Thursday, October 28, 2010

Small Business Catering

By Charles Whitfield





Small business catering, no doubt, would require more time than a regular 9 to 5 job. Some days will be much longer than others. However, if you have the drive and the ambition to own a small catering business, it will be worth it! The food industry is one of the most lucrative and most profitable.

The key to having your own catering business is preparation. Once a client has been found and a job has been booked, there are many things that need to be done before the big day. You need to know about what sort of food the client would want to be served. How many guests will be at the event? Where will the event take place? Be clear about what will be the type of meals to be served. You would need to prepare sample menus to show prospective clients.

Running your business would also mean that you need to always be ready with a file containing sample menus for different events or occasions. This is because clients tend to ask for your ideas about a menu that is appropriate for the occasion. A tasting can oftentimes be required prior to the event to satisfy clients. This business often means hiring staff to help you with an event. It would be to your advantage to have a directory of people that you can hire for the various jobs required for events.

Make a note of who are the people you can count on even with short notice. Always have back-ups in case the person you need is unavailable. Give ample training to your staff so you can count on them to provide good service with a smile. Good service is an integral part of any small business catering. Make sure that you can provide adequate and reliable transport for your food, staff and equipment. You need to plan for all possible eventualities before, during and after an event.

This is a major component of running a small catering business. Preparations, for an event, require the procurement of all the ingredients for the dishes to be served, equipment, time and other essentials. You should know beforehand how long a dish takes to prepare, how long it can keep without the quality being affected, and how it will be transported.

During the event, your staff needs to serve guests politely. And, understanding small business catering also means you also need to clean-up after an event. Running a small catering business requires a lot of organization, proper planning and long hours. You need to stay motivated.


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