The everything guide to starting and running a catering business : insider advice on turning your talent into a lucrative career

Cover......Page 1
Book Title......Page 7
Copyright......Page 8
Contents......Page 9
Acknowledgments......Page 15
Top Ten Things You Need to Know about the Catering Business......Page 16
Introduction......Page 17
What Does Catering Really Mean?......Page 19
Running Your Own Business......Page 21
Fun Aspects of the Catering Business......Page 23
Not-So-Fun Aspects of the Catering Business......Page 25
Personal Chefs......Page 27
Should You Start as a Personal Chef?......Page 28
Overview of Catering in the United States......Page 29
Catering Industry Segments......Page 30
Off-Premise-Only Caterers......Page 31
Restaurants......Page 32
Gourmet/Grocery Stores......Page 33
Large Caterers......Page 34
Outdoor Caterers......Page 36
Specialty Caterers......Page 37
Twenty-First-Century Catering......Page 39
Is Catering for You?......Page 45
The Many Hats of a Caterer......Page 46
The Caterer’s Skill Set......Page 49
Acquiring Business Skills......Page 55
Deciding Not to Be a Caterer......Page 58
Licensing and Other Legal Issues......Page 59
Finding a Commercial Kitchen......Page 62
Insurance......Page 63
Finding a Lawyer......Page 65
Your Business Structure......Page 67
Accounting......Page 70
Financing......Page 72
Catering Software......Page 74
Types of Research......Page 77
Take Advantage of the Public Library......Page 78
Qualitative Versus Quantitative Data......Page 80
Doing a Competitive Survey......Page 81
Identify Opportunities......Page 85
Digesting the Data......Page 87
Identifying a Concept......Page 89
Positioning and Marketing a Concept......Page 92
Catering Positionings......Page 93
Differentiation......Page 95
Mapping Your Competitors’ Positionings......Page 96
Checking the Concept Against Your Skill Set......Page 97
Testing Your Positioning......Page 98
Personal Chefs......Page 101
Planning Menus......Page 105
Private Chefs......Page 108
Pricing Your Services......Page 109
Communication with Clients......Page 110
Professional Personal Chef Associations......Page 111
Opportunity Areas for Personal and Private Chefs......Page 113
Menus That Sell......Page 115
Menu Creation......Page 117
Premium Menu Items......Page 118
Preliminary Costing......Page 121
Truth-in-Menu Laws......Page 123
Basic Menu-Writing Guidelines......Page 126
Pricing Strategy......Page 131
Top-Down Pricing Method......Page 135
Bottom-Up Pricing Method......Page 137
Compare the Two Pricing Methods......Page 138
Cost Controls......Page 139
Other Fees......Page 140
Why You Need to Write a Business Plan......Page 143
Marketing Your Business......Page 145
Operations and Staffing Plans......Page 150
The Financial Plan......Page 151
General Business Information......Page 158
The Customer’s Needs......Page 161
Creativity and Flair......Page 163
Components of the Proposal......Page 165
Details to Cover......Page 167
Special Food Requests......Page 172
Selling Additional Services......Page 174
Naming Your Business......Page 175
Checking and Testing Your Name......Page 178
Appearance......Page 179
Phone Skills......Page 181
SWOT Analysis......Page 182
Writing Skills......Page 184
The Caterer as Marketer......Page 187
The Importance of Targeting......Page 188
Guerrilla Marketing......Page 189
Guerrilla Tools......Page 190
Tastings as Free Market Research......Page 197
Local Advertising......Page 200
Maintaining Your Clientele......Page 201
Turning Down Clients......Page 204
Overbooking......Page 209
Holiday Time......Page 210
Dealing with Difficult Clients......Page 213
Signs of Growing Pains......Page 217
Hiring Help......Page 218
Training Your Staff......Page 223
Moving into Your Own Commercial Space......Page 225
Buying or Leasing a Vehicle......Page 226
Promotional Partners......Page 229
Tasting Partners......Page 230
Vendor Partners......Page 233
Attracting Partners......Page 238
Negotiating with Partners......Page 239
Adding a Business Partner......Page 240
Equipping Your Business......Page 245
Catering Equipment Shopping List......Page 248
Personal Chef Equipment Shopping List......Page 252
Catering Challenges......Page 254
Challenges for Personal Chefs......Page 258
Lessons Learned......Page 259
Tips from the Pros......Page 263
Food Presentation Tips......Page 264
Tips for Personal Chefs......Page 265
Marketing Tips for the Personal Chef......Page 267
Why Outsource?......Page 271
When to Outsource......Page 273
What to Outsource......Page 274
Whom to Outsource To......Page 283
Caterers as Entertainers......Page 285
Food Trends......Page 286
Vegan and Vegetarian Catering......Page 291
Food Safety and Health Trends......Page 292
Dessert Trends......Page 293
Catering Display and Equipment Trends......Page 295
New Trends in the Wedding Business......Page 297
Appendix A: Resources and Suggested Reading......Page 299
Appendix B: Glossary......Page 305
Appendix C: Personal Chef Client Information Form (LDA Form)......Page 309
Index......Page 317