New buisness start up advice please

[bells-couriers]

Hello all, Im looking for some advice as to what im going to need to start my dream buisness in the catering sector,

As a newbie to taking the leap of faith to this unique idea i believe i have id like to make sure ive covered everything as to insurance, setting up at a LTD company as a sole employee although i will have 2 helpers unpaid family members helping me out, Will LTD company cover me alone with "helpers" and not employing staff?

A bit about the buisness............
Basically il be selling ice cream sundaes, teas and coffees on a bus to put it blunt,

Its a full sized bus that has been adapted into a mobile ice cream parlour, basically its a shop on wheels people can board the bus and sit in to enjoy there favorite ice cream sundaes, it is fitted with a 9 pan display ice cream freezer a top of the range latte machine, hot and cold running water, full 240v electrics powered by a diesel generator, it has 2 rooms each has tables chairs, tvs fitted, an electric fire, air con units, an area to place orders with a till, fridge and freezer fitted,
Its a "shop" on wheels
Now the reason i believe this is unique is the beauty about the ice cream parlour is it can be moved, so if the customers are not coming to me i can take the buisness to them, also the fact its mobile means no electric costs, (just fuel for the generator) no council tax costs, gas costs will be minamal due to running gas bottles, no permenent fixed rent costs, just a pitch fee........

Ive done my homework i have a pitch for the bus, 1 month free before i start paying pitch fees right by the see side too, insurance and public liability insurance comes in at £1450 for the year, im yet to complete my food and hygine certificate im sure it can be done online would level 2 cover this as a sole owner? I have found a supplier for ice cream many many flavours to pick from at £5.99 per 5ltr tub, i have got storage for the bus at £380 per year, tax for the bus is £246 per year, the bus has a 5 star hygine rating,

The reason i aim at ice cream is because its simple to make and the expirey date on ice cream lasts so i should not find myself throwing ice cream out very often,
I myself am a HGV driver so i can drive the bus on this licence due to it having all its pasneger seats removed i also work on a 4 days on 4 days off basis so i figured i can run my buisness part time to make sure its going to work before going at it full time,

So whether people want to just pop in for a coffee or an ice cream sundae they have somewhere to sit inside or outside on the garden furniture, ive decided on a name which ive checked online and cant see it been used elsewhere "The Sundae Bus" id like to buy its rights if someone can please point me in the right direction on how to do so?

Thank you for taking your time to read please let me know if ive missed anything as a catering buisness

Adam.

 

[Mr D]

Sounds intriguing. I have to ask however, any disabled access? Or bring order to them?
Buses can be a tad.... hard for some of us.
If you have sufficient patio furniture being carried it may be worth checking out events taking place around the area too - so if your fixed pitch turns out to be not so great you have other options on particular days. You won't be competing with ice cream vans directly.

 

[The Byre]

https://directnic.com/search?q=thesundaebus

 

[bells-couriers]

The bus has double doors at the centre point ive never though about disabled access to be honest, although its easily wide enough i suppose a ramp could be fitted, i could pull a trailer with the bus to bring more patio furniture with me hmm

Thank you for the link.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Have you done any cashflow projections?

What is the footfall at your pitch? (high/low/mid seasons)

What is the nearby competition?

You've done lots of work on the idea and the product, but don't forget to delve into the business

 

[peacemaker]

To your original question, yes it's likely much safer for you to setup a LTD with something like this and you can hire staff on a contract basis at least to begin with but bear in mind that if they act and work like employees then you will have to classify them as such and therefore pay the taxes etc. Talk to an accountant.

As for the idea itself, it's interesting but quite a large thing to throw money into without first proving the idea. Why not hire a small cart or trailer for a couple of weekends and go to the areas you're thinking of taking the bus and trying to sell? It will give you a good idea of if your business is even viable or not before spending all that money on fitting out a bus.

 

[The Byre]

Good luck with a great idea (one hopes!) but I would be temped to go for a different name that emphasises (given the magnificence that is the British weather!) hot food. We get three weeks of Summer and 49 weeks of finding ways to pretend that we actually enjoy the Great Outdoors.

 

[bells-couriers]

Thank you for the for the advice and kind words all, i have already bought the bus and i bought it already converted into what was called "the juice bus"

The previous owner was selling fresh juices it must not of worked, so i bought it already kitted out with 3 point plug sockets, hot and cold water, tables chairs etc etc.........i simply fitted a 9 pan display freezer and changed the menus layout etc, i have now bought the .com of thesundaebus,

Where i am pitching the bus there is an ice cream van there but this is better in my opinion you can come inside and be seated unlike an ice cream van, also serving sundaes unlike an ice cream van serving cornets, plus if it were to rain (great british weather) at least people will be sitting inside in the warmth,

This excites me the fun factor of it being a bus familys climing aboard and what children dont like an ice cream sundae with all the sweet toppings etc.....its different and it can be moved if custom is not as high as exspected in a certain pitch,

Also thinking of elderly people who may just want a sit down and a coffee/tea after a tiring walk as where im pitching the bus there is limited seating areas, its actually a car boot fair i have got a pitch on, very busy, lots of people familys with children etc.............

I honestly think it just works a mobile ice cream parlour/coffee shop i dont think the local ice cream van will be a problem this has never been done before.

 

[Brennerz]

I think it is a brilliant idea, unless you find a way to grow it I don't think it is a million pound idea but I think you could certainly make some money from it. I do agree with @The Byre though, Could you look at ways that you could easily convert it from hot food to ice cream at different times of the year.

I think, especially at outdoor shows/events, people would pay an extra couple of quid for their hot meal if they can sit inside your warm bus to eat. I guess the difficulty with hot food is being able to extract the smoke/grease etc in the confined environment.

 

[bells-couriers]

Tried posting photos to show but i need 30 posts

 

[Jason Mageehan]

Hmm, an interesting idea.

Let's see if the maths tots up...

Annual Figures...
Insurance - 1450
Storage - 380
Road Fund - 246
Stock - 500
Marketing (Website etc) - 500
Vehicle Maintenance - 500
Hygene Certificates for staff - 250
Fuel - 1200
Pitch fees - 1200

So that gives you yearly outgoings of £6226 or £120 every week of the year without earning a penny.

Ice cream is seasonal, so instantly you've closed off a lot of trade - and ice cream trucks are money spinners because they serve customers who are then on their way - you are thinking of hosting customers in a cafe type setting, but you won't earn much extra money from them, just have lots of cleaning problems and rubbish collection to deal with for little extra cash.

If you are determined to make it work with the bus, I'd suggest you focus more on the coffee / milkshake / dessert market, as this is much more current and is welcome all year around.

It's also the type of customer that might buy some cake to take away. Also the profit margins are good for coffee, and you can still do a selection of ice cream too - but the coffee will sell all year around....but don't be an ice cream van that sells coffee - if you want it to work, you've gotta be with the coffee and dessert thing from the get-go...mobile branding works on the basis of seeing it and getting what it is immediately - if you confuse the message of who and what you are, you'll send people away.

Hope that helps.

 

[Deleted member 283937]

You may come up against some hostility from the other ice cream seller. So try to get off to a good start with them.
Also this sounds like a very weather dependant and therefore seasonal business. However on the hot sunny days you should make a fortune so have plenty of stock.