The best chance of success for a food truck owner is if he chooses to be a hands on operator. This does not mean you have to work every single shift, but it does mean you have to be very present, and if you only have one truck you should probably work most shifts. If you also have a restaurant (or other businesses), they will need your attention as well, but the temptation of fully outsourcing your truck operation is not advisable.
Employees on food trucks have an extraordinary amount of freedom due to the mobile nature of the business. They handle large amounts of cash and can easily pilfer significant amounts if they are not regularly held accountable. Without direct and regular supervision employees can leave an event early or not clock out until several hours after they have finished work, and expect to be paid for significant amounts of time they were not working. Additionally, if you do not know how to operate your truck at least as well as your employees it will be difficult to earn their respect.
To combat these issues, I recommend working a minimum of one food truck shift per week on your truck and, if you are not working a majority of shifts, showing up on site for surprise inspections on a regular basis. This will keep your employees honest and engaged.
Of course, if you have multiple food trucks it becomes impossible to work a majority of shifts. In that situation, I recommend rotating between your trucks on a weekly basis for a single work shift and increasing your emphasis on surprise inspections. During an inspection you should make sure money is in order, customers are being treated well, and all food quality control standards are being met. Consider bringing a small reward with you to your inspections that you can give to your team for a job well done. This will motivate them to do well, while also cause them to potentially look forward to their interactions with you. If you are spread too thin to do this, employing trusted secret shoppers can help you keep some extra eyes on your operation.
Another reason for being a hands on mobile food vendor comes down to profitability. In the service industry, labor is a huge expense. When you remove yourself from the labor equation you are also removing yourself from the potential of receiving a large portion of the revenue your food truck generates. If your truck is doing well, you can make money without working on it, but more often than not it will not be sufficient to earn a living. If you are happy with your truck’s business model it may make sense to work as many shifts as you can, but I do not recommend that any operator work 100% of shifts. This is an exhausting practice that often leaves you with no time to attend to other facets of your operation, not to mention your personal life. Furthermore, if you go on vacation or get sick it is nice to be able to have your truck continue to operate while you are unavailable. This cannot happen unless you have people trained and available before you need to be absent. Thus, finding a balance of working some, but not all shifts is what you should strive to do. Of course, if you have multiple trucks you may be able to easily earn a living without working any shifts. This will only happen if each of your trucks is run well, which brings us back to the importance of regular drop ins on your employees.
Yet another reason for being a hands on operator is that it allows you to more closely monitor and maintain your equipment. Vehicles and restaurant equipment are rapidly depreciating assets that can be expensive to repair. If you are able to practice preventive maintenance, address problems early, and stick to a regular cleaning schedule you will save a lot of money. While employees may notify you of some problems, it is anyone’s guess whether they will do so in a timely manner because it is unlikely they will notice as much or care as much as you. Additionally, working events makes it easier to stay in touch with event contacts who will directly share feedback with you as well as book you for future events.
In short, if you are considering purchasing a food truck and getting into the mobile food scene, I advise you to stay away if your goal is to hire a manager and let someone else operate your business. After you pay your manager and other staff there will be little or no money left for you. You are better off pursuing another opportunity outside of the service industry. If you are a service industry veteran looking to get into food trucks or expand an existing food truck fleet it can make sense to take a more hands off approach, but it should never be entirely hands off.
Key Takeaways:
*If you cannot operate your truck as well as your employees they will not respect you
*Sending employees to gigs without you grants them an extraordinary amount of independence
*Working some shifts keeps employees accountable and makes you more money