Event Catering - Helllpppppppp

[HanKies]

Good evening all,

My name is Kieran and i am in the process of setting up a mobile catering company.

Throughout business planning, i have been adamant that i would start trading in 2016, mainly to give myself enough time to set up (buy unit, buy van, organize premises etc), and to contact event organizers throughout the UK to try and acquire work.

My business plan has been developed and i have started contacting events to ascertain how I'd go about placing a unit there - and not many replies have come in yet. I appreciate i can sign up to the likes of NCASS and i can purchase the showman's directory and contact every tom, dick and harry...but i thought I'd start here first.

- - - - - - - -

I had a meeting today with my bank manager to go over my business plan and to talk money (business start-up loan). My bank manager was happy with my business plan, but not with my start-up preference (2016). I explained my reasoning, which in a nutshell is, trying to get work for 2015 will be difficult as most events will have caterers organized. However, he said that if i were to have the loan now and draw on it in early 2015 (they allow a few months to finalize things), then i could purchase a unit in say March 2015, and be trading by June/July. As well as that, i could have a 9 month payment holiday and start paying back in January 2016. He feels that if i do it this way, i could have a few events under my belt before 2016 and this would maybe stand me in good stead.

So, why am in on here? Welllll, i'm hoping people can advise me on a few things:

Is it viable for me to be trading in 2015 - or am i right in thinking it will be too difficult to get work?
Does anyone know of any events that will be looking for mobile caterers between June-November 2015?
Does anyone know of any catering units for sale (approx 18ft long)? (ive checked eBay and Gumtree)
Is there any other advice you'de be willing to share?

Thank you all in advice for reading this, and i look forward to your responses.

Regards,

Kieran

 

[Christine Hough]

Hi Kieran, I wish you all the best and congrats on a thorough planning stage.

I do not know your market, but I would comment that bank managers have rarely run a business!

Having said that there must be local events where you could practice and build confidence before the big events. How about farmers markets, School and village fetes, Contact local council about festivals etc.

 

[ethical PR]

Depends what you are offering - there's lots of regular pop ups offering different styles of food from trucks and vans, you can also hire space at established markets, Farmers markets, festivals, events etc.

I'm sure in your business plan you will have identified venues and costs, so pilot these in 2015 and learn from the experience to refine what you offer and your processes.

 

[MOIC]

There is no harm in seeing what is available for events and possible sites from now on to give you some idea of what immediate potential there is of trading in the near future.

What type of products are you looking to sell and do you have any experience in those products as well as in catering from a mobile site?

Have you a checked to see all the licenses, regulations and requirements necessary for this type of business. This can take time to acquire and may differ from council to council on specific issues.

Good luck with your project.

 

[HanKies]

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies so far.

What i should have said in my initial post is that i used to work for a firm that did this kind of thing (mobile catering). They were well established by the time i'd worked for them and always seemed to have loads of work (Races, Festivals, Farmers markets etc).

However, as a start-up, its proving difficult to get me foot in the door with work - as most events im contacting are saying that there is potential for work, dependent on the unit i have. I don't have the unit yet, so its hard to say. Im looking to purchase the unit within the next 6 months, which is why i initially wanted to start work in 2016 - as this would allow me to get the unit up to spec and get pictures etc. However, to obtain the unit, i need a loan. Im a bit worried about obtaining the loan and buying the unit, van, unit stock, paying for premises etc, without any work lined up.

Swings and roundabouts, catch 22....and any other phrase you can think of....thats where i am!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

 

[NickGrogan]

Why would you borrow thousands of pounds to buy equipment that you don't need to supply customers you don't have?

You can hire any catering equipment for 1 day+

http://www.pkl.co.uk/foodservices/eventcat.asp
http://www.catering-trailer-hire.co.uk/
etc, etc.

First job of any business should be to find customers, if you don't have those, you don't need anything else.

 

[HanKies]

Hi Nick,

Thanks for the information.

My reservations about hiring a unit are that they cost around £7,000 to hire for a year, and thats quite an outlay in itself. As well as that, to obtain the kind of work i would be looking at, the unit would need to look a certain way and have a certain spec - hiring a unit would mean i'd be unable to change the appearance and thus, not be able to obtain the work im chasing.

Buy buying a unit, at least i'd have some form of asset to protect against.

Just to be clear - i feel that the idea for the unit i have in mind will be sufficient to gain some work, its just how soon i can gain that work that seems to be the sticking point at the moment - but im still working on it.

Thanks,

Kieran

 

[NickGrogan]

Hi Nick,

Thanks for the information.

My reservations about hiring a unit are that they cost around £7,000 to hire for a year, and thats quite an outlay in itself. As well as that, to obtain the kind of work i would be looking at, the unit would need to look a certain way and have a certain spec - hiring a unit would mean i'd be unable to change the appearance and thus, not be able to obtain the work im chasing.

Buy buying a unit, at least i'd have some form of asset to protect against.

Just to be clear - i feel that the idea for the unit i have in mind will be sufficient to gain some work, its just how soon i can gain that work that seems to be the sticking point at the moment - but im still working on it.

Thanks,

Kieran

Why would you rent for the year, you are only likely to need units on occasional days/weeks.

If you buy a unit, it will lose much of it's value straight away, if you send money changing the appearance and customising it, you'll lose even more, and could even end up with something unsellable.

Feeling that you could gain some work, is not the same as having fee paying clients. I have worked with a number of products/projects over the years, that I felt would work really well. Some did, some didn't.

Can you rent find a unit to rent similar to what you have in mind? If so I would approach clients based on having that unit and see what they say. If they contract with you, go and buy the real unit, if they don't you haven't lost anything.

 

[HanKies]

"Can you rent find a unit to rent similar to what you have in mind? If so I would approach clients based on having that unit and see what they say. If they contract with you, go and buy the real unit, if they don't you haven't lost anything."

That would be awesome - however, the rental units ive found to date have been plain white units that look bland.

- - - -

Ive had responses so far. 1 event has practically said, we have 26 events per year, and we'd be happy to give you these provided your unit matches our requirements.

Again, rental of a unit doesn't give me much to play with

 

[ethical PR]

So there you go then - what are their your requirements and can you match them?

If you can, you are confident that the audiences you are targeting will be at the events, that you can provide a quality product and the figures stack up then what's stopping you going for it?

As others have said, carrying out your market research (for example have your trialled your products yet at local markets to test demand) and developing a business plan will help you understand how you can differeniate yourself from the competition, costs involved and what resources you will need to enable you to offer a service.

 

[JamesMcG25]

Have you thought about festivals, exhibitions and maybe pop up services outside stadiums? The Rugby World Cup takes place in England in Summer 2015. I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunity outside stadiums and ancillary events that will be just perfect!

 

[HanKies]

James - i have thought about festivals and am in the process of contacting event organisers as we speak

I did however, overlook the rugby world cup....im on it.

Thanks pal

 

[businessfunding]

What do your cashflow projections look like? On the face of it they must be horendous?

Whilst I haven't worked in the sector I have some insight through financing catering units

Good pitches command big premiums and must be booked and paid for well in advance. Even experienced operators can lose money on events through circumstances outside their control - most notably the weather.

Coupled with the fact that you will he repaying a Loan against a unit Which isn't generating income, you will be going a long way back before you earn a penny.

 

[doi_swilkinson]

http://www.ncass.org.uk/store-area/publications-grouping-page/publications/the-events-guide

 

[HanKies]

What do your cashflow projections look like? On the face of it they must be horendous?

Whilst I haven't worked in the sector I have some insight through financing catering units

Good pitches command big premiums and must be booked and paid for well in advance. Even experienced operators can lose money on events through circumstances outside their control - most notably the weather.

Coupled with the fact that you will he repaying a Loan against a unit Which isn't generating income, you will be going a long way back before you earn a penny.

Hi there,

Funnily enough, i have projected for worst case scenario and best case scenario. Worst case scenario shows very little profit for 5 years, whereas best case scenario shows extremely good profit margins. If i was to land somewhere in between...well, that'd be awesome! I do appreciate however, that this venture is going to be very difficult - but with the support of people around me, i genuinely think i can make a success of it.

 

[HanKies]

Hi Doi_swilkison,

Ive looked at this website quite a bit. Is it worth signing up for the membership do you think?

 

[Philip Hoyle]

I fully appreciate that the big events will be booked up for next year, and maybe even for 2016, but you may find you can't get a foot in the door at all for even longer if their incumbents get first refusal every year. You may end up either in the queue waiting for existing providers to give up, or end up in bidding wars competing against others to get your pitch.

Have you thought about smaller and simpler options to get you up and running? There will be dozens or hundreds of much smaller events near you in 2015 that will still have pitches available. Some of the smaller ones won't have even been thought of yet so there's plenty of time to get yourself booked in! The likes of school, church, hospital, charity summer fayres, seaside attractions/festivals, football/rugby club open days, etc. Why not get a smaller/cheaper van/unit and start small scale, build up your contacts, experience, reputation, know-how, etc. Get your 2016 bookings fixed whilst you're working small scale in 2015 and then get your bigger and better van/unit next winter when you know which bookings you have.

 

[HanKies]

Hi Philip and thanks for your input.

I see what your saying and i will be definately looking at smaller scale events throughout 2015 to assist me and help me learn.

The major sticking point at present is geting work without a unit - everyone im contacting seems to want photos etc before commiting. I'm fairly confident that i'll get this business up and running how i have dreamt of for years - theres just so much to consider!

 

[vvaannmmaann]

Have you thought about festivals, exhibitions and maybe pop up services outside stadiums? The Rugby World Cup takes place in England in Summer 2015. I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunity outside stadiums and ancillary events that will be just perfect!

I seriously doubt it,the burger mafia will have that sown up And they don't like strangers.

 

[businessfunding]

Hi there,

Funnily enough, i have projected for worst case scenario and best case scenario. Worst case scenario shows very little profit for 5 years, whereas best case scenario shows extremely good profit margins. If i was to land somewhere in between...well, that'd be awesome! I do appreciate however, that this venture is going to be very difficult - but with the support of people around me, i genuinely think i can make a success of it.

Im delighted that you can see a profit & I'm sure you will, but my question was specifically about cashflow - in other words, how deep will the hole be before you even start to fill it?

Before you start to trade there will be big outgoings including pitches, capital equipment, stocks training/certificates/licences, insurance etc

There is actually no point showing big profits in year 3 if you have run out of cash before you start

 

[HanKies]

I seriously doubt it,the burger mafia will have that sown up And they don't like strangers.

Is that a quote from personal experience? Or are you part of the mafia?

 

[HanKies]

Im delighted that you can see a profit & I'm sure you will, but my question was specifically about cashflow - in other words, how deep will the hole be before you even start to fill it?

Before you start to trade there will be big outgoings including pitches, capital equipment, stocks training/certificates/licences, insurance etc

There is actually no point showing big profits in year 3 if you have run out of cash before you start

Hi,

Cash flow seems to be ok based on initial projections. I have an economical and analytical background and i think that would stand me in good stead.

As you say, initial outgoings will be:
C1+E driving license (approx £1,200)
3.5 tonne van (approx £3,000)
Catering Unit (approx £13,000)
Initial unit stock (approx £1,000)
L3 Food award (approx £250)
Total - £18,450

Insurances (approx £200), premises rent (approx £100), loan repayments (approx £100) would be a monthly premium of around £400.

So, lets say i get all the major outlays tied up by March 2015 - and i can get even 10 events between June-October (whilst still working full time) - that would give me a little bit of cash to start 2016 off on a good footing.

HERE'S HOPING!!

 

[businessfunding]

I'm sorry to labour the point, but you really need to do detailed cash flows which can actually be the foundation of your business plan - and which any lender will deci itself need to see

I'm quite confused by your figures - are you suggesting that repayments on a £16k loan will be £100 a month?

What about deposits and prepayments for pitches?

Also remember, a good pitch isn't just at the right events - it is in the right place. Seasoned operators will be all over these pitches

 

[HanKies]

Hi businessfunding,

I've today received a profit/loss and cashflow forecast for year 1 from my bank manager who deciferred this from my business plan

To dicuss the loan repayments of £100 - this is due to the loan repayment holiday quoted in my OP. I draw the loan of £20,000 in March 2015, and have a 9 month 'payment holiday' where only the interest needs to be paid - giving my business a few months to trade and get some funds in the bank.

In terms of pitch fees, these average generally between 25-35% of your takings (based on till 'Z' readings). However, for the major events, generally i'd have to pay pitch fees prior to the event, and taking V Festival as an example, these would be around £8,000 paid 6-8 weeks before the event :/

Me, my wife and family are sitting down this weekend to discuss figures and decide if this is a venture worth considering.

It's scary taking that "leap of faith"