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 Description
Catering is a popular business. Starting a niche catering
business will guarantee you a segment of the market.
Presently there are more than 50,000 catering businesses in
the US alone. Carving a niche in this market can be
profitable as it will make you stand out from the
competition. Starting a vegetarian catering business will be
slightly more profitable than most catering businesses
simply because you have cut one major cost, the cost of
meat.
A caterer purchases, prepares, delivers, and serves food for
special events. If you have the cooking know-how, some good
business and communication skills, you can start an
enjoyable enterprise.
To Get Started
The first thing you will need to do is check with your local
state health department to find out what licenses, permits,
or certifications you will need to operate your business. If
you will be preparing the food, you will probably need to
get your own kitchen inspected and certified or you will
need a certified commercial kitchen to work from.
Access to a commercial kitchen can become expensive in
overhead costs. You might get around this buy renting a
certified kitchen for your events.
Supplies Needed
Startup costs could easily reach $5,000 to $20,000.00
depending on how well you budget. You will need a variety of
supplies for your business including but not limited to:
Other Costs
Other costs could include insurance payments, legal fees,
licensing fees, inspection fees, marketing materials,
advertising costs, travel expenses, hired help, etc.
Marketing Your Business
Your customers would include individuals who like to give
parties, companies needing to feed employees or giving
corporate parties, groups and associations for meetings or
seminars or conventions. You could even market to film crews
when in your area. To be successful you will have to devote
a lot of time to marketing your business by meeting
potential clients on a speculative basis. Try to stay away
from traditional menus and explore new exotic menus.
Don't forget that social catering involves weekend and
evening work so be prepared to give up those times when
needed. It's also a seasonal business and can require much
longer hours during holidays.
Show Me the Money
Your potential earnings are unlimited. Traditionally a
caterer can make anywhere from 40,000.00 to 100,000.00 per
year depending on their clients. Average fees run from
$750.00 to $15,000.00 per event depending on the number of
people being served and how.
Catering Business SIC Code: 5812-12
Happy Catering!
About the author:
Rebecca Game has been an entrepreneur for over 30 years and
is the Founder of Digital Women, an online community for
women in business providing business resources and tools
including loans for women, grants for women and business
networking tools. You can visit her site at Digital Women:
"Women with their modems running..."
http://www.digital-women.com
Written By: Rebecca Game
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