How to Start a Catering Business 1-2-3

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Whether you like working with small private parties, large corporate businesses or festive wedding events, there is good money to be made in catering. You can even start your own catering company without having formal cooking training.

In addition to catering, you can also offer a personal chef service - one of the fastest growing businesses right now. If you enjoy the creativity that cooking offers, why not take your interest to a whole new level and make money while doing something you love?

1. Start by putting together a business plan (see sample catering business plans).

2. Register your business name with your county clerk and apply for a business license through your city.The permits and licenses you will need will depend on your city, as requirements vary by locale.

3. Find a commercial kitchen for your business. Depending on where you live, you may also be able to prepare foods at home, but check zoning restrictions. Your cooking space will need to pass an inspection by your Department of Health.

4. Open a bank account for your business. You can use affordable accounting software like quickbooks to manage financial records for taxes, budgeting, and more.

5. Accepting credit cards from customers will enable you to work with a greater number of clients. Open a merchant account and get invoicing software that will make it easy to bill clients and for clients to pay you.

6. Don't overlook insurance. You can get insurance quotes free online. Do you need insurance?

7. Get wholesale catering supplies at Caterer's Warehouse. Generally, you'll want to have glassware, flatware, dinnerware, serving dishes, beverage dispensers, condiment supplies, serving pitchers, storage containers, trays, baskets, serving utensils, linens, carts, grills, mobile serving equipment, outdoor heating supplies, table signage and dishwashing equipment. If you are on a limited budget or are working an extra-large event, you can rent equipment and supplies from a local event supply/rental store.

Take it from Lex Thomas, who started a successful catering and personal chef business herself - you can start your own successful catering business using her experience and advice from other expert caterers in the field.

Customers want to work with professionals who get the job done right - and with start-up guides showing you how to perform and act like a professional - you don't have to have years of experience to attract a large following of clients.

See what you get >>

• Step-by-Step: How and where to get financing, insurance, licenses, permits, supplies, staff, software and more, so that you can run your business effectively with less hassles.
  
  
• Marketing Instructions: Creative yet simple ways to market your business and gain new customers, tips on getting free publicity and how to do a client consultation and look like a pro.
  
  
• Free Samples: How to set prices, prepare estimates and contracts, get deposits, set schedules - plus sample menus, invoices and more!

How to Start a Catering Business

Catering Business Resources:

Get Business Financing Business Phone Systems

Catering Menu Templates Design Your Logo | Catering Logos

Many people overlook the money-saving benefits of Microsoft Office software or Office Professional. With this software (which you may already have), you can complete many tasks yourself without having to pay someone else, like:

• Track projects and events on a business calendar (which you can print out) so you don't miss important deadlines
• Create professional-quality marketing materials (like brochures, newsletters and business cards) without having to pay a designer
• Design company presentations for clients that help you make more sales,
• Manage customer databases and track inventory so you can run your company at top efficiency
• And put together contracts, proposals, flyers, budgets, invoices, receipts and all sorts of documents quickly with 100's of business form templates.

Catering Business Plans:

If you want to know how to organize and plan your business, using a professional business plan "template" is the easiest way to get started. What you'll get >>

1. The keys to your business success
2. Easy start-up summary, competitive advantage and sales literature guidelines
3. Help with you target market needs, trends & growth
4. Easy marketing, pricing and sales strategy & forecast outlines
5. Financial & organizational plan templates

Instant Downloads >> Catering Business Plan | Bakery Business Plan

Attracting New Customers to Your New Catering Business

Free Website Builder

Create an online presence for your catering business and show off a professional visual display of your products and services. This is a great way to attract local clientele - and your website can do much of the "selling" for you. It's easier and cheaper than you think with a Free Website Builder

29 Ways to Get Catering Clients

Take the guesswork out of finding customers by picking up the best marketing guide I've found. You'll find out free and extremely low cost ways to attract new clients to your business with very little effort - saving you tons of money.

Marketing Expert David Frey shows you how to implement these strategies right away, for immediate profit. Find out how >> Small Business Marketing Tips

Advertise with Signs
Use a car magnet to advertise your business while you are on the road, a yard sign to announce a sale or a banner to promote your store's grand opening. You can design and create your own signs cheaply online using SignsBannersDecals.com.

Catering Associations

• National Association of Catering Executives
  NACE offers members, partners, and the public a variety of rich resources that support, promote and enhance the catering and special events industries.
• International Caterers Association
  The ICA is a non-profit group that provides education, mentoring and business resources for caterers. They also promote the business of catering to clients, industry members, vendors and the public.
• National Restaurant Association
  The National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry.

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