Stop Telling Everyone to Start a Food Truck

Seriously. Stop.

I'm getting tired of watching videos and reading posts that make this industry look like easy money. Buy a truck. Cook some food. Park somewhere. Watch the cash roll in.

That's not reality.

Reality is spending weeks—sometimes months—trying to figure out financing, only to realize you can't get the financing until you have the permits. You can't get the permits until you have the truck. And you can't get the truck until you have the financing.

Sounds crazy?

Welcome to the food truck industry.

Then come the inspections. The licenses. The insurance. Health department requirements. Fire inspections. Commissary agreements. Business registrations. Every time you think you've checked the last box, another one shows up.

Nobody talks about that part.

Instead, people keep telling everyone, “You should start a food truck.”

Why?

This industry is amazing. It can absolutely be worth it. But let's stop pretending it's easy, because it isn't.

And can we please stop saying, “Good food sells itself?”

No, it doesn't.

People have to find it first.

You could make the best burger, tacos, barbecue, seafood, or desserts in town. It doesn't matter if nobody knows where you are, when you're open, or that you even exist. They'll never even get the chance to try it.

Every customer has thousands of choices every day. Fast food. Chain restaurants. Grocery stores. Delivery apps. Local restaurants. Other food trucks.

Before your food earns a loyal customer, it has to earn a first customer.

Great food brings people back. It doesn't magically bring them there the first time.

And while we're talking about competition...

Your biggest competitor isn't the food truck parked across the lot.

Most of us don't even sell the same food. If anything, having several good trucks together usually attracts more customers because people like having options.

Our real competition is convenience. Fast food. Chain restaurants. Grocery stores. People deciding to stay home. Delivery apps that can help bring in customers while taking a chunk of every order.

Then there are the customers who think they know your business better than you do.

“You should charge less.”

“You should make the portions bigger.”

“You should sell this.”

“You should sell that.”

Most people mean well, but they don't see the food costs, packaging, fuel, propane, commissary fees, insurance, payroll, maintenance, permits, credit card processing fees, taxes, and everything else that goes into serving that meal.

Running a food truck isn't just cooking.

It's running a business.

So no, stop telling everyone to start a food truck like it's some guaranteed path to easy money.

Tell them the truth.

Tell them it's one of the hardest businesses they'll ever build.

Tell them it'll test their patience, their finances, their relationships, and their determination.

Then tell them something else.

If they understand all of that... and they still want to do it...

Welcome to one of the most rewarding industries you'll ever be a part of.

Just don't come into it expecting it to be easy.