
“Worked a pizza truck for 2 summers in my cousin's operation. The marketing side you got is actually huge advantage, most people in this business are terrible at promoting themselves. But the demand thing is tricky, depends a lot where you are and what kind…”
“Did everyone here get the same business idea to quit cooperate and about pizza shops 😭 [re: Entrepreneurs who got a degree & worked a 9-5, what was your degree in & what kind of business do you own?]”
“Sure [re: Would you let someone else create a menu item for your food truck if you got paid per order?]”
“Hey late to the Convo but would you be willing to speak high-level of the process of legally being able to have a pop up pizza business? [re: TEN BASIC THINGS YOU NEED TO DO WHEN YOU DECIDED YOU ARE INTERESTED IN OPENING A FOOD TRUCK]”
“As long as it can be affordable and good. My fave pizza truck graduated into being inside a gas station (they were in front of it for years). Just be ready for thin profit margins, park it in a high traffic location, make sure your menu, location, and hours are all available on google/fb/wtf ever. People won’t go there if they don’t know what’s on the menu, where it is, and when it’ll be open.”
“Home for dinner is different than not working. Having this business, you’ll be working a lot more than your current job. In addition, you need to know your market in order to know if this business has a shot at being successful. In addition, you need to have examples of true financials for more than one year in order to understand the business opportunity yet keep in mind that this is based on market, not on the opportunity. You need both to be successful.”
“why not just make your own version of that? Why would you pay money to be burdened by the rules of a franchise? ChatGPT can do branding, location scouting, etc., all of the stuff that you would get from corporate. I'm sure there are some benefits, but I'm not sure those benefits outweigh the costs. I've been to the San Jose Toastique twice since they opened. Now they've been shut down for several months, longer than they were ever open. Does that sound appetizing?”
“Most candidates are drawn toward food. Why? because we all eat so it seems familiar. Walk most far away for a myriad of reasons. Food industry is brutal. Unless you have food exp and even then be very careful. There are many industries to explore without the huge price tag. You do not have to figure it out on your own!”
“Honestly, the pizza idea stands out to me because you already have real experience turning one around. That’s a much stronger starting point than jumping into an industry you haven’t operated in. I’d probably start with one acquisition, prove you can make it profitable without being there every day, then look at replicating the model. The biggest thing I’d focus on is whether you can build systems and a management layer so you’re actually buying an asset, not just buying yourself another job.”
“Thats actually what I was thinking. Find a struggling Pizza place that would take a rev share + equity deal. Structure is as an earn-in”
“Yeah I am leaning more towards a trailer or something like that and if I do food it's not gonna be anything crazy just very simple stuff for a trailer/tent sounds more suited for that. The pizza lady you've said about sounds crazy it's shocked that she can do that I'd assumed the laws behind food safety (with the fridges ect) were more strict”
“Well, as someone who’s been there and done that, my advice to anyone wanting to get into the food truck business is to start small. If you’ve got a good product idea, test the waters with a tent setup or catering out of your home. There’s better ways to do this than entering into a highly saturated market with a $50,000 food truck investment. Whatever you do, do your due diligence. Want to do fairs and festivals or rallys? Go check the shows out you want to get into. Talk to the organizers about”
“Step 1: Go work in a food truck or restaurant for at least 6 months to see if you love it. Step 2: Come back and ask again. If you seriously wanna get into the food truck business you need to start small. That starts with you getting experience in the industry. While you’re doing that, you need to save up some money. Then you need to figure out how to write a business plan and a marketing plan. You should try and have a concept that is simple and you can work with within those business and marke”
“Ima start of doing hot dogs then move to both dogs and smash burgers. I live near pretty high traffic areas and local baseball fields that constantly have games and that food goes hand in hand with baseball. I have connections with fair owners as well and other popular event places”
“Another thing you could do if you can’t find a job on one right away - find a food truck owner who is really doing well that you admire and ask if you could intern or volunteer there short term to pick their brain and see all that goes into it as an owner. Not many small business owners would pass that up to get some free labor in exchange for their experience and wisdom. You are going to find that this shit is really really hard and requires a level of commitment and dedication that most people”
“You’ll never start if you do all that. “All I need is a business partner” is like saying “all I’d need I a business partner” is a wild thing to say. Go work in a restaurant for a year or two and get good. Be a sponge. Then open food truck.”
“I will have 2 workers working alongside me in the food truck. My aim is to have creative energetic young ladies "early 20's" who have experience in hospitality and social media to handle the videos we will be posting "free advertising" which will also bring in more customers and showcase our food If you want employees who also do your social media advertising then you need to pay them to be food truck employees and social media marketing. I would just have food truck only”
“A little background before I explain our situation: I(24m) have 10 years in the restaurant industry, the last 5 years I have been in management, and the last two years that managerial experience has been for a corporate setting, giving me a better understanding of P&L, AvT, and proper team development and cost of sales control. I’m currently ServSafe certified as a manager, and as an instructor/proctor and have completely dedicated myself to the food industry. My wife(27F) also has several y”
“I would definitely go for it! Initially, I suggest you keep your job and train someone to operate the stand on the days you can’t be there. Do you have any vacation days that could be taken even if you've just started so you could be there for the first services or switch your days off? You're gonna need time but trust me, you're gonna need money more when starting out.”
“So I did this. I was the corporate chef for a restaurant chain with 35 locations across the us. I had an opportunity pop up to open my own pizza shop at a very low cost investment. (Taking over a failed pizza shop) so I just swapped out the oven and mixer and opened. I spent a R&D the recipes leading up to this knowing I wanted to eventually open my own space. For the first year I was open I worked both jobs. Not pulling a salary out of the pizza restaurant to ensure it was profitable before”
“Yes, I’m in Los Angeles. It’s a 10x10 vendor stall at a recurring night market rather than a traditional food truck space. There’s no power included, so I would bring my own generator and equipment. The setup can stay during the four-day market run, and the fee is $400 per week. The market organizer told me they handle the permits required to operate at that location. I still need to confirm exactly what is included for my specific oven and setup, but permits for catering, private events or oper”
“27 and a kid on the way. He needs to do both. His recipe is not even perfected, he does not Have a viable business yet. He needs to do both. (If you say “I don’t have enough time to do both” then you do not understand this industry and you should give up now hahaha.”
“It took me exactly 3 weeks to start making enough to replace my salary. Today I made what was my 2 week salary + my wife's 2 week salary in 6 hours. Not everyone is cut out for this type of work though. I was scared as hell because I've got a wife, 4 kids 2 grand kids, and I always had a job with a salary and benefits. Now I work harder than I have ever worked in my life and I don't regret a single moment of it. But I'm still scared every damn day, I just learned to stop listenin”
“Fair questions. The job pays $82.5k and usually requires around 50–55 hours a week. The market fee is $400 per week for a bare 10x10 space with no utilities, I would bring my own equipment and power. What interests me is the existing foot traffic. My goal is to use the market to introduce the brand, build a customer base and eventually push catering and private events, not depend on that location forever. My partner is launching a separate wings stand there first and will operate all four days,”
“Yes, LA to be exact, I wasn’t familiar with that option at all, Is there a specific way to find churches or halls that rent their kitchens by the hour?”
“We’re missing some important information. How much does the new job pay? What is your projected profit margin? (I know it’s hard without having served any pizzas but you have to get some idea before diving in) Then what’s your average profit per sale/person. Another huge question is the space. What days is it open? I would assume they are busy days for traffic, which I assume are the same busy days at the restaurant? Is there another pizza spot already or would you be the 1st of 2 possibilities?”
“Where are you located in California? Sometimes you can do hourly kitchens through churches, “halls” like Eagles etc.”
Run your financial projections… and then figure out how much you’ll need to sell each open day to cover all costs AND pay you the salary you’d be giving up. If it…
“Dude. Launch. Dedicate ALL your time. All of it. To the pizza. Or don't, and keep the job. But you'll regret it. In 20 years you'll be tired, old, fat, probably an alcoholic, and saying, "if only i opened the pizza spot". Jump in. You know what a pizza costs, figure the finer points out later. Opportunity only knocks a few times.”
“Treat this as a controlled market test before turning it into a career decision. Set a maximum number of services and a hard dollar ceiling for rent, food, labor, permits and waste. For each service, track covers, average ticket, food cost, labor hours, prep time, waste and cash left after the $400 weekly fee. I would only consider leaving stable income once the concept has repeated profitable service data, a reliable production workflow and enough runway for weak weeks. Can you operate one or t”
“That’s fair. I don’t expect it to replace my salary right away. My first goal would be to cover expenses, prove the concept, and see if there’s actually room to grow before leaving my job.”
“Lmao this might be the most honest “go for it” speech I’ve ever read 😭 Respect, and good luck with your truck too homie!”
“Yeah, honestly this is probably the smartest move. Keep the paycheck, test it as much as I can, and train someone once the numbers actually make sense. Appreciate the advice!”