Food Truck Ideas

How to Gather Food Truck Start up Funds Without the Bank, Now!

1 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

Table of Contents

Biography……………………………………………………………… 3 Provision………………………………………………………………. 4 Use of Prototypes……………………………………………………… 4 Copyright……………………………………………………………… 5 Your Next Steps……………………………………………………….

7

Creating Your Fundraising Plan…………………………………….

8

Knowledge is Strength……………………………………………

8

Generate Interest & Excitement!.................................................... 10 Who is Your Target Audience?....................................................... 10 Fundraising Etiquette-Part 1…………………………………….. 11 The Community………………………………………………………. 11 Fundraising Etiquette-Part 2………………………………………… 15 The Corporate World………………………………………………… 16 Educational Institutions…………………………………………….. 17 Crowd Funding………………………………………………………. 18 Get Started……………………………………………………………. 18

2 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

Biography Truck Food Finds is a full-service Food Truck Business Development, Consulting, and Training Company based in Texas, drawing on the extensive experience of its President, Lakeisha Davis. Lakeisha has evolved with the Food Truck Industry for more than 10 years, participating in many aspects of the mobile food trade, today enjoying her profession as an International Food Truck Consultant, Educator, Speaker, Published Author, and Freelance Writer. Lakeisha has acted as Lead Project Consultant on numerous mobile food developments, from the most prestigious 5-star cuisine concepts; to the very intimate, customer-centric mom and pop concepts. She developed and instructs the Truck Food Finds Online Food Truck Management Distance Learning courses, which cater to both new and existing businesses, and are still the only ones of their kind in the world! Lakeisha also offers onsite, customized Management; Leadership; and Whole Mobile Food Training Programs. With a strong commitment to education and continuous learning, Lakeisha’s goal is to be instrumental in helping to increase knowledge by improving educational opportunities for career-minded professionals, globally. 3 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

You can reach Lakeisha directly at [email protected] or www.truckfoodfinds.com. Provision This White Paper is intended to provide the Reader with an overview of the possibilities related to the subject at hand. Although it may be considered a reliable contribution to existing industry standards and materials, it is not intended to be an exhaustive list of options, nor the only professional viewpoint on the subject. Truck Food Finds does not assume any liability to any party surrounding the use of this White Paper. Truck Food Finds does not guarantee that the White Paper is error-free, nor does it guarantee results. Your purchase, acceptance and voluntary downloading of this White Paper confirms that you agree not to hold Truck Food Finds liable for any consequential damages, including: loss of business; loss of profits; investments, or the like. Use of Prototypes Any prototype forms made available herein are provided as samples only. If you choose to utilize any of these prototypes within your business, they should not be considered a substitute for a legally binding document; nor do they negate the need for the user to obtain the advice of an Attorney where necessary. These forms are provided “as is”. It is up to the Reader of this material to perform due diligence, and be familiar with the laws, restrictions 4 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

and guidelines governing all use of prototypes and documentation in the applicable province, state, or country that are being used. Copyright The proprietary rights, without limitation, are the sole property of Truck Food Finds and are protected by international treaty provisions and all other applicable national laws of the country in which it is being used. The structure, organization, and content of the material contained in the White Paper are the valuable trade secrets and confidential information of Truck Food Finds, made available to only you, the original Purchaser. Your acceptance and voluntary downloading of this White Paper constitutes a binding legal agreement between you, the original Purchaser and Truck Food Finds and confirms you are agreeing to the terms and conditions of this agreement, just as you would if you signed a hardcopy contract. This Agreement grants you limited personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable rights to download the White Paper as a single site on a single-use computer. You are allowed to retain one back up copy only, should the original be lost or corrupted. The backup copy that you are permitted to make under this Agreement contains the same copyright and other proprietary notices as the original White Paper copy holds. You agree that: 1. You will not duplicate or make the White Paper available to any second party, including electronic transmission or file sharing; 5 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

2. You will not modify; re-engineer; disassemble; reverse-engineer; translate; sell; lend; make derivative works; or distribute the White Paper to any other person or organization; 3. You will not utilize this White Paper or file for multi-site applications. This Agreement and use of the White Paper and file will terminate immediately upon your breach of any of the above-mentioned terms or conditions. Truck Food Finds is entitled to enforce its rights to the full extent of the law for any breach to this Agreement, including the seeking of damages through injunction or equitable relief. To obtain permission to reproduce, re-engineer or distribute the information contained herein, contact Lakeisha Davis, President of Truck Food Finds at [email protected].

6 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

Your Next Steps Now that you have downloaded this Start Up Funding Report, you may also be interested in purchasing additional Food Truck Management Tools: How to Write a Successful Food Truck Business Plan in 7 days OR, our Consulting Services OR, our Membership Services; for only $27/month you receive:  Free access to monthly reports  Special discounts on bulk orders  Discount ticket to Yearly Retreat  Free bi-weekly webinars to ask any questions you may have

7 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

Creating Your Fundraising Plan Like many other aspects of business it is best to start with a plan. By planning your fundraising you are able to clearly see what you need, who you will request it from, and how you plan to use your donations. When most people think of fundraising-money/cash comes to mind; but you will find that many companies are more willing to donate other things besides hard cash likeservices, time, equipment, etc. Knowledge is Strength Before you can convince someone else to give for your cause; you have to first convince yourself. If your heart and soul is not into your business then you cannot expect for others to get excited about your business. So in order to show your donors that you are serious, you must first have a well thought out business plan. You can create your business plan in 7 days here. By creating your business plan before your fundraising plan you have a good estimate of the funding and materials you will need which are always good to know so that you are not asking for something you are not sure you need. This cuts down on doing something without the full recognition of why you are doing it. Your success depends largely on your mind’s momentum, so planned; decisive action will always beat a spontaneous, defensive approach. Taking initiative is taking control, and when you are in control, you are afforded more opportunities. If failure is your Plan B, you won’t need a Fundraising Plan. 8 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

Whether you are just starting up your food truck, or you are a seasoned veteran, your fundraising plan will be your advantage. Using your business plan, you are able to adequately complete your fundraising plan. You will need your start up costs, marketing/sales strategy, organizational structure, gross margins/profits (including-payroll, operating costs, occupancy costs, and management costs). If you are familiar with excel, you can use an excel sheet to tally the items/equipment you need. If you are not familiar with excel you can use a blank sheet of paper and follow the outline below. Your particular business may not need much or you might need quite a bit, here are a few example categories: Equipment, Services, Venue and Food/Beverages, Workers.

Equipment-Needed

Kitchen Utensils 4 Tires Paper Goods Griddle Crepe Machine Mixer Serving Plates First Aid Kit Generator Propane Tank POS System Logo-T-Shirt, Stickers Recipe Book

Cost

Date Cash/Equip $100 (Cash) $100 $200 8/1 (Equipment) $600 $250 $320 New Crepe $430 3/2 Machine $150 $500 $35 $125 0 $40 $299 $250 $60

From Golf Tournament-Jane Doe-Walnut Creek Country Club-8956 Main Street, Phoenix, AZ 85007

9 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

Thank You letter sent

8/15

Services

Marketing (Social Media) Graphic Design Commissary/Commerci al Kitchen Maintenance Suppliers Food Truck Workers Event Scout

Cost

$315 $400

Date Cash/Service

From

Thank you letter sent

Community Bake Sale-Boys & Girls Club of Phoenix, AZ 85007

7/9 Cash

7/12

$1200/mo Al's Repair-5200 North St, Phoenix, AZ 85007

$75 7/2 Service $500 $1500/mo $200

8/1

Sunny Event Scouting 5hrs/mo-3423 Shamrock Dr, Phoenix, AZ 85007

5/2 Service

Generate Interest & Excitement! Sometimes as entrepreneurs-we are so focused on putting the puzzle pieces together that we forget to add our personality…our creativity…our PASSION! Although the Plan needs to be thorough and sensible, it should also showcase your talents. Fundraisers are supposed to be fun with a cause, you do not want to become so focused that the fun is non-existent. There are not many fundraisers that do not call for you to be interested, fun, and excitedso this is definitely a must!! Who is your target audience? Since you have already completed your business plan, you know who your target market/customer is but who will be your target audience for fundraising? The Community? Corporate World? Crowdfunding? You can choose one or all but make sure you tailor your message to each medium and not approach each segment with the same cookie cutter message, because 10 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

what works in the corporate world may not necessarily work in the community. Fundraising Etiquette-Part 1 Another reason why you want to have a fundraising plan is so that you can warm the companies you plan to solicit before actually asking for something. Would you be more likely to give to a person you have previously communicated with or a cold caller? Would you buy a car before test driving it? Before you make a big decision you may research the ins and outs of the product before even stepping into the store. You need to have the same mentality when completing a fundraiser. Brainstorm some ways you can warm your audience before asking for something in return. The Community You want to target a soft spot in the heart of the community when thinking of raising funds for your business. For example, imagine hearing an ice cream truck coming down the street or into a park I guarantee you will see droves of children in tow as well; what parent can resist giving to their children in order to make them happy or keep them safe? None that I know of… Or imagine the pet owners (specifically dog owners) who take their pets for walks or a day at the dog park-obviously their pet’s health and well being is very important to them. Even though you are raising funds to start your food truck venture; you may need to think outside of the box in order to reach your goal-don’t be afraid to venture. It is also important to remember that you can and will most 11 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

likely do better when you combine more than one fundraiser. Here are some example community focused fundraisers: Cook Off You can organize a cook off by putting an ad in your local newspaper (it works) for contestants to the 1st Annual ____ Cook Off. You can add anything to the blank such as chili, pie, cake, savory dish, breakfast dish, favorite family recipe, kids dish, or (here’s something new) dog food recipe. You would charge contestants a flat fee to enter and also charge an entrance fee for attendees. By allowing the contestants to bring their own dish you are not out of pocket any cash for food or equipment, you have generated genuine competition (who doesn’t want their dish to win), and if you decide to host it each year you have an ongoing fundraiser. Walk-A-Thon This can be organized like a 5k race-which you charge a nominal entrance fee which would cover the cost of the race and a hot dog. You could then sell chips and a drink (you can buy these in bulk and keep them in a cooler) to accompany the hot dog. You could organize it by age groups, for exampleyoung adults, adults, the golden group (elderly crowd), pet owners. Notice children were not mentioned-however if you add some type of kid-centered activity this fundraiser can also apply to them as well; such as face painting or jump rope contest.

12 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

Religious Organizations You being a member may work in your favor when approaching your own organization; but whether you belong to the organization or not is irrelevant. Some organizations boast 500+ members and could be very lucrative. You would need to contact the person responsible for event hosting/planning and make a list of acceptable events you can carry out for that particular organization. For example, you could host a kids cooking night and charge a fee or a pancake breakfast for a fee. Sometimes you can just ask for a donation out right and vow to give a percentage of the donations to the organization. You could also just ask for available space as a donation. Let’s face it most organizations are not open 7 days a week and could use some additional funding for the time you may need their facilities. For instance, you could ask to use their parking lot to host a festival or even your cook off. Sometimes you just need to ask… Busy Corner This method has been time tested and has helped many businesses reach their funding goals. You can make signs and recruit a few of your family and friends to stand on a busy (this is important) corner and collect donations for your cause. Simple.

13 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

Back To School Bash School starts every year, doesn’t matter where you are located and many times parents do not want to go shopping for school supplies (it’s very tedious). So what you can offer is a family-oriented get together in order to kick off the new school year. You can visit office supply stores for donations of school supplies or buy the supplies in bulk and offer them in smaller bundles. You could combine your cook off with your bash and kill two birds with one spoon. The attendees will have food to eat and everyone will receive a raffle ticket to win a grand slam school supplies gift basket-with the supplies being donated, you won’t be out of pocket any cash win-win. Halloween Costume Party This can be geared towards any age group (but children work the best). You will need to either rent a space in your local community center or offer a percentage of your profits as payment. The reason why this idea works is because parents see this method as safer than roaming unknown neighborhoods and taking the risk that the candy is unsafe. By gathering at a community center-it offers familiarity and safe unopened candy for the kiddos. You can give out raffle tickets in exchange for an entry fee and give out gift cards or other donated items. You do not want to hold a competition like the best costume because some kids feelings may be hurt afterwards and fundraisers are fun so we do not want that.

14 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

Fundraising Etiquette-Part 2 Companies would rather spend their money giving away items for advertising rather than spending actual cash on advertising services and products. In the next section you will need to make face-to-face contact with the business in order to obtain donations, so it is important to follow these etiquette rules to ensure the most from your efforts.  Don’t be afraid to just ask-(Ask and you shall receive)  Be personable  Invest your hard earned time (it’s your best asset)  Research your local area to pinpoint companies that will be beneficial  Call and make an appointment to meet with the Manager  Don’t forget to get the name of the Manager and be on time (important)  If you can’t make an appointment just walk-in to the business (prepared)  Prepare a presentation of who you are and what is your cause o Make sure to bring your business plan  The best time to visit eateries are between 2p-4p o It’s after the lunch rush and before the dinner rush  Make sure to prepare a thank you letter (on letterhead) o This is usually used to keep up with tax deductions and shows you’re serious about your fundraiser, even if they say no  Many businesses have donations in their budgets, so again just ask!

15 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

The Corporate World Know what you need before asking, be specific. The worst thing that you want to do is meet with a manager and after they ask you what exactly you are looking to get donated, you say “oh, well anything you can give”. You can ask for supplies, equipment, gift cards, baskets, or some type of service-use the list you created from page 9-10 of this report. Depending upon what they decide to give, you can offer an incentive such as printing their company logo on any flyers you will use for advertisement. The number of companies you can approach are endless but here is a list to get you started in the right direction:  Restaurants

 Factories/Plants

 Specialty Stores (Starbucks)

 Craft Stores

 Bowling Alleys

 Sporting-Goods Stores

 Toy Stores

 Major/Minor League Sports Teams

 Banks

 Hotels

 Fitness Centers  Book stores

 Party Supply Stores  Print Shop

 Rental Companies

 Don’t forget the big names 16

Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

 Wal-Mart, Babies R Us, etc.  Clothing Stores

 Music Stores

Educational Institutions Here is an idea that many people never think to do, use your local college or technical institute. These facilities are filled with hungry students willing to make a name for themselves and what better way to do so than with an up and coming business (you). They usually have bulletin boards you can advertise on or even contact the school paper to run an ad. Here is a list of services you can find a student to complete for you-usually at a nominal fee:  Marketing (Social Media)  Event Planning  Graphic Designer (Logo, brochure, menu)  Mechanic  Music/Photography  Accounting/Bookkeeping  Radio/Television Broadcasting  Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD)  Culinary Arts (Food Safety, Menu Development, Portion Control)  Refrigeration 17 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved

Crowd Funding Crowd funding to fundraising is like social media to marketing, it’s amazing! You can reach a wider crowd in order to help you meet your funding goals. I would recommend the first three ways to fundraise first before trying your hand at crowd funding because some platforms only let you keep the funds you raised if you meet your target goal. Who wants to raise $5,000 and have it taken back because you are $500 short? No one I know. So by using this as your last resort you have already exhausted your other resources and know this is where the buck stops. You can also use your other fundraising activities as proof you are serious about your business and you want let anything stand in your way. Here are my top 7 crowd funding sites: Foodstart-they are actually geared towards entrepreneurs looking for funding for their food truck. Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Rockethub, FundMeFundYou, GoFundMe, Crowdfunder Get Started! Here you have more than 20+ ways to gather your food truck start up funds without the bank-all it takes is a little leg work and dedication. To Your Success, Lakeisha 18 Truck Food Finds Copyright © All Rights Reserved