Chris W.
TVWBB Pro
This is for anyone that has their own catering business. I'm looking to start my own, and have some questions. I intend to start small (at least at first), and do this as a weekend thing, while I continue to work full-time at my day job. My plan is to do smaller events in my local area, catering to 20-50 people ideally, mainly with pulled pork (my best dish).
I've been doing some research online and I have some questions. Every place I've seen says not to skip the business plan, but I have no idea how to write one. Does anyone know of anyplace that might provide good sample business plans for a catering business? Also, I figure I'll need to report my earnings to the I.R.S. if this pans out. Does anyone have any experiance with this? Do I just list it on my year-end tax form that I fill out early every year, or do I need to do something special?
As for advertising, does anyone know how much this might run? I'm hoping to do a few free events in my neighborhood soon (like the 4th of July) and mention to my neighbors I'm looking to start a catering business and see if they could mention me to people that are looking for that kind of thing. But I figure I'd like to have a website at least, and I have no practice with making websites. Any idea how much that might run?
Is there some database somewhere of company names? I've got one kind-of picked out, but if there's another company with that name I don't want to get slapped with a copyright infringement lawsuit. Any idea how to go about checking on this?
For those of you that run your own businesses, do you use any specilized software for accounting, or do you use something like Microsoft Money?
I figure I've got the biggest portion of my expenses covered - the smoker. But, depending on whatever job I get, I will likely have to buy some meat warmers, and probably get some bulk plates and silverware from Sam's Club, all of which will run me a pretty penny.
I plan on calling local BBQ joints in the area to base my pricing on, but I also need to create my own menu. Does anyone know if there's specilizied software for that, or do I use Word or something similar?
Also, will I need any kind of insurance for this? I'd hate to get a bad piece of meat that made alot of people sick and be faced with multiple lawsuits.
Sorry for the long post, but I'd like to get this stuff figured out before I really begin to seriously think about doing this. Thanks in advance!
I've been doing some research online and I have some questions. Every place I've seen says not to skip the business plan, but I have no idea how to write one. Does anyone know of anyplace that might provide good sample business plans for a catering business? Also, I figure I'll need to report my earnings to the I.R.S. if this pans out. Does anyone have any experiance with this? Do I just list it on my year-end tax form that I fill out early every year, or do I need to do something special?
As for advertising, does anyone know how much this might run? I'm hoping to do a few free events in my neighborhood soon (like the 4th of July) and mention to my neighbors I'm looking to start a catering business and see if they could mention me to people that are looking for that kind of thing. But I figure I'd like to have a website at least, and I have no practice with making websites. Any idea how much that might run?
Is there some database somewhere of company names? I've got one kind-of picked out, but if there's another company with that name I don't want to get slapped with a copyright infringement lawsuit. Any idea how to go about checking on this?
For those of you that run your own businesses, do you use any specilized software for accounting, or do you use something like Microsoft Money?
I figure I've got the biggest portion of my expenses covered - the smoker. But, depending on whatever job I get, I will likely have to buy some meat warmers, and probably get some bulk plates and silverware from Sam's Club, all of which will run me a pretty penny.
I plan on calling local BBQ joints in the area to base my pricing on, but I also need to create my own menu. Does anyone know if there's specilizied software for that, or do I use Word or something similar?
Also, will I need any kind of insurance for this? I'd hate to get a bad piece of meat that made alot of people sick and be faced with multiple lawsuits.
Sorry for the long post, but I'd like to get this stuff figured out before I really begin to seriously think about doing this. Thanks in advance!