From the roles stated in this article, it will be safe to say that the minimum number of employees a food truck business should employ is 7.
There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to the number of employees a food truck should have. This is so because every food truck business owner usually has a picture of the kind of business they want to build and that will indeed influence the number of employees they will hire.
Aside from that, the nature of a food truck business usually dictates the key employees a food truck business should hire. That is, if you want to start a food truck business, there are key positions that must be occupied in the food truck business.
Without such positions being occupied, you will find it difficult to operate the business. In this article, we will look at the key positions that must be occupied for a food truck to operate efficiently. With that, we will be able to come to a conclusion on the number of employees a food truck owner should have.
Key Employees of a Food Truck Business
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The Food Truck Driver
If you are considering starting a food truck business, one of the key positions that you should hire an employee to occupy is the food truck driver. This is an important position because a food truck is supposed to move from one location to another.
A food truck driver is expected to have a commercial driver’s license to qualify to drive a food truck in the United States. In case you don’t know the requirements for a food truck driver in your city or state, you may want to reach out to the local government office where you intend to run your food truck business.
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Chef or Cook
Another very important position that must be occupied before a food truck can effectively operate is the position of a chef or a cook. A food truck is a business that sells food, and drinks, and there should be someone responsible for preparing the food and determining the menu options.
This is the role of a chef or cook. The only reason why you should not hire an employee for this role is if you are getting the foods and drinks you sell from a third-party provider – a restaurant or a caterer.
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Kitchen Assistants
If you prepare the foods and drinks you sell from your food truck, then you should make plans to also hire a kitchen assistant (you can actually hire more than one kitchen assistant). The role of a kitchen assistant is simple and straightforward.
They are there to provide all the assistance a chef or cook needs when preparing the food for the food truck. They are also responsible for packaging the food, running errands in and around the kitchen, and in most cases handling the processing of ingredients, washing plates, and also cleaning the kitchen.
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Cashier (Account Clerk)
Another important role that you should make plans for is the position of a cashier or an account clerk. The fact that you are going to be involved in selling and buying means that you will be transacting in currency hence you will need someone who is trained to help you handle that role.
Trust me, if you have a qualified cashier or an account clerk as part of your employees in your food truck business, you can be assured that your books will be thorough, and your tax issues will be handled professionally.
Some food truck businesses that are just starting out may not have the financial capacity to hire a professional accountant hence, they contract that aspect of their business to a bookkeeper or accounting consultant. But the bottom line is that you would need a professional cashier or account clerk if you want to effectively run a food truck business.
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Attendants (Servers)
The fact that food truck sells food and drinks to customers means that they should have someone responsible for interfacing with customers once they make their orders. This is the reason why the role of an attendant or server is very important in a food truck business.
An attendant is a person that takes the order of a customer and then makes sure that they serve the customer what they requested. The whole idea is that an attendant is needed to serve customers when the food truck is out there selling.
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Merchandise or Procurement Manager
Another position a food truck business should consider hiring for is the position of merchandise manager. The major role of a merchandise manager is to make sure that all the ingredients and supplies that a food truck needs are in place. They make sure that the food truck business purchases quality ingredients from reliable sources for the best price so that the business can remain profitable.
A food truck business that is just starting out may not have the financial capacity to hire an employee to fill-up this role, but that does not mean it is a role that can be left unoccupied. In such a case, the owner of the food truck business or the manager of the business should look towards occupying this role.
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Manager
For a business to be well-coordinated and well-managed, there should be a manager for the business. In essence, if you are looking to start a food truck business, then one of the roles that you should make plans to hire for is the role of manager of the business. The responsibilities of the manager of a food truck business are simple and straightforward.
They are responsible for the day-to-day running of the food truck business. They are responsible for ensuring that all the employees in the food truck business are playing their roles, and over and above, they are responsible for ensuring that the food truck business is profitable.
Interestingly, the owner of the food truck business may occupy this role if the business is starting on a low budget pending when the business grows and is able to hire someone to handle the role.
In conclusion,
From the roles stated above, it will be safe to say that the minimum number of employees a food truck business should employ is seven (7). Although there are other roles that are not stated above that a standard food truck business usually hires people for. Some of the roles could be marketing and sales manager, IT officials, maintenance officers and kitchen managers et al.