Do you want to start a food cart business? If YES, here is a complete guide to starting a profitable food cart business with NO money and no experience plus a sample food cart business plan template.
It is easy to assume that the food cart business is amongst the easiest business to run in the food cum restaurant industry, but the truth is that if want to start this type of business and do not want to get frustrated, then you have to do a lot to make it stand the test of time.
The food cart business concept is gaining more grounds in the united states in recent years, and they are known to sell gourmet cuisines and a variety of specialties and ethnic menus. Little wonder food carts are on the front line of the street food industry and they serve an estimated 2.5 billion people daily.
A food cart is one business that an entrepreneur can successfully start without breaking the bank. At the same time, big time investors can also leverage on the high demand for street food to set up their own food carts in strategic locations all around key cities in the United States of America and in other parts of the world via franchising.
Before launching this type of business, it will pay you to carry out your market research, economic and cost analysis and of course feasibility studies. You will need to make sure that you have reasons why you want to be in this line of business. This means that there has to be a real connection between you and the people whose food problems you want to solve.
If you get things right before launching your food cart business, it will not take you long before you break even and start smiling to the bank. Thus, if you want to start your own food cart business, all you need do is to read this article and you will be well equipped.
Steps to Starting a Food Cart Business
1. Understand the Industry
For the last seven years; from 2008 to 2015, the street food industry has experienced consistent growth. Despite the fact that food cart business may not be new in the food service and restaurant industry, it is a known fact that the street food industry is still growing in leaps and bounds and there is still more room for growth within the industry.
Despite the introduction of some unfavorable laws and regulations by many cities across the United States and Canada, the food cart business is still flourishing.
The annual food cart cum food truck revenue in the United States is about $1,200,000,000 and the Industry revenue increased by 12.4 percent over the past five years. The total number of food carts cum trucks in U.S. is put at 4,130. The Street Food Industry revenue increased over the past five years at the rate of 12.4 percent.
The average revenue generated per food cart/truck in the United States is about $290,556 and the average spending per order at a food truck is $12.40. The average amount required to own a food cart or truck is about $85,000.
In the United States, Canada, Australia and even Europe, the percentage of sales generated by food carts/trucks based on market segments are; Street locations or street corners account for 55 percent, construction work sites and industrial sites account for 15 percent, shopping malls account for 12 percent and other locations, venues and event centers account for 18 percent.
Food carts and food trucks have been around for years, they are popular when it comes to serving construction sites, campgrounds, factories, and other blue-collar work locations. The industry is meeting a need in the society; people who don’t have the time to search for restaurants or travel a distance to eat in a restaurant find it time saving and cheaper to patronize food carts and trucks.
Food carts and trucks are not only patronized for their affordability but also because it saves time and it brings back memories; the business has been around as far back as 1800s.
In the early days of food carts and food truck business, it is common to see food carts and food truck serve foods like dried beans, greasy cloth – wrapped bacon, cornmeal, salt pork, beef, smoked fish, and other food that are easy to preserve. They also serve coffee and tea.
Recently, there has been an appreciable increase in the number of food cart business owners in the United States. This increase can be attributed to creativity, change in lifestyle of the average American and of course post – recession and economic factors. In essence the food industry is growing and the future is still bright for the industry.
As a matter of fact, the popularity of food carts and trucks lead to the formation of associations that protect and support the interest of the industry; associations such as the Philadelphia Mobile Food Association and Off the Grid Food Organization et al.
Conventional restaurant owners are venturing into food carts and food truck businesses because it is easier for them to attract sales when they are mobile as against being positioned in one location. For example, a food cart can visit more than two event venues in a day to sell their food and drinks.
The food cart business will continue to blossom because people will always want to eat when they are hungry and can’t afford to go home to fix meal for themselves. Despite the fact that the industry seems over – saturated, there is still room big enough to accommodate aspiring entrepreneurs who intend opening their own food cart businesses in the United States of America.
Over and above, the Street Food industry is a profitable industry and it is open for any aspiring entrepreneur to come in and establish his or her business; you can choose to start on a small scale in a street corner like the average mom and pop business or you can choose to start on a large scale with several food carts covering key cities with the view of selling franchise in future.
2. Conduct Market Research and Feasibility Studies
- Demographics and Psychographics
The demographic and psychographic composition of those who buy/eat street food cut across all genders and age group; male and female, adults and children all eat foods that are sold by food trucks hence the demographic composition for the food cart business is all encompassing.
The truth is that when it comes to selling street food from food carts, there is indeed a wide range of available customers. In essence, your target market can’t be restricted to just a group of people, but all those that reside around the locations where you have your food carts and who have the required purchasing power.
3. Decide Which Niche to Concentrate On
It is important to state that there is no known niche area when it comes to the food cart business. Every player in this line of business are basically involved in preparing and serving/selling varieties of street food alongside coffee, water and other beverages.
Naturally, it is common to find a standard food cart engage in preparing and selling all of the under listed;
- Hot dogs
- Sausage products
- Gourmet Cuisine Truck
- Freshly Prepared Sushi Rolls and Organic Food
- Veg Food
- Fast Food
- Street food
- Ice cream and yogurt
- Coffee, bottled water and beverages
The Level of Competition in the Industry
The competition that exists in the food cart line of business goes beyond competition amongst food carts in your location; you are expected to compete with fast food restaurants, mobile food trucks, regular restaurants and sandwich shops and any other outlets that also sell ice cream, yogurt, hot dog and sausages, fast food and other snacks.
So, it will be right to say the competition in the food cart line of business is tough. The truth is that no matter the level of competition in an industry, if you have done your due diligence and you brand and promote your products or business properly, you will always make headway in the industry.
Just ensure you are good at preparing the varieties of fast food and snacks you have on your menu, you can deliver excellent customer care services and you know how to attract and reach out to your target market.
But over and above, there are several food carts, fast food restaurants, mobile food trucks, regular restaurants and sandwich shops and any other outlets that also sell ice cream, yogurt, hot dog and sausages, fast food and other snacks scattered all around the United States.
So, if you choose to start your own food cart business in the United States, you will definitely meet stiff competitions amongst them. Besides, there are larger food carts – brands that determine the trends in the industry and you should be ready to compete with them for customers.
4. Know Your Major Competitors in the Industry
In every industry, there are always brands that perform better or are better regarded by customers and the general public than the others.
Some of these brands are those that have been in the industry for a long while and so are known for that, while others are best known for how they conduct their businesses and the results they have achieved over the years. These are some of the leading food carts/food truck brands in the United States of America and in the globe;
- Don Chow Tacos food truck
- A Kogi Korean BBQ food truck
- Big Gay Ice Cream Truck – New York City
- Chef Jeremiah – Miami, Florida
- Chi’Lantro BBQ – Texas (Austin, Fort Hood, Houston)
- Clover Food Lab – Boston, Massachusetts
- Coolhaus – Southern California, New York City, Austin and Dallas
- Template: Jersey Dogs – Los Angeles and Ventura county California
- Don Chow Tacos – Los Angeles, California
- Grease Trucks – Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
- The Halal Guys – New York City
- Honeysuckle Gelato – Atlanta, Georgia
- Kelvin Natural Slush Co. – New York, New York
- KIND Movement – tours the United States
- Kogi Korean BBQ – Los Angeles, California
- Korilla BBQ – New York City
- Maximus/Minimus – Seattle, Washington
- Pincho Man – Miami, Florida
- Taco Bus – Tampa, Florida
- The Grilled Cheese Truck – Southwest United States
Economic Analysis
If you are looking towards successfully launching a business and maximizing profits, then you need to ensure that you get your economic and cost analysis right and try as much as possible to adopt best practices in the industry you choose to build a business in.
Food cart business is not a Green business; as a matter of fact, you will come across several food carts, fast food restaurants, mobile food trucks, regular restaurants, sandwich shops and any other outlets that also sell ice cream, yogurt, fast food and other snacks when you drive through town.
So, if you are mapping out your economic and cost analysis, you should carry out thorough market survey and costing of what is required to rent a space where you are expected to build a standard kitchen and the amount required to purchase mobile food cart, microwave oven, bread toaster, cooking utensils and equipment, baking flour, food ingredients and other supplies and also the running cost of the business.
Over and above, if you are considering starting a food cart business, then your concern should not be limited to the cost of purchasing a mobile truck/cart and other supplies, but also on branding and on how to build a robust clientele base. The truth is that if you are able to build a robust clientele base, you are sure going to succeed.
5. Decide Whether to Buy a Franchise or Start from Scratch
There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to choosing how you intend starting a business. Basically, you should be guided by your overall business vision and mission statement.
When it comes to starting a business of this nature, it will pay you to buy the franchise of a successful and well – established food cart or food truck brand as against starting from the scratch. Even though it is relatively expensive buying the franchise of an established food cart/food truck brand, but it will definitely pay you.
But if you truly want to build your own brand after you must have proved your worth in the Street Food industry, then you might just want to start your own food cart business from the scratch.
The truth is that it will pay you in the long run to start your food cart business from the scratch. Starting from the scratch will afford you the opportunity to conduct thorough market survey and feasibility studies before choosing a location to launch the business.
Please note that most of the big and successful food cart and food truck businesses around started from the scratch and they were able to build a solid business brand.
It takes dedication, hard work and determination to achieve business success and of course you can build your own food cart business – brand to become a successful brand with corporate and individual clients from all across the city where your food cart business is located and through the length and breadth of the United States of America and other countries of the world if you decide to go into owning loads of food carts and franchising.
6. Know the Possible Threats and Challenges You Will Face
If you decide to start your own food cart business today, one of the major challenges you are likely going to face is the presence of well – established food carts, fast food restaurants, mobile food trucks regular restaurants, sandwich shops and any other outlets that also sell ice cream, yogurts, fast food and other snacks.
The only way to avoid this challenge is to create your own market. Some other challenges and threats that you are likely going to face is economic downturn; if the economy is in bad shape, history has it that businesses such as food carts usually struggle to maintain their old customers or even welcome new customers.
7. Choose the Most Suitable Legal Entity (LLC, C Corp, S Corp)
When considering starting a food cart business, the legal entity you choose will go a long way to determine how big the business can grow. Some food cart businesses design their business for neighborhood markets, some for city wide market, while others for the national market via franchising and owning loads of food carts.
Generally, you have the option of either choosing a general partnership, limited liability company which is commonly called an LLC, or even a sole proprietorship for a food cart business.
Ordinarily, sole proprietorship should have been the ideal business structure for a small – scale food cart business especially if you are just starting out with a moderate start – up capital in a small neighborhood and with just one outlet. But people prefer limited liability Company for obvious reasons.
As a matter of fact, if your intention is to grow the business and have loads of food carts across the United States of America and other countries of the world via franchising, then choosing sole proprietor is not an option for you. Limited Liability Company, LLC or even general partnership will cut it for you.
Setting up an LLC protects you from personal liability. If anything goes wrong in the business, it is only the money that you invested into the limited liability company that will be at risk. It is not so for sole proprietorships and general partnerships.
Limited liability companies are simpler and more flexible to operate and you don’t need a board of directors, shareholders meetings and other managerial formalities. These are some of the factors you should consider before choosing a legal entity for your food cart business; limitation of personal liability, ease of transferability, admission of new owners and investors’ expectation and of course taxes.
If you take your time to critically study the various legal entities available for us in your food cart business with the ability to sell franchise and having loads of food carts all across the United States of America, you will agree that limited liability company; an LLC is most suitable.
You can start this type of business as limited liability company (LLC) and in future convert it to a ‘C’ corporation or an ‘S’ corporation especially when you have the plans of going public.
8. Choose a Catchy Business Name
When it comes to choosing a name for your business, you should be creative because whatever name you choose for your business will go a long way to create a perception of what the business represents.
Usually it is the norm for people to follow the trend in the industry they intend operating from when naming their business. If you are considering starting your own food cart business, here are some catchy names that you can choose from;
- Sally Baker® Food Carts, LLC
- Grace Moore™ Food Carts, LLC
- Princess Daniella© Mobile Foods, Inc.
- Foods on Wheel®, Inc.
- Tommy Jackson™ Mobile Foods, Inc.
- Tasty Tanya™ Food Cart, Inc.
- The Food King© Food Cart, Inc.
- One Stop® Mobile Food Cart, LLC
- Jeff Jules© Food Cart, Inc.
- Finger Licking© Mobile Food Cart, Inc.
9. Discuss with an Agent to Know the Best Insurance Policies for You
In the United States and in most countries of the world, you can’t operate a business without having some of the basic insurance policy covers that are required by the industry you want to operate from. So, it is important to create a budget for insurance and perhaps consult an insurance broker to guide you in choosing the best and most appropriate insurance policies for your food cart business.
Here are some of the basic insurance covers that you should consider purchasing if you want to start your own food cart business in the United States of America;
- General insurance
- Health/Medical insurance
- Liability insurance
- Workers Compensation
- Overhead expense disability insurance
- Business owner’s policy group insurance
- Payment protection insurance
10. Protect your Intellectual Property With Trademark, Copyrights, Patents
If you are considering starting your own food cart business, usually you may not have any need to file for intellectual property protection. This is because the nature of the business makes it possible for you to successfully run the business without having any cause to challenge anybody in court for illegally making use of your company’s intellectual properties.
But if you just want to protect your company’s logo and other documents or software that are unique to you or even jingles and media production concepts, then you can go ahead to file for intellectual property protection. If you want to register your trademark, you are expected to begin the process by filing an application with the USPTO. The final approval of your trademark is subjected to the review of attorneys as required by USPTO.
11. Get the Necessary Professional Certification
Aside from the results you produce as it relates to preparing tasty and good street food, professional certification is one of the main reasons why most mobile food trucks or food cart brands stand out. If you want to make an impact in the street food industry, you should work towards acquiring all the needed certifications in your area of specialization.
You are strongly encouraged to pursue professional certifications; it will go a long way to show your commitment towards the business.
Certification validates your competency and shows that you are highly skilled, committed to your career, and up-to-date in this competitive market. These are some of the certifications you can work towards achieving if you want to run your own food cart company;
- Clean Health Certificate
- Food handler Certification
- Catering Training Certificate
Please note that you can successfully run a food cart company in the United States and in most countries of the world without necessarily acquiring professional certifications as long as you have adequate experience cum background in the street food industry.
12. Get the Necessary Legal Documents You Need to Operate
The essence of having the necessary documentation in place before launching a business in the United States of America cannot be overemphasized. It is a fact that you cannot successfully run any business in the United States without the proper documentations.
If you do, it won’t be too long before the long arm of the law catches up with you. These are some of the basic legal documents that you are expected to have in place if you want to legally run your own food cart business in the United States of America;
- Certificate of Incorporation
- Business License
- Tax Payer’s ID/Tax Identification Number
- Foods and drinks handlers certificate
- Health inspection Certificate
- Proof of district-issued food and drinks manager identification card
- Copy of license for the service support facility and/or a recent inspection report
- Business Plan
- Non – disclosure Agreement
- Employee Handbook
- Employment Agreement (offer letters)
- Operating Agreement for LLCs
- Insurance Policy
- Online Terms of Use (if you also operate online)
- Online Privacy Policy Document (basically for online payment portal)
- Company Bylaws
- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
- Building License
- Franchise or Trademark License (optional)
13. Raise the Needed Startup Capital
A food cart business can be cost effective if you choose to start on a small scale by running the business in a street corner.
Securing a standard and reliable mobile cart and purchasing microwave oven, bread toaster, cooking utensils and equipment, baking and food ingredient supplies and serving wares et al are part of what will consume a large chunk of your start – up capital.
If you choose to start the business on a large scale, you would need to go source for funds to finance the business because it is expensive to start a standard large scale food cart business. No doubt when it comes to financing a business, one of the first thing you should consider is to write a good business plan.
If you have a good and workable business plan document in place, you may not have to labor yourself before convincing your bank, investors and your friends to invest in your business. Here are some of the options you can explore when sourcing for start – up capital for your food cart business;
- Raising money from personal savings and sale of personal stocks and properties
- Raising money from investors and business partners
- Sell shares to interested investors
- Applying for Loan from your Bank
- Pitching your business idea and applying for business grants and seed funding from donor organizations and angel investors
- Source for soft loans from your family members and your friends
14. Choose a Suitable Location for your Business
When it comes to choosing a location for your food cart business, the rule of thumb is that you should be guided by the demand for street food, drinks and other snacks and easy access to wholesale purchase of food ingredients from farmers or wholesale food distributors.
Of course, if you are able to secure a central location for your food cart business, it will give people easy access to your mobile cart.
It cannot be overemphasized that the location you chose to start your food cart business is key to the success of the business, hence entrepreneurs are willing to rent or lease a facility in a visible location; a location where the demography consists of people with the required purchasing power and lifestyle.
If you make the mistake of renting or leasing a facility for your food cart business in a not too visible or hidden location simply because it is cheap, then you must be prepared to spend more in promoting the business and perhaps giving direction to potential customers.
These are some of the key factors you should consider before choosing a location for your food cart business;
- The demography of the location
- The demand for street food, drinks and other snacks in the location
- The purchasing power of the residents of the location
- Accessibility of the location and the road network
- The number of food carts, hot dog and sausage carts, sandwich shops, fast food restaurants, mobile food trucks, regular restaurants and any other outlets that also sell food, drinks and other snacks in the location
- The local laws and regulations in the community/state
- Traffic, parking and security
15. Hire Employees for your Technical and Manpower Needs
On the average, there are no special technology or equipment needed to run this type of business except for a reliable mobile food cart, cooking utensils, food service equipment (microwave, toasters, dishwasher, refrigerator, blender, etc.),
Storage hardware (bins, utensil rack, shelves, food case), Counter area equipment (counter top, sink, ice machine, etc.), Computers and receipt issuing machines, Sound System (For playing music), and Point of Sale Machines (POS Machines).
So also, you will definitely need computers/laptops, internet facility, telephone, fax machine and office furniture (chairs, tables, and shelves) amongst others and all these can be gotten as fairly used.
As regards leasing or outright purchase of a kitchen facility, the choice is dependent on your financial standing, but the truth is that to be on the safe side, it is advisable to start off with a short – term rent/lease while test running the business in the location.
If things work out as planned, then go on a long – term lease or outright purchase of the property but if not, then move on and source for other ideal location/facility for such business.
When it comes to hiring employees for a standard food cart business with several mobile food carts, you should make plans to hire a competent Chief Executive Officer (you can occupy this role), Admin and Human Resources Manager, Merchandize Manager, Bakers/Cook/Chef, Manager, Sales and Marketing Officer/Sales Girls and Sales Boys/Cart Operators, Accounting Clerk and Cleaners.
These are some of the key employees that you can work with. On the average, you will need a minimum of 5 to 10 key staff members to run a small – scale but standard food cart business.
The Service Delivery Process of the Business
When it comes to the business service process of a food cart business, there are no hard and fast rules about it. Basically, it is the duty of the merchandize manager to help the organization purchase baking flour, food ingredients and packaging/serving materials.
They go out there to source for good purchasing deals and they also ensure that they only purchase at the right prices that will guarantee them good profit.
Once the food cart business is in full operation, food and other snacks are prepared and they are listed on the menu. Fast food, snacks and drinks purchased from a food cart are usually taken away since it is a mobile food cart and they may not have the capacity to accommodate all their customers.
It is important to state that a food cart business may decide to improvise or adopt any business process and structure that will guarantee them efficiency and flexibility; the above stated food cart business process is not cast on stone.
16. Write a Marketing Plan Packed with ideas & Strategies
Usually, running a business requires that you should be proactive when it comes to marketing your goods or services. If you choose to launch a food cart business, then you must go all out to employ strategies that will help you attract customers or else you will likely struggle with the business because there are well – known brands that determine the market direction for the fast food restaurants industry cum street food industry.
These are some of the marketing ideas and strategies that you can adopt for your food cart business;
- Introduce your food cart by sending introductory letters alongside your brochure to construction companies, farm settlements, campgrounds, corporate organizations, car owners, taxi companies, transport companies, households, sports organizations, gyms, schools, and other key stakeholders throughout the city where your food cart will be positioned.
- Advertise on the internet on blogs and forums, and also on social media like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn to get your message across, so that those on the social media or those who read blogs will know where to go when they need to purchase street food, drinks and other snacks within your location
- Create a basic website for your business so as to give your business an online presence
- Directly market your products
- Engage in road shows in targeted communities from time to time to promote your food cart business
- Join local food carts and mobile food truck business associations for industry trends and tips
- Provide discount days for your customers
- Advertise your business in community based newspapers, local TV and radio stations
- List your business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
- Encourage the use of Word of mouth marketing (referrals)
17. Work Out a Reasonable Pricing for your Services & Products
One key factor that will help you sell your fast food, drinks and other snacks and beverages at rock bottom prices is to purchase your food supplies directly from farmers or from food ingredient wholesalers in pretty large quantities. The truth is that the higher the quantity of items you purchase directly from farmers and wholesalers, the cheaper you tend to get them.
Another strategy that will help you retail your fast food, drinks and other snacks and beverages at the right price is to ensure that you cut operational costs to the barest minimum, and channel your efforts towards marketing and promoting your brand name. Aside from the fact that this strategy will help you save cost, it will also help you get the right pricing for your products.
18. Develop Iron-clad Competitive Strategies to Help You Win
The availability of varieties of well – prepared food and other snacks and beverages in your food cart, your business process and of course your pricing model are part of what you need to stay competitive in the industry.
Another possible competitive strategy for winning your competitors in this particular industry is to build a robust clientele base.
Over and above, ensure that your organization is well positioned, key members of your team are highly qualified and fast foods, other snacks and beverages listed on your menu can favorably compete with some of the best in the fast food restaurants industry and street food industry.
19. Brainstorm Possible Ways to Retain Clients & Customers
When it comes to business, no matter the industry that you choose to pitch your tent in, one of the easiest ways to increase customer retention and perhaps attract new customers is to produce results and satisfy your customers always.
If your customers are satisfied with your products and services delivery, they can hardly source for alternative service providers or products.
If you can continue to make available varieties of well – prepared and tasty fast foods and other snacks and beverages in your food cart at every moment, and your customer service delivery is top notch, then you won’t struggle to maintain loyal customers.
Ensure that you offer your customers incentives if you want to retain them and of course continue to generate repeated sales from them and also to attract new customers.
Part of what you need to do to achieve this is to track progress, results or outputs with the aim of improving on them quickly as the case demands. When it comes to managing your customers and building a loyal clientele base, you should purchase a customized CRM software.
With a customized CRM system, you can easily stay in touch with your clients (you can carry out quick survey, you can introduce new products and prices to them without any hitch, you can felicitate with them on their birthdays and other anniversaries, you can keep track of their progress, you can send bulk sms and customized emails and above all, you can easily receive complaints and feedback from them).
20. Develop Strategies to Boost Brand Awareness and Create a Corporate Identity
If you are in business and you are not deliberate about boosting you brand awareness and communicating your corporate identity, then you should be ready to take on whatever the society portrays your business to be. One of the secret of larger corporations is that they are willing to spend fortunes year in and year out to boost their brand awareness and to continue to communicate their corporate identity.
If your intention of starting a food cart business is to grow the business beyond the city where you are going to be operating from to become a national and international brand by owning loads of food carts and franchising, then you must be ready to spend money on promotion and advertisement of your brand.
No matter the industry you belong to, the truth is that the market is a dynamic and it requires consistent brand awareness and brand boosting cum promotion to continue to appeal to your target market. Your corporate identity has a lot to do when it comes to building a profitable business.
Here are the platforms you can leverage on to boost your brand awareness and create corporate identity for your food cart business;
- Place adverts on both print (newspapers and food magazines) and electronic media platforms
- Sponsor relevant community based events
- Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote your food cart business
- Install your billboards on strategic locations all around your city or state
- Engage in roadshows from time to time in targeted neighborhoods to create awareness of your food cart business
- Distribute your fliers and handbills in target areas
- Contact constructions companies/sites, camp grounds, farm settlements, corporate organizations, car owners, taxi companies, transport companies, households, sports organizations, gyms, schools and other key stakeholders throughout the city where your food cart is located informing them about your food cart business and the food, snacks and beverages you sell
- List your food cart business in local directories/yellow pages
- Advertise your food cart business in your official website and employ strategies that will help you pull traffic to the site
- Position our Flexi Banners at strategic positions in the location where food cart business is located.
- Ensure that all your staff members wear your branded shirts and all your carts, vehicles, trucks and vans are well branded with your company logo et al.
21. Create a Suppliers / Distribution Network
In order to successfully run a food cart business, you must establish good business relationship with farmers and wholesalers of food ingredients within the city where your food cart is located. Of course, you would need steady supply of food ingredients from wholesalers and farmers in order to remain in business.
You are also expected to create business networks with construction site managers, campground managers, event planners, schools, parks, sport centers and managers of public facilities.
They are in a better position to give you access to sell your food and snacks to a large group of people most especially during events that they are hosting. Depending on your agreement with them, you might be compelled to pay certain fee or commission.