College for Research & Technology of Cabanatuan Burgos Avenue, Cabanatuan City 3100 Tel. 463-2735 463-2697 600-2200 e-mail: crt.cabanatuan@gmail.com CATERING COMPANY BUSINESS PLAN Create a business plan when starting a catering business to help guide you through each stage of business development. Because there is much to consider when starting a business, a business plan may help you stay focused and reduce stress. Business plans are commonly used when seeking financing from banks and other lending institutions. Your business plan should contain the sections mentioned below and include information about the vision of the business, start-up costs, licensing and marketing strategies. Importance of a Catering Business Plan Having a detailed plan for your catering business to start with, before you accept clients by the numbers, helps you pull off even the biggest event you would have ever handled or accepted. Like most people who decided to start a food catering business, your brand of cooking might have earned years of praises from family and friends and with capital to help you build it as well as a passion for producing good, delicious food on the dining table. And like most, you are probably sitting scared, afraid to be shut a few months into your business because you haven’t planned it properly because you just realized that even the highest cooking skills isn’t enough to convince people to come to you when they need a catering service for a special occasion. Creating a Catering Company Business Plan A food catering business plan should include elements that are common to all business plans, but it should focus on elements that are specific to the catering and food services industry. These are the main sections your catering services business plan should include: 1. Executive Summary Start your business plan with an executive summary. This is a way to introduce your catering business so whoever is reading your business plan will know what to expect. This will include a brief introduction of your catering business, a description of your company, the services your catering business will be providing, and the customer focus. The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of catering business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup or do you already have an operating catering business. The executive summary will be a concise, compelling statement of how your business will operate, its underlying philosophy, and then you will briefly describe your products and services, potential expansion, and goals. The executive summary of your catering services business plan should provide an overview of your business revenue, expenses, break-even projections, and basic business facts. Executive summaries shouldn't be longer than one page, and they should also be written after you've finished all the detailed parts of your food catering business plan. 2. Company Overview Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the catering industry. Discuss the type of catering business you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan. Take the time to write the facts about your catering business, including, but not limited to: Business location and types of catering you plan to do. Business leadership and qualifications - even if you're a sole proprietor. Facilities and equipment - including if you're using a commercial or shared kitchen space. College for Research & Technology of Cabanatuan Burgos Avenue, Cabanatuan City 3100 Tel. 463-2735 463-2697 600-2200 e-mail: crt.cabanatuan@gmail.com In your company analysis, you will detail the type of catering business you are operating. For example, you might operate one of the following types: Wedding Catering: This is the most popular type of catering service. The menu offered will include a wide range of foods and various cuisines, along with drinks. Corporate Catering: Whether it’s for staff training sessions, office meetings or large corporate events, corporate catering services are always in demand. Social Event Catering: this type of catering company handles multiple event types such as retirement parties, backyard barbecues and birthdays. Concession Catering: Concession catering handles major public events, sporting events and seasonal events. 3. Market and Opportunity Planning to put your business out there means you also have to know the industry you’ll be diving into. This is to help you analyze your potential customers, the growth of the catering business in your area, and the competition. How many caterers are in your community? Can you find out how many events take place, how many venues you could work with, and what your potential could be per month, and per year? You should conduct market research to learn where the type of catering you plan to do could fit into your community and the area you're able to cover. 4. Competitive Analysis You will not be the only catering business in your area. You’ll have to consider restaurants as your competition too. Check their prices and set menus. Do a competition check by tasting their food once in a while. Knowing who the players are in this competitive business game gives you the upper hand because you’ll be aware of their strengths and weaknesses and how to deal with them on the field. A catering service is run by a few people. In this section of the business plan, you’ll list down everyone who is working on this business alongside you as well as the roles they possess in your business. This includes: Business Partners Accountants Co-chefs (If you’re not the only one doing the cooking) Wait staff Why is this so important, you might ask? Stating clear business roles and laying out the management structure keeps everyone in check and helps avoid any misunderstandings. Most businesses that don’t define this early on end up having a messy workflow. So make sure to state each duty clearly for everyone to follow. 5. Products and Services If you have planned menus and Products and Services prices, this is the place to put them. Most caterers specialize in menus for specific events, like wedding rehearsal dinners or cocktail mixers. You may also cater a certain type of cuisine, like Italian, Indian, or Vegan/Vegetarian food. In any case, providing sample menus, pictures and pricing will not only increase the quality of your business plan, it will also provide you with product lists and pricing that you can show to customers. 6. Sales and Marketing How are you going to market your catering business? Do you plan to have an ad out in your local newspaper and on social media? Both strategies are fine but you need to find more ways to get your catering business out there. College for Research & Technology of Cabanatuan Burgos Avenue, Cabanatuan City 3100 Tel. 463-2735 463-2697 600-2200 e-mail: crt.cabanatuan@gmail.com One way to market yourself is to partner up with rental spaces such as function halls that do not provide food. Give them a proposal that when there are inquiries regarding the rental of their halls, they would present your set menus to the guests as well so they don’t need to trouble over finding a caterer. Partnering with several event coordinators is also a way to get your business known. People these days hire event coordinators to do all the planning for them. They expect these coordinators to answer all their questions from food, music, and decorations. By partnering up with an event coordinator, they’ll be the ones to pitch in your catering business to their customers. Remember to uphold your mission statement as well. By providing good food and high-class standards during your catering event, you’re already marketing your products and services to the number of people you’re catering to. So always make an exceptional first impression because that will stay with the guests long enough for them to remember hiring you on their next and succeeding events. 7. Operations Plan Your operating plan will include your hours of operation, the events and quantities you can cater, and your staffing plan. Include information about salaries, your catering business license, insurance and permits, and food service regulations and certificates in this portion of the plan. Some operations plans include organization charts. Even if you're a sole proprietorship, you're likely to need occasional help for setup, service, and takedown/clean up. Include these staff members in your operations plan. While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows. Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your catering business such as meeting prospective clients, drawing up contracts, providing catering services (set-up, serving, cleanup, etc.), procuring supplies, etc. Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to serve your 100th customer, or when you hope to reach ₱X in sales. It could also be when you expect to hire your Xth employee or launch a new location. Put your plan into action by making a timeline of your operations. Here is an example: Date Plan [Insert Date Here] – Finalize the business documents you need such as permits and registrations for your catering business. [Insert Date Here] – Start marketing your business on social media and the local news. Send out proposals for partnerships with event coordinators and function halls. [Insert Date Here] – Hire and train staff. [Insert Date Here] – Start catering when booked. [Insert Date Here] – Achieve goals and reach break-even. 8. Appendix Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your store design blueprint or location lease. The appendix section of the business plan is where you can put all your documentation. This includes photos of your food and table setting and your copies of the permits and registration for your catering business.
