Are you about starting a catering equipment hire business? If YES, here is a complete sample catering equipment hire business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE.
Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a catering equipment hire business. We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample catering equipment hire marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for catering equipment hire businesses. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.
A catering equipment hire business is one where you get catering equipment in bulk and then hire it out for caterers, event planners and other sort of people who are looking to use these equipment for the occasion in which they are in charge of.
This business is usually a capital intensive one as it would require you buying several items in bulk so that you could conveniently hire out to several customers. Before starting this business, you would need to conduct a feasibility study that should help you determine if starting this business is the best course of action for you.
You might need to hire a business consultant who would help you carry out this study and evaluate what competition you are likely going to face in the business and if the location you intend to run your business from would be favorable to the business.
You would need to supply the business consultant with certain information that would help make his research accurate. Next is to write a business plan for your catering equipment hire business. Therefore if you are looking for a sample catering equipment hire business, here is one that has been prepared below;
A Sample Catering Equipment Hire Business Plan Template
1. Industry Overview
According to IBISWorld, the rental industry is already in its mature life cycle stage and is projected to grow at 2.3% annually. The revenue in this industry is pegged at billion and more than 9,500 catering equipment rental businesses exists in the united states of America that employs more than 50,000 people.
Even though, revenue dropped slightly in 2011 due to the bad economy, it has been projected that the continued economy recovery will continue to aid the industry through 2022. The rental industry has seen an increase of automation in its industry as there are now multi-functional equipment for food as well as upgraded equipment for beverage all coming with touch screens technology.
The catering industry and the rental industry has a relationship of over three decades that has helped caused a boom in the catering industry. The relationship has continued to grow because no caterer can own all the equipment that will be used to cater for its clients which might vary depending on the demands of the clients.
The rental industry often constitutes more than 60% of the total cost in an event and often exceeds the cost of food as well as the beverage combined. Rentals often constitute the largest expense for caterers, which is why most caterers seek to build a solid relationship with rental companies.
The rebounding of the economy from its recent depression has seen a rise in discretionary spending as is evident in more events and occasions that are being thrown by companies and private individuals. Also, the innovation in the industry has seen rental companies up their games and offering creative consultation in addition to project management.
The equipment catering rental industry is getting sophisticated as values of partnerships continue to grow and more optimism being seen in the market as regards opportunities and growth for businesses in the industry.
The innovation sweeping into this industry is huge, as manufacturers are seeking to produce equipment that will ensure that food or menu development is highly maximized without compromising on the quality of the equipment. Also, most of the equipment being manufactured are tending towards efficiency as well as labor saving solutions.
Technology has penetrated into this industry as more catering equipment hiring businesses seek to use efficient energy as well as gadgets such as tablets to market and stay in touch with their various clients and get an edge over other competitors in the field. Technology allows the business become more competitive, offer high end service and maintain its equipment as well.
2. Executive Summary
Zara’s Catering Equipment Hire Service is a reputable and preferred brand based in Manhattan – New York and will attend to the demands of its various clients. We are in business to hire out our catering equipment to those who would need it either professionally or privately. We will be offering other services as well such as ushering services and consultancy services.
Our vision is to be the preferred catering equipment hiring business in Manhattan – New York and to be amongst the top five brands in the United States of America by 2022; this we intend to do by ensuring that we engage in standard business practices that are honest and transparent to our customers. We also intend to ensure that our equipment are of a very high standard.
Knowing how important a location is to any business, we have chosen a strategic location in Manhattan – New York that is accessible to our customers as well as our employees.
Because we know that it takes more than one person to achieve the above stated vision, we are willing to source for and recruit competent and also an experienced management team who will not only key into our vision but know what is needed to ensure that we attain the vision as at when due. Our management team will also willingly communicate our core values to the lower end staff.
Asides from having a very experienced and competent management staff, we also intend to hire employees who understand how to effectively bring forth our vision whilst maintaining efficiency at all times.
We are willing to go a step further by ensuring that our employees are well paid and that they work in a conducive environment. Furthermore, we intend to carry out constant trainings for our employees and also ensure that they have the best welfare packages that can be obtained in the industry.
One aspect that we will not overlook is our customers. We know that without our customers, our business would likely fail and since we are not in business to fail, we would treat our customers with the utmost respect and also offer them excellent customer service that will not only meet their expectations but exceed it as well.
Zaras Catering Equipment Hire Service is owned and run by entrepreneur and businesswoman Ms. Zara Green. Zara, who holds a degree in business from Oxford University, also has an MBA from Harvard. Asides, these qualifications, Zara has years of experience in the equipment leasing industry as well as the catering industry and will therefore bring her experience to bear in the business.
3. Our Products and Services
We intend to be more than a regular catering equipment hire service, and so we intend to deal in offering various services that will ensure that we not only meet up with the expectations of our clients but that we exceed it as well.
Part of our strategy at Zaras Catering Equipment Hire Service is to engage in offering other services to our core service such as offering ushering services that will supply waiters to events such as weddings, corporate events and other such occasions.
We however intend to ensure that our services we intend to offer conform to all the legal laws of the United States of America. Some of the services we intend to offer are;
- Catering Equipment Hire Service
- Sale of Recipe Books
- Offering of ushering services
- Consultancy and Advisory Services
- Trainings
4. Our Mission and Vision Statement
- To be the most preferred equipment hire service for caterers and event planners in Manhattan and to be amongst the top five in the United States by 2022.
- To achieve our vision, we need to ensure that we stock equipment that are of the highest quality and that we ensure that we constantly update our equipment stock to the latest innovation.
Our Business Structure
The business structure is a very important foundation for every business especially a start-up that is looking to make an impact in this industry. Therefore, because we are taking our catering equipment hire business very seriously, we know that getting the business structure right at this stage will allow us be able to attain our aim and objectives faster.
Therefore, we intend to ensure that we go the extra mile in sourcing for and hiring competent and experienced hands that are informed, ready and understand the business the equipment hire business and are willing to work productively to ensure that we attain our vision and goals.
Because we intend to offer various services now and in the near future, we intend to ensure that we employs several employees to handle these positions and to ensure that those we pick fit the positions and responsibilities we intend to assign to these positions at Zaras Catering Equipment Hire Service.
The business structures we intend to build at Zaras Catering Equipment Hire Service are;
- Chief Executive Officer
- Purchasing Manager
- Human Resources and Admin Manager
- Marketing Executives
- Accountant
- Storage Manager
- Customer Service Executives
- Delivery Driver
- Cleaner
- Security Guard
5. Job Roles and Responsibilities
Chief Executive Officer
- In charge of drafting and making strategic decisions that will affect the whole business
- Networks with high end clients so as to bring in more revenue on behalf of the organization
- Carries out constant evaluation of the company and changes strategies that aren’t working
Purchasing Manager
- Sources for reliable catering equipment vendors on behalf of the company
- Liaises with the accountant and storage manager to ensure that the right orders are made
- Reviews contracts with vendors on behalf of the organization
Human Resources and Admin Manager
- In charge of sourcing, conducting interviews and ultimately recruiting competent employees on behalf of the company
- In charge of conducting performance appraisals on the employees
- Ensures that the administrative functions in the organization runs smoothly without hitches
Marketing Executives
- Conducts a market research to determine target market on behalf of the company
- Drafts marketing strategies and policies that will help the organization penetrate the target market
- Directly market the services of the company to clients
Accountant
- Prepares the financial statement – income statement, cash flow and balance sheet – on behalf of the organization
- In charge of all vouchers and receipts incurred by the employees either internally or externally
- Responsible for ensuring that all company accounts are duly reconciled with that of bank
Storage Manager
- In charge of ensuring that the catering equipment in storage correlates with its documentation
- Ensures that the storage room is kept clean and well ventilated
- Monitors outgoing catering equipment and checks incoming ones for defects
Customer Service Executives
- In charge of communicating with the clients as regards answering enquiries, taking orders and handling complaints
- Ensures that the customers’ database are accurate and regularly updated on behalf of the company
- Carries out any other duties as instructed by the Admin Manager
Delivery Driver
- Responsible for ensuring that the catering equipment are delivered to the right clients on time
- Supervises the loading and offloading of catering equipment from the van
- Responsible for carrying out light maintenance duties on the van as at when due
Cleaner
- Ensure that the premises are kept clean at all times
- Responsible for ensuring that depleted cleaning stocks are adequately reported to the Admin Manager and re-stocked as at when due
- Responsible for ensuring that the rest rooms are kept clean for both staff and visitors.
Security Guard
- In charge of making sure that the premises are secured during and after work hours
- Secures the property of staff during work hours
- Gives out relevant security tips to staff regularly
6. SWOT Analysis
Due to our desire to excel and succeed in attaining our vision and objectives, we sought and hired the help of several reputable business consultants here in Manhattan – New York to help conduct a thorough analysis on our behalf. The analysis was so as to help us determine if we were well suited for the industry which we intended to go into.
The thorough analysis which is the SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats) was carried out so as to determine if our strengths were enough to cover up for the weaknesses we possessed and if the various available opportunities in the industry would be enough to counter any threats that we might encounter during the course of running the business.
Below is a of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Zaras Catering Equipment Hire Service in Manhattan – New York.
- Strengths
Our strengths are numerous and this is a huge plus for us going into this business. We would be offering our customers the choice of hiring catering equipment that are of a high standard and boosting their profile – and inadvertently ours – with their clients.
We do not joke with our customers and hold them in the highest esteem from our dealings with them to the treatment of their complaints and inquiries, we are already known for the excellent customer service which we provide to our clients.
Another strength we have is in the fact that we have competent and experienced employees who not only understand the market but are well aligned with our vision and intend to see that our goals and objectives are achieved. Finally, our Chief Executive Officer, Zara Green who owns and runs the business has several degrees, certifications and several experiences in this industry that makes her most suitable to see that the goals and objectives of Zaras Catering Equipment Hire Service are achieved.
- Weakness
One of our main weaknesses is in our location in Manhattan – New York, as there are many other catering equipment services that are located here, thereby making this market a saturated one. Our other weakness is in the fact that we do not yet possess a mobile app as other catering equipment hiring businesses.
However, we have contracted the services of a mobile app developer, and our app is currently being tested on several platforms that will allow us link with our customers.
- Opportunities
The opportunities that abound in this industry are limitless and we have already begun availing ourselves of these opportunities. For instance, we are constantly networking with several of our high end customers in order to be the preferred business when they intend to hire their catering equipment. Also, we offer various consultation and advisory services to several start-ups looking for guidance into entering this business.
- Threats
Due to the fact that every business faces threats either during start-up or whilst running the business, we can for a certainty say that we are ready for any threats that we might encounter during the course of starting or running our catering equipment hire business.
The threats that we are likely to encounter are a weakened or depressed economy as this will affect those that will need to hire our equipment, entry of serious competitors into the same location of our business, as well as governmental policies that might negatively affect our industry.
7. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Market Trends
There are always occasions every now and then, however the timing of these occasions are generally better at certain times in the year, which usually sees the catering equipment service getting a surge in demand as compared to other times in the year.
However, that there are fewer demands during certain periods of the year does not mean that as a standard catering equipment company, we cannot find other means of exploring the market and ensuring our services get better.
One trend is that some catering equipment hire services are also offering catering or decorating services to their various customers in order to boost their revenue. While we do not intend to go into an elaborate catering service, we will in the near future consider catering services for corporate and formal events, so as to widen our customer range. We also intend to attend fairs so as to better reach our customers and network as well.
Technology plays a very important role in our everyday lives for businesses and private individuals. We intend to use technology to give our business an effective boost, by ensuring that we create an interactive website, make sure our social media platforms are active and also engage in enlightening discussions in various forums and blogs.
8. Our Target Market
The catering equipment hire service is one that has a huge target market that cannot be restricted to certain customers there are more people who are not only caterers that hire catering equipment for various reasons. Our strategic location in Manhattan – New York will afford us the opportunity of being reachable to our various clients – both existing and potential.
To thoroughly understand our target market, we conducted a market research that will allow us know what to expect from our customers and the trends that might likely crop up. From the market research we understand that we would be offering our catering equipment hire service to the following group of people;
- Catering businesses
- Event planners
- Corporate businesses
- Movie houses
- Restaurants and hotels
- Celebrities
Our competitive advantage
We are starting a catering equipment hire service in order to build a business that will make profit, be amongst the top five catering equipment hirers by 2022 in the United States of America, and also compete favorably amongst competitors. However, to achieve the listed factors, we intend to come up with strategies that will give us a competitive advantage in the industry.
One of our competitive advantages is to hire only competent and experienced professionals into our company. This is because they would better understand how to help grow our business from where it is to where we intend it to be. Our management team for instance will need to understand what our core functions and corporate values are so that they can better communicate it to the general employees.
We intend to ensure that our catering equipment are of the highest quality because this will ensure that our equipment last for a very long time. Asides that, we also intend to ensure that we deal with our customers professionally and honestly, holding ourselves to the highest standards in the field.
We intend to give our catering equipment hire business intense publicity that will ensure that everyone in our target market is aware of us. Our publicity will not only be intense but unique as well and as such we will deploy several strategies perfectly targeted at both our existing customers as well as our potential customers.
Finally asides from hiring competent employees ready to help achieve our vision and objectives, we intend to ensure that our employees work in a conducive environment, are well paid, have great welfare packages and also undergo training continuously to enhance their skills and make them be more effective and efficient at their jobs. We also intend to carry out performance appraisals so as to promote or give incentives to those who are dedicated at their jobs.
9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
- Sources of Income
Zaras Catering Equipment Hire Service is a business that has been established with the aim of generating income from different sources of income to not only boost the bottom line of the company but to also generate profit as well that will allow us sustain and eventually expand the business to be able to cater to our teeming customers.
Therefore, we intend to generate income from offering our services from the following sources:
- Catering Equipment Hire Service
- Sale of Recipe Books
- Offering of ushering services
- Consultancy and Advisory Services
- Trainings
10. Sales Forecast
Because there are always occasions and events plus the fact that new caterers and event planners are springing up daily, means that there will always be a demand for catering equipment for use in an occasion or event.
Our strategic location in Manhattan p New York has us well positioned to not only generate enough revenue to cover for our start-up capital but to also ensure that we make profit in our first year of business to sustain and eventually cause us to expand our business.
After carrying out a thorough analysis of this industry, we were able to come up with a sales forecast that favored our kind of business and our location as well. However, because we wanted to be on the safe side, we hired a reputable business consultant here in Manhattan – New York to help in conducting a thorough analysis that will not reflect any bias that might have been contained if we carried out the analysis ourselves.
The sales projections that were carried out on behalf of Zaras Catering Equipment Hire Service was based on our location and several other factors as well;
- First Fiscal Year-: $270,000
- Second Fiscal Year-: $540,000
- Third Fiscal Year-: $1,100,000
N.B: It should be noted that these projections were done based on the assumptions that several factors such as the state of the economy, entry regulations, location as well as competitors remained the same. This means that should there be any change either positive or negative in any of these factors, then the projections might increase or decrease.
- Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy
Marketing is one very important aspect of any business because through marketing a business not only gets the target market to be aware of its products and services; it also allows revenue to be generated for the company. It is through this generation of revenue that a company is able to sustain itself, achieve its goals and objectives, pay its bills and eventually expand.
However, to achieve the above stated aims, the marketing strategies must be thoroughly drafted so that money is not spent amiss marketing the business the wrong way.
To ensure that we draft effective marketing strategies that will help us generate revenue for our business, we intend to conduct a market survey that is very thorough and will allow us know what strategies to draft that will be effective enough to penetrate our target market and allow us have a large share of the market.
Our market survey conducted on our behalf through a marketing consultant with experience in this industry, supplied us with detailed data that we will utilize when we begin perfecting our marketing strategies.
Our marketing executives who are also experts in marketing have been empowered to review our strategies and discard strategies that are not effective or tweak those that can later become effective so as to achieve our corporate goals and overall organizational objectives of being the preferred catering equipment hire business here in Manhattan – New York as well as being amongst the top five in the whole United States of America.
Technology has come to stay and businesses that have refused to adapt have lost a hold of their market share, which is why we intend to take technology very seriously when adapting it to our marketing strategies. We already have built a website that is interactive and which is being used to promote and market our services.
Also, our social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter have been deployed vigorously by our marketing executives to create awareness about our brand and also market our services to the target market. Finally, Zaras Catering Equipment Hire Business intends to adopt the following measures in marketing our services to our various customers;
- Network with established caterers and event planners by introducing our businesses to them and other stakeholders
- Place adverts for our business in local newspapers, on radio and television stations
- Advertise our catering equipment hiring service in food magazines and other related magazines
- Open our grand opening party with a bang so as to create awareness in our target market
- Engage in direct marketing
- Use the internet such as our website and other blogs and forum and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, to market our business.
11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy
Even though we have several strategies in place to ensure that we achieve our vision in the next four years, we cannot overlook the value of intense publicity. Engaging in publicity will allow us compete favorably with our competitors and also promote our catering equipment business to our target market which contains our existing as well as potential customers.
We intend to engage in different publicity actions that will not only promote but also build our brand so that Zaras Catering Equipment Hire Service is not only known in Manhattan – New York but all over the United States of America as well. Our publicity strategy will be perfected into our advertising so as to build up our bottom line as well.
Therefore we intend to use the following publicity strategy to achieve our aim of promoting our catering equipment service;
- Ensure that we create a unique logo for our catering equipment hire business
- Ensure that our staff wear customized tee-shirts and that our delivery van are emblazoned with out logos and colors as well
- Place adverts in magazines, local newspapers, on radio and television stations
- Distribute our fliers and paste our handbills in strategic areas
- Positioning our flexi banners in strategic locations
- Use our social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to promote our catering equipment hire service
12. Our Pricing Strategy
The pricing or rate a company sets on its products and services are very important. In setting a price, several factors have to be put into consideration, such as what overhead expenses the company incurred, what its operating expenses are, and what its similar competitors in same location were offering the target market.
The pricing is also something that should be deemed fair to the customers in relation to the equipment hired, so that they do not feel they are being extorted.
In our first few months of operations and to be able to create awareness about our catering equipment hiring business and also attract the customers we need, we intend to lower our prices. The lowering of our prices will be done in careful consideration of the before mentioned factors, this is to ensure that we will not run at a loss during the course of lowering our prices to attract customers.
- Payment Options
We know our target market will contain a diverse group of customers, and so we at Zaras Catering Equipment Hire Service intend to ensure that we roll out payment options that will suit our various customers and their preferred style. The payment options we intend to make available to our different customers are;
- Payment via cash
- Payment via check
- Payment via online bank transfer
- Payment via Point of Sale Machine (POS)
- Payment via Credit Card
The above platforms were chosen after a careful consideration in conjunction with our bank, which will ensure that whatever choice our customers pick will be without hitches.
13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)
Generating start-up capital is one thing, but deciding what the capital will be spent on before the business starts to generate revenue and make profit. We however intend to spend the bulk of our capital in buying the catering equipment, getting a delivery truck as well as pay the salaries of our employees and also pay some bills as well.
Therefore the key areas where we intend to spend our start-up capital on are;
- Total fee for registering business in the United States of America – $750
- Obtaining licenses and permits, accounting software, as well as other legal expenses – $1,250
- Purchase of catering equipment – $50,000
- Purchase of van for delivering equipment to customers – $30,000
- Hiring of a business consultant – $2,000
- Insurance coverage – (General liability, workers’ compensation) – $3,000
- Marketing expenses (Promotion expenses for grand opening ($1,500), general marketing ($3,500) – $5,000
- Operational cost for a period of 6 months (employees’ salaries, bills payments) – $150,000
- Other start-up expenses (stationery, phone, computers, printers) – $3,000
- Equipment storage cost (racks, bins, shelves) – $2,000
- Cost of launching website – $500
- Cost of throwing a grand opening party – $2,500
- Miscellaneous – $5,000
From the above report, we would need an estimate of $255,000 to be able to successfully start up and run our catering equipment hiring service in the United States of America. It is worthy to note that part of our start-up capital will go into paying the salaries of our employees as well as several utility bills for at least 6 months.
Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Zara’s Catering Equipment Hire Business
Generating the required capital for a business start-up is a task that every entrepreneur must deal with in the course of running the business. Zara’s Catering Equipment Hire Service is a business that is owned and run by Zara Green. Zara intends to run her business on her own without having to welcome external partners and so this will limit the sources which she will use to generate income for her catering equipment business.
The areas which Zara intends to generate the start-up capital are:
- Generating part capital from personal savings
- Applying for loan from commercial bank
- Sourcing for soft loans from friends
N.B: From the above three sources, Zara was able to generate the sum of $30,000 from two years personal savings, $45,000 from several of her wealthy friends and $180,000 from her bank. The loan by the bank was just recently approved and Zara is expecting her business account to be credited at any minute.
14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy
Every business established to make profit, does not stop at generating income but also seek measures by which the business can be sustained as well. Therefore we have several strategies on ground such as ensuring that we retain our loyal customers, re-invest our earnings in order to boost our bottom line, as well as hire competent hands that will help achieve our sustainability and expansion objectives.
We intend to ensure that we not only meet our customers’ expectations but exceed it. We will always stay in touch with our customers via our social media platforms, website and through our emails as well. We also intend to ensure that our customers get quick replies to their enquiries, and that any complaints if any are promptly attended to. We also will give all our loyal customers discounts for referrals.
We intend to offer different services that will yield several sources of income and in order to ensure that we remain in business for a long time; we will re-invest our earnings not only to boost our bottom line but also to ensure that we sustain our catering equipment hire business and eventually expand it as well.
Finally, we intend to ensure that we hire competent employees that have the required experience as well as are attuned to the vision of the company to ensure that we achieve our goals and objectives. We intend to carry out trainings for our employees so that they will enhance their skills and also be more productive in the work place.
Also, we intend to pay our staff very well, and ensure that we create great welfare packages for them. We know that if we stick to these measures, we will attain our sustainability and expansion measures successfully.
Check List / Milestone
- Business Name Availability Check: Completed
- Business Registration: Completed
- Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
- Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
- Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
- Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
- Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
- Application for business license and permit: Completed
- Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
- Conducting feasibility studies: Completed
- Generating capital from family members: Completed
- Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
- writing of business plan: Completed
- Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
- Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
- Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
- Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
- Recruitment of employees: In Progress
- Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
- Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
- Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
- Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress
- Establishing business relationship with vendors – wholesale suppliers / merchants: In Progress
- Purchase of trucks: Completed