Starting a Catering Business


Starting a Catering Business If you are considering starting a bakery, or if you already have a bakery, it's worth the time to at least know about what it would take to start a catering business. Home-based bakeries and home-based catering businesses have a lot of overlap. One or the other business might be best for you, or you might be able to leverage the business assets of your bakery into a nice side business of catering, or vice versa. Catering businesses are actually a bigger business than they might first appear. A whopping 7 billion dollars a year is spent on catering services in the United States alone according to the National Restaurant Association. The Association also suspects the real number for catering services is significantly greater than 7 billion because, due to the nature of the business, a lot of work gets done "under the table", so to speak. Catering can also be a way to make very, very good money. Professional caterers who live in large cities and have a good book of clientele can pull down $200,000 or more per year. With a salary like that, some executives might consider bailing on the corporate treadmill and going out on their own, with no paycut at all, thank you very much. Don't get all fuzzy-headed day dreaming about making $200,000 in your first year. If you can just break even while paying yourself an hourly wage that beats $10 an hour, you'll be doing okay. Not all, but many of the biggest earners also pay strict attention to the golden rule of the self-employed: find your niche. They may only do weddings, for example, or corporate parties, or lunches for social groups and local business organizations. Or they might only do dinner parties. But the top earners typically find a certain sort of event where they really shine, and they make it their business to be the go-to choice for any event of that nature in their area. So if you think "wedding", you think caterer X. If you think "business group lunch", you think caterer Y. Got it? Do not try to be all things to all people. What You Need to Start a Catering Business Here is a short list of items you will need to start a catering business.: - business cards - a Federal Employer Identification Number (you can get it online in ten minutes) - a business checking account - a wholesale or resale license (not totally necessary, but very helpful) - a business license - a permit to serve and prepare food from the Health Department - commercial liability insurance (better safe than sorry... not having it will keep you from getting some kinds of jobs) - a business structure (choose from a limited liability company (LLC), a sole proprietorship or a partnership) - a business name - a website (not totally necessary at first, but worth the investment if you can keep it below $300, even if you are starting your business on a shoestring) - an email address (you can skip the website if you must, but do not skip the email address) - printed menus of your offerings, or a brochure describing your services with sample menus Continue reading the list of what you need to start a catering business	Sign up for our weekly newsletter about starting a bakery Name: Email: Start a Home Bakery Buying a Bakery How to Open a Bakery How to Start a Cupcake Business Start a Dog Bakery Cottage Food Laws and Home Bakeries Write a Bakery Business Plan Choose a Name for Your Bakery Bakery Equipment - What You Need to Start Your Bakery Bakery Management Software: Spend a Little or a Lot Starting a Catering Business Startup Costs for a Home Bakery Startup Costs for a Retail Bakery Licenses and Permits Required to Start a Bakery Create a Great Bakery Storefront Developing a Bakery Brand Identity <a href="http://poll.websitegear.com/">Poll</a> \| <a href="http://survey.websitegear.com/">Survey</a>

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