starting a small catering company business plan

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How to Start a Catering Business in 9 Steps

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The catering industry attracts a broad range of entrepreneurs. Maybe you’re an excellent cook, maybe you love throwing parties, or maybe you’re interested in event planning and want to get the ball rolling by catering.

Or maybe you’re like Dannella Burnett, of Gainesville, Georgia, who formed her catering business back in 2009, and your reason is simple and sweet:

“I figured if I could cook for other people and put food on their plates, I could put food on my family’s plate,” Burnett says of her decision to start Oakwood Occasions.

But as Burnett knew even in the nascent stages of starting a catering business and expanding to event planning, the business is about much more than putting food on plates. It’s about thinking your way through stressful situations, planning for the unexpected, and most importantly, running a business just like you would any other.

In this guide, we are going to take you step-by-step through everything you need to know about how to start a catering business. With a little help, you'll be delighting guests at parties, events, and festivals in no time.

How to start a catering business in 9 steps

Before you get to the following steps to starting a catering business, note that you should decide on the type of catering business you want to start before learning how to start a catering business.

Some caterers only do cocktail reception drinks and small finger foods, others do buffet-style catering, and some do the sit-down catering that you might see at a banquet or wedding. Once you know what kind of catering you want to do, you can get on to the next steps.

Step 1: Choose your business name and business entity type

Once you have the type of catering business you want to start in mind, you can move on to choosing a name for your business and defining the entity for it as well. You'll want to choose a name and make sure it's available in the state where you're opening your catering business. In most states, you can check business name availability online with the Secretary of State.

You'll also need to choose the business entity you want your business to operate as. Here you've got a lot of options depending on a few things, including whether you want to go it alone or not.

If you decide to operate as a sole proprietor, your business will be unincorporated and be owned by you alone (or you and your spouse). If you want to have a partner for your business, or want to avoid taking on all personal liability for your company, you can choose to register your business as a general partnership, a limited partnership, a limited liability partnership, a limited liability company, or another business entity. Each offers different protections for the partners and the business.

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We’ll start with a brief questionnaire to better understand the unique needs of your business.

Once we uncover your personalized matches, our team will consult you on the process moving forward.

Step 2: Write a business plan

Once you have your business name and entity chosen, the next step on the "how to start a catering business" checklist involves writing a business plan. This will take some work, but it will pay off in the long run because you'll have the plan to fall back on and it can help you know what to expect while running your business.

You can use a business plan template or you can make a plan on your own. When you do make the plan, it should include quite a bit of research. You'll want to include an overview of your company, a market analysis, your business's organization, the specific products and services you'll be providing, and your marketing and financial plan. If that sounds like a lot, don't worry—you can always add to your plan as you learn more about the catering business world.

Importantly, though, you should also research your competition and identify potential customers. Is there a particular type of catering that is needed in your area that is currently underserved? For example, if you live in an area with a lot of golf courses, you may find that they are always in need of caterers for weekend events. Your market research into the needs in your area can go a long way to helping you sustain your business.

Part of your business plan for how to start a catering business should also include the vendors and suppliers you plan to use. Look into sourcing all the supplies you need, including linens, utensils, china, even tables and chairs for some events, and of course the food. When it comes to non-food items, Burnett suggests renting first, before buying things outright.

“At the beginning, you can rent anything you might ever want or need,” she says. “And renting is great: You know what the cost will be and you don’t have the upfront cost of purchasing something.

“But at some point, though you want to buy those things yourself because you still can charge for them and basically you’re paying for the ownership of them. And they ultimately pay for themselves.”

When it does come time to buy, equipment financing can provide you with the funding you need to cover the cost of supplies.

Step 3: Register your catering business and get an EIN

Depending on the business entity you chose, your business's name might by default be your name. If you want to change that, you might need a DBA or "doing business as" name. You'll want to register your business and its name with the state you plan to operate in.

For a catering business, because you're handling food, this might also require some other registrations depending on the rules in your state. The health department might need to check out the place where you're cooking and preparing the food you'll be serving, for example.

You'll also want to apply for an employer identification number also called an EIN. You can apply for one online from the IRS in just minutes and enjoy the benefits of having one for years to come. It can serve as a business tax ID number and help you do other business tasks like applying for a credit card and paying your employees.

Step 4: Get all licenses and clearances needed to start a catering business

As with most industries involving food prep, you can’t just, well, do it. You need to obtain a business license from the state, as well as a food handling license. You also need to pass a county or state health inspection—a residential kitchen likely won’t cut it, so consider looking for a commercial kitchen that has already been approved.

Some other requirements you might need to consider include workers' compensation insurance and permits or licenses to work out of certain venues—the monthly or annual costs of which can cut into profit margins.

If you’re unsure of what will be required, get in touch with your local Chamber of Commerce , Small Business Development Center , or the Small Business Administration to find out more.

It's not a bad idea to consult a lawyer in your area who specializes in the food or service industry for help filing everything and getting all of the registrations squared away before you start cooking.

Step 5: Determine your pricing

Pricing your work depends greatly on where your business is located and what kind of catering you do. Many businesses create price tiers that provide a certain level of service and amenities for various amounts. Burnett never went down that route.

“I started off doing custom proposals for people, and I’ve stayed with them throughout these nine years,” she says. “It takes a lot more time, but a lot of my proposals get accepted, rather than a package deal where it may or may not fit what someone is looking for. If they don’t need something, if it doesn’t pertain to their event, it’s not going into their pricing. If they need more, they pay for more; if they need less, they pay for less."

To get an idea of what costs what, Burnett says that her price per person has varied from $7-$8, for light appetizers for cocktail hour, up to $80 for filet and lobster.

“It varies because we do buffets, plated dinners, simple appetizers, or [events] where we’ve just dropped off food and they’ve served it themselves—to very high-end menus with unique ingredients,” she explains.

Step 6: Hire, train, and outfit your staff

It’s unlikely you can cater an event all by yourself, so staff is a requirement. Hiring and training staff is something that came organically for Burnett, but that might not be the case for you, so do whatever is best for your business is recommended here.

“At the first location, we brought on staff members one by one as we needed people. There was no real formal training from the beginning," she says.

You may be able to find staff just as easily, either by word-of-mouth or by combing your own network. But you might also need to reach out on foodservice-oriented job-seeking sites, or look into how competitors found their staff. Just keep in mind that what works for you when you're starting a catering business might not be what works once your business starts growing.

"But when we moved into our new location, at the Hall County Government Center, we opened up a café, coffee shop, and expanded the catering business at the same time. Since we were going to have in-house staff as well as catering staff, we had to go through a much more extensive training period.”

Here’s another place where having capital at the start comes in handy: If you’re hiring and training staff before they actually work an event, you need to set aside training dollars.

Additionally, uniforms, including vectorized logos, can be “really cheap or really expensive,” in the words of Burnett.

“Hey, I want aprons with logos on them—getting that logo vectorized for $75-$80, then $5-$7 a piece depending on how big you want the logo. Then you have to buy the apron. If you need 20, 30, 40 of those—that adds up,” she says.

Step 7: Market during your own events

When it comes to marketing and advertising your business, Burnett has one suggestion that trumps all the rest.

“When you’re putting food in somebody’s mouth, that’s the best time to find your next client,” she says. “It’s through the guests that are attending the events you’re catering for.”

Otherwise, it depends on what kind of catering you specialize in. If you focus on weddings, you’ll want to attend bridal shows—which involve bringing food samples and sometimes buying a booth. Corporate catering might involve more focus on LinkedIn advertising, where you can buy leads; you might also pay people to knock on doors and pass out fliers to bigger businesses.

“Really, it’s about networking. A lot of word of mouth, a lot of referrals,” she says. When you're just starting a catering business, that’s where the putting food in someone’s mouth tactic comes in.

Step 8: Get funding

Burnett made the decision to start her business out of necessity after her husband lost his job in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. She had previously worked in food and retail management, and she fell back on that experience when it came time to find a new source of income.

“A woman at my church said, ‘Why don’t you reopen your catering business here at the church?’ I didn’t think you could do that, but we called the health department and had them do a site visit at the church kitchen. It was deemed sufficient for commercial use, so I had my church kitchen licensed as a catering commissary, and I launched the business with zero capital, zero plan. Nothing but me, myself, and I,” Burnett explains.

Burnett found herself in business well before she expected to be. Despite making things work, she says luck took the place of capital and wouldn’t recommend that path to other future caterers.

“There are some things that I could look back on that I would say either by sheer doggedness or dumb luck, the next right thing did happen,” she says. “Was it more stressful because there wasn’t a plan at the beginning or there wasn’t capital? I think definitely.”

Burnett notes that, for the catering industry, access to capital is especially important: “Most small businesses fail because they don’t have the capital to get them through the ebbs and flows. And in something like the catering business, there should naturally be some ebb and flow, whether it’s the seasonality of the type of catering that you do, or the calendar—seasons and holidays.”

If you aren't as lucky as Burnett, you will probably need some funding to get your catering business off the ground and through slower months. Knowing how to acquire capital is one of the keys to figuring out how to start a catering business. There are plenty of routes you can go to acquire small business funding to get your business going.

If you want to go the traditional route, you can go for a traditional term loan, a business line of credit , or maybe a business credit card . Once you're established you can look into getting an SBA loan .

Step 9: Plan for emergencies — both financial and others

You should have extra capital when you start out, and continue to budget wisely as you go, because you never know when something will go wrong in the catering industry.

"Things break, so you have to replace them. Maybe you started off with china for 200 and now you only have china for 150 because they break,” says Burnett, listing the things that caught her off-guard when starting out.

“Repairs to vehicles: Catering can be hard on your vehicles, so you’ll need replacements to tires. The price of gas, when it went sky-high, it had an impact. Food was costing more. And people understood that food cost more to a certain extent, but people still had in their head that they need to do a lunch for $10 or $15 a person, and when the price of gas and food has gone up, it’s easy for that not to be profitable.”

But preparing for the unexpected is about more than budgeting. Most events are catered at a venue that can be 30 minutes, an hour, or even a few hours away from the kitchen. That can put you in a tight spot.

“The ability to be a MacGyver is a requirement. Every venue is different, and if you forget something, you’ve gotta figure out how to make it work,” Burnett says.

LLC Formation

How to start a catering business: The bottom line

Catering isn’t an easy business. Burnett says you need to “know what you’re getting into,” due to the physical and demanding nature of the work.

“You can be a great cook, and that doesn’t necessarily make you a great caterer,” she says.

But Burnett was able to build a massively successful business—so much so that she actually began tapering off of catering in 2019 to focus more on event planning—off little more than an idea that was born in a church kitchen.

This article originally appeared on JustBusiness, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.

Catering Business Plan Template

Catering business plan.

If you want to start a catering business or expand your current one, you need a business plan.

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their catering businesses.

How to Write a Business Plan for a Catering Company

Below are links to each section of your catering business plan template:

Next Section: Executive Summary >

Catering Company Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my catering business plan, where can i download a catering business plan pdf, what is a catering business plan, why do you need a business plan for a catering company, how do i write a successful catering business plan, what are the sources of funding for a catering business.

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a catering business are savings and/or credit cards of the business owner, bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable. But they will want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.

The second most common form of funding for a catering business or cafe is angel investors. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who will write you a check. They will either take equity in return for their funding, or, like a bank, they will give you a loan. Venture capitalists will not fund a catering business. They might consider funding a catering company with multiple locations or a massive footprint, but never an individual location. This is because most venture capitalists are looking for millions of dollars in return when they make an investment, and an individual or small location could never achieve such results.

What Are the 3 Types of Catering Service Businesses?

• On-premise catering is when the caterer sets up a temporary commercial kitchen space at the client’s location.
• Off-premise catering is when the caterer provides delicious food for events such as picnics, weddings, cocktail parties, and other meetings off-site.
• Event catering is where the caterer prepares food that is served at special events, corporate events, or family events.

What Are The 5 Steps to Starting a Catering Business?

• Come Up With a Business Idea : This is probably the most important step, as it will lay the foundation for everything else you do. When brainstorming business ideas, make sure to think about what you’re good at and what you enjoy doing.
• Do Your Research : This step is important to ensure your business is viable and has the potential for success.
• Create a Catering Business Plan : A business plan is a document that outlines your goals, strategies, and financials. It’s a must-have for any business, but especially for a catering business.
• Obtain Your Business License : In order to legally operate your catering business, you will need to obtain the necessary business licenses.
• Secure Funding : If needed, you will need to secure funding in order to get your catering business off the ground.

What are the Benefits of Starting a Catering Business?

• Low Overhead Costs : One of the benefits of catering is that the overhead costs are relatively low, especially when compared to other food preparation businesses such as restaurants. This means you can make a profit with fewer customers and staff members.
• Flexible Schedule : Typically have a flexible schedule, which is ideal for those who want to be their own boss and have more control over their time.
• Variety of Services : Can offer a variety of catering services and menus, which gives you the ability to target a range of customers.
• Repeat Customers : Typically have a high percentage of repeat customers, as people often use catering for specific events like weddings, business meetings, conventions, etc.
• High Demand : Another benefit of catering is that there are typically high demands for this type of service during certain times of the year, including holidays and warm weather months when people are hosting events outside.

What are the Pitfalls of Starting a Catering Business?

• Not Enough Demand : Before starting a catering business, it’s important to do your research and make sure there is enough demand for your services.
• Lack of Experience : If you don’t have experience in the catering industry, it will be difficult to start and succeed in this business.
• High Startup Costs : This type of business can have high startup costs because of the equipment needed, as well as all of the miscellaneous costs that come with starting any business.
• Competition : Catering is highly competitive and there are many established catering companies already servicing your market. This means you need to do everything possible to set yourself apart from your competitors in order to be successful.
• Time-Consuming : Catering is a time-consuming business and it can be difficult to balance it with other obligations.
• Limited Scalability : Catering companies are limited in their scalability, meaning you can only expand so much before you hit a limit. This could be problematic if your goal is to grow your business significantly.
• Unpredictable Income : Catering services can be very unpredictable when it comes to income, as they can vary greatly from one event to the next.
• High Risk : As with any business, there is a certain amount of risk involved in starting and running a catering business. You need to be prepared for the possibility of not making a profit or even losing money.

CATERING BUSINESS PLAN OUTLINE

• Catering Business Plan Home
• 1. Executive Summary
• 2. Company Overview
• 3. Industry Analysis
• 4. Customer Analysis
• 5. Competitive Analysis
• 6. Marketing Plan
• 7. Operations Plan
• 8. Management Team
• 9. Financial Plan
• 10. Appendix
• Catering Business Plan Summary

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

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10 free catering business plan templates and examples

• Published on February 8, 2024
• by Patricia Fernandes
• Last updated: 1 month ago

When starting a catering business, it’s essential to have a well-structured business plan in place. A comprehensive business plan not only helps you outline your goals and strategies but also serves as a detailed roadmap for success. However, creating a business plan from scratch can be a daunting task. That’s where catering business plan templates come in handy. Understand the importance of a well-devised plan for your catering venture , as it can significantly improve your chances of overcoming challenges and achieving long-term success.

Once you’ve found a suitable template, the next step is to customize it to fit your unique catering business. This involves filling in the specific details of your business, such as your target market, menu offerings, pricing, marketing strategies, and financial projections. Customizing key elements of the template allows you to tailor it to your specific goals and vision, ensuring that your business plan accurately reflects catering businesses. Understanding the challenges that come with taking on the catering industry, developing a strategy through a tailored catering service business plan from the onset can significantly influence your path towards achieving long-term success and stability.

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Why Creating a Catering Business Plan is Essential

In the catering industry, having a well-thought-out business plan is crucial for success. It provides a roadmap for your business and helps you make informed decisions. Here are some key reasons why creating a catering services business plan is essential:

Defining Your Goals: A business plan allows you to clearly define your goals and objectives. It helps you identify what you want to achieve with your catering business.

Understanding Your Target Market: By conducting market research and analysis, you can gain valuable insights into your target market. This information will help you tailor your services to meet the needs and preferences of your customers.

Outlining Strategies: Your business plan serves as a guide to outline the strategies you will implement to achieve profitability. It includes details on your menu, pricing, marketing tactics, and financial projections.

Setting Yourself Up for Success: By carefully considering all aspects of your business and planning for potential challenges, you can set yourself up for long-term success in catering companies.

If you’re dreaming of starting your catering biz, you’re in the right place. We selected 10 catering business plan templates to help you get from daydreaming to doing. We’ve broken them down into three categories: Basic, Intermediary, and Complete, so you can find just what you need, no matter where you’re at in your catering business planning process.

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Basic Catering Business Plan Templates

Template 01: the quick start guide.

This business plan template is like the fast food of business plans – quick, easy, and gets the job done. It’s perfect if you’re just getting your feet wet. Considering launching a catering service? Ensure you have a robust plan for your catering venture by understanding the essential components and pitfalls to steer clear of.

Use the Quick Start Guide Template

Template 02: The Budget Buddy

Focused on the numbers, this one helps you figure out your starting costs and financial plan for how you’ll keep the lights on.

Use the Budget Buddy Template

Template 03: The Startup Planner

This template helps you outline your business concept’s initial needs, legal structure, and pricing strategy.

Use the Startup Planner Template

Intermediary Catering Business Plan Templates

Template 04: conscious catering strategy.

Focusing on the growing trend for healthy and dietary-specific menus, this sample menu template is perfect for caterers wanting to market and specialize in health-conscious catering industry food offerings. Learn to adapt and enhance your catering business plan to cater to health-conscious consumers, ensuring the long-term growth and success of your business.

Use the Conscious Catering Strategy Template

Template 05: Full-Service Catering Plan

Designed for established catering services and catering companies ready to expand, this template focuses on operational and pricing strategies, detailed menu planning, and advanced, marketing strategies and techniques. It’s ideal for caterers looking to scale their operations and refine their service offerings. Discover strategies on constructing a lucrative catering business plan , with guidance on enhancing operations, menu selections, and marketing approaches. Visit Metrobi’s website to delve deeper.

Use the Full-Service Catering Plan Template

Template 06: Catering Growth Accelerator

Unless you’re planning to do everything yourself (spoiler: not a good idea), this template helps you plan out your dream team.

Use the Catering Growth Accelerator Template

Complete Catering Business Plan Templates

Template 07: the full feast.

This is the big one – a comprehensive marketing plan for a full catering company template that covers everything from A to Z. If you’re ready to dive deep, this is for you. Planning to launch or manage a catering service? Ensure you have a detailed catering service business plan to guide you through every step.

Use the Full Feast Template

Template 08: The Event Ace

Specializing in events? This template focuses on planning for different types of clients at events and managing bookings at networking events.

Use the Event Ace Template

Template 09: The Growth Guru

Thinking ahead? This template helps you map out marketing strategy detailed plan for how you’ll expand and grow over time.

Use the Growth Guru Template

Template 10: The Risk Wrangler

Every serious business owner faces challenges. This template helps you identify potential risks to business goals and plan how to handle them.

Use the Risk Wrangler Template

Taking Action and Customizing Your Business Plan

Now is the time to take action and start creating your catering business plan. While examples and templates can be helpful starting points, it’s important to customize them to fit your unique business needs. Remember, your catering business plan template is a living document that can be updated and adjusted as your business grows and evolves. Learn how you can adapt and refine your catering business plan to ensure it aligns with your goals, enabling sustainable growth and success in the competitive catering landscape. Explore strategies to advance and update your catering business plan , positioning your venture for enduring prosperity and distinction in the bustling catering market.

Turning Your Catering Company Dreams into Reality

Starting a catering business is super exciting, but it can also be a bit overwhelming. That’s where the catering business plan template comes in. They’re like your road map to success, whether you’re just starting to sketch out your catering equipment ideas or you’re ready to launch. So, grab the first operations plan template that fits your stage and start cooking up your new catering business and plan!

Why you must have a solid catering business plan

How will your catering business plan evolve as you grow your catering business

How to create a profitable catering business plan

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Catering Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Catering Business Plan Outline

• Catering Business Plan Home
• 1. Executive Summary
• 2. Company Overview
• 3. Industry Analysis
• 4. Customer Analysis
• 5. Competitive Analysis
• 6. Marketing Plan
• 7. Operations Plan
• 8. Management Team
• 9. Financial Plan

Start Your Catering Plan Here

Catering Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your catering business plan.

We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start a new catering business or grow their catering company.

Below are links to each section of a catering business plan template example:

Next Section: Executive Summary >

Catering Business Plan FAQs

What is a catering business plan.

A catering business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your catering business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can  easily complete your catering business plan using our Catering Business Plan Template here .

What Are the Main Types of Catering Businesses?

Catering services are available for a variety of different occasions including parties, weddings and corporate events. 

What Are the Main Sources of Revenues and Expenses for a Catering Business?

The primary source of revenue for catering companies is individual, private events and corporate events. 

The key expenses for catering companies are rent, wages and salaries, equipment and food costs.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Catering Company Business Plan?

Catering companies are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a Catering Business?

Starting a catering business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A Catering Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed business plan for a catering business that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, market resarch on the catering industry, the services or products you will offer, business operations details, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.  You can quickly complete your catering business plan using our Catering Business Plan Template here .

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your catering business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your catering business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Catering Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your catering business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your catering business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary Catering Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your catering business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your catering business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising. 

Learn more about how to start a successful catering business and catering business planning:

• How to Start a Catering Business
• How to Start a Catering Company

Where Can I Get a Catering Business Plan PDF?

You can download our free catering business plan template PDF here . This is a sample catering business plan template you can use in PDF format.

Other Helpful Business Plan Templates

Photography Business Plan Template Event Venue Business Plan Template

• Sample Business Plans
• Food, Beverage & Restaurant

Catering Business Plan

Every event or occasion calls for good food. And although the majority of people like good food, not everyone has the talent to cook the same.

And if you are someone who receives constant compliments for your cooking then you must have thought of having your catering business.

But having a catering business is much more than that. It all boils down to the quality of your service in the end, but before that, you need to have a strategy to attract your customers’ attention, build trust, manage your finances, and many more.

All of the above might sound a little overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be. All you need is a catering business plan.

Catering Industry Highlights 2023

Here is an overview of the current state of the catering industry in 2023:

Market size and growth potential:

Employment scenario:, number of operational businesses:, major market drivers:, key market trends:, financial plan:.

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How Can a Catering Business Plan Help You?

The catering business is one of the most rewarding careers as it not only lets you pursue your passion, it has the potential to grow into a huge business by size and volume if planned properly.

A business plan is helpful for a catering business because along with great cooking skills, great management skills are an integral part of a successful catering business.

A business plan can help you conduct your daily business activities without chaos, have good finances, help you find your desired customers, and make your unique business idea a marketable one.

Things to Consider Before Writing Your Catering Business Plan

Make a list of items you can serve.

Having a list of items you will serve, helps you organize your services better. It also helps your customers understand what you can offer and decide if your service is the right one for them or not.

It also becomes important that you design your menu as per your target audience’s tastes and preferences.

Figure out your location and staffing coasts

Figure out from where you’ll provide services, what would be the amount of rent you’ll have to pay, which location would be good for your business , etc.

Apart from that, you also need to figure out staffing costs, the size of your team, the skills required, and so on.

Figure out where you’ll get your supplies from

Getting good supplies is essential for a catering business. Because you need to pay attention to quality as well as the taste of the food you’ll offer. Having a fixed supplier helps you maintain consistency in the quality of your food.

Make a list of important equipment

Although many catering services work on the go and prefer to rent equipment, it is a good practice to have the basic equipment in case of contingency. It would also decrease your reliance on other people, and pose fewer challenges while gathering supplies for new orders.

Having your equipment also makes it easier for you and your team to prepare orders as you get familiar with how to use those tools.

Now that you have done the research, let’s learn how you can write a business plan for yourself.

How to Write a Catering Business Plan?

A good catering business plan consists of a clear description of your business’s functioning, your target market, the services you offer, the size of your company, a pricing strategy, and a well-designed employee management system.

Now you might wonder, where to start from, how to go about writing a plan from scratch, and most importantly how to know if you have written a good one.

Well, you need not worry.

You can easily write a well-rounded business plan either through a pre-designed template or through online business plan software.

Moreover, online business plan software can help you write a flexible business plan that grows alongside your business.

Catering Business Plan Outline

This is the standard catering business plan outline which will cover all important sections that you should include in your business plan.

• Keys to Success
• Financial Summary
• Legal Entity
• Locations and Facilities
• Facility Design
• Boxed lunches
• Buffet style lunches
• Alternative Providers
• Future Products
• Internal Bright Future Customers
• Nonprofit External Customers
• For-profit External Customers
• Market Analysis
• Market Trends
• Market Growth
• Value Proposition
• Competitive Edge
• Distribution Strategy
• Marketing Programs
• Pricing Strategy
• Promotion Strategy
• Of Grape & Grain
• Cravings Fine Foods
• Ariana’s Deli
• Fettuccini and Co
• Napoli Restaurant
• Brindiamo Catering
• Wild Duck Brewery
• Oregon Electric Station
• Local and national grocery stores chains
• Local and national sandwich fast-food chains
• Strategic Alliances
• Organizational Structure
• Management Team Gaps
• Personnel Plan
• Other General Assumptions
• Fundraising Strategy
• Fundraising Programs
• Funding Forecast
• Start-up Summary
• Income Statement (5-Year Projections)
• Balance Sheet (5-Year Projections)
• Cash Flow (5-Year Projections)

Although your plan will keep changing as your business grows, here are a few key sections that would form the foundation of your business plan:

1. Executive summary

This executive summary section would be the first one on your plan. It provides a summary of all that your business stands for. It can be divided into the following subsections:

• Objectives : This segment would consist of the chief objectives of your company. What it aims to achieve, who it wants to serve, and where it wants to reach.
• Mission : This segment includes the mission statement of your business, it consists of what market gap you plan on filling with your business.
• Financial Summary : This segment will give a summary of the past and present condition of your finances as well as projected gains of your business.

A clear executive summary can come in handy if you need funding.

2. Operational Strategy

The operational strategy section helps you plan how to work toward achieving your business goals. It can be divided into the following subsections:

• Day-to-day activities : In this segment, you’ll write an overview of the best way of carrying out your business from onboarding clients to fulfilling the services.
• Long-term goals : This section would consist of long-term goals like serving a certain number of clients, growing your business to a certain size, and expanding to a certain number of branches, etc.

A good operational strategy would make your business activities less chaotic and prevent them from being all over the place.

3. Market Analysis

In this segment, you’ll write down every single detail you can find out about the market. It would include the following segments:

• Market trends : Knowing about all the prevailing market trends can help you design a plan that would change as per the evolving market, and also help you maintain the foundation your company stands on. It would also give you an overview of what your competitors are doing.
• Target Market : This segment would describe everything about your target market. The locations they prefer, the kind of cuisines they are into, how and when they procure catering services, etc.

This segment helps you understand what you are getting yourself into.

4. Services

This section consists of a detailed description of the services you offer. For example, the events you cater to, the volume of people you can serve, the food options your services have, what additional services you offer, etc.

This segment helps your target audience understand your services better, it helps them in deciding whether you are the right fit for them or not. So, make sure you describe your services in a clear and precise manner.

5. Financial Plan

The financial plan segment includes everything starting from the funds you need to start your business, the funds you need for procuring supplies and employing people, the projected cash flow of your business, expected profit, and loss of your business, pricing strategy, etc.

Download a sample catering business plan

Need help writing your business plan from scratch? Here you go; download our free catering business plan pdf to start.

It’s a modern business plan template specifically designed for your catering business. Use the example business plan as a guide for writing your own.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

Write your business plan with Upmetrics

A business plan software like Upmetrics is the best way to draft your business plan. This incredible tool comes with step-by-step instructions, customizable templates, and 400+ sample business plans to help you get started.

So, whether starting a catering business or planning to grow an existing one, Upmetrics is the tool you need to create a business plan.

So what are you waiting for? Start planning today!

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Frequently asked questions, how do i write a business plan for catering.

Writing a catering business plan from scratch requires a lot of research, but you can report it most effectively with the help of a catering business plan example. Using our business plan software, you can also quickly finish your plan in just a few hours or less.

What should be included in a catering business plan?

These are the key components of a business plan your catering plan must include to stand out to investors:

• Executive summary
• Business Overview
• Products and services
• Sales and marketing strategies
• Operations plan
• Management team
• Financial plan

Where to find business plan writers for your catering business?

While many business plan writers are available to help you, believe it or not, no one knows your business better than you. So we recommend you write your catering business plan and outline your vision as you have in your mind. You can use AI business plan generators like Upmetrics to speed up the writing process.

What are some common mistakes to avoid when writing a catering business plan?

Following are some of the common mistakes to avoid when writing a catering business plan:

• Poor market research and ignoring industry trends.
• Inadequate and inaccurate financial projections.
• Undefined goals and lack of details.
• Including outdated and irrelevant information.
• Not proofreading the document for typos and grammatical errors.
• Not regularly updating your business plan.

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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Small Business Trends

How to start a catering business: your guide to success, why start a catering business.

The Essentials of Starting a Catering Business

Embarking on a catering venture demands more than culinary skills; it requires a strategic approach from the start. Keep reading as we guide you through the key steps for how to start a business in the catering industry.

Research and Market Analysis

Market research also assists in setting competitive pricing. By analyzing what competitors charge for similar services, you can position your business in a way that offers value without compromising profitability.

Catering Company Business Plan

Business licenses.

Consulting local and state regulations is imperative to ensure you’re operating within the confines of the law. The process of obtaining a business license often involves submitting an application, paying a fee, and sometimes undergoing an inspection.

Legal Requirements and Permits for Catering Companies

Startup costs to consider as a catering business owner, commercial kitchen equipment, catering permits.

Various permits are mandatory for operating a catering business. These range from business licenses to food handler’s permits. Failure to obtain these can result in fines or even business closure.

Catering Business Marketing

Vehicle and transportation costs, staffing costs, how to start a catering business from home.

Laws often specify that food for commercial consumption must be prepared in a certified commercial kitchen. Therefore, your home kitchen may require upgrades and certifications to comply with local health department regulations.

Types of Catering Businesses

Corporate events catering.

Corporate event catering often involves large-scale operations. The focus is usually on professionalism and efficiency, as these events are formal and time-sensitive. Menu options often need to cater to a diverse audience.

Wedding Catering

Special events catering, outdoor catering, buffet catering.

Buffet catering offers a more casual dining experience. It requires less staffing but more focus on food quantity and variety. Effective planning is essential to avoid waste while ensuring customer satisfaction.

The Steps to Launch Your Catering Business

Finance Your Catering Business

Find catering suppliers, market and brand your catering company.

A strong marketing and branding strategy can set you apart in a crowded marketplace. Each effort contributes to building your brand’s identity, from creating a compelling website to engaging in social media marketing. Consistent branding across all platforms can significantly enhance your market presence.

Create a Menu

Train staff, monitor customer service and feedback, how to run a successful catering business.

Once your catering business is up and running, the focus shifts from launching to sustaining and growing your venture. Fortunately, we’ve compiled valuable tips and best practices designed to help you maintain a successful catering business over the long term.

Quality Control

Customer service, time management.

Effective time management is crucial in the fast-paced catering industry. From pre-event preparation to on-site execution, every minute counts. Utilizing project management tools and software can help you keep track of tasks and deadlines, ensuring smooth operations.

Financial Management

Expanding your catering services, collaborations and partnerships, diversified menu offerings.

Diversifying your menu can attract a broader range of clients. Whether it’s adding vegan options or ethnic cuisines, a varied menu can make your catering service more appealing. This strategy attracts a diverse clientele and keeps your regular customers interested.

Online Catering Services

Seasonal catering, corporate meal plans.

Another avenue for expansion is offering corporate meal plans. These are long-term contracts that provide a consistent revenue stream. By offering daily or weekly meal options to corporations, you can secure a steady business flow while also benefiting from bulk orders.

FAQs: How to Start a Catering Business

How profitable is a catering business.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for food service managers, which includes catering managers, was $61,310 in 2022.

Do you need a catering license in every state?

Is catering a good business idea.

Catering can be a lucrative business opportunity for those passionate about food and service. The industry offers various niches, from corporate events to weddings, allowing for specialization.

What do wedding caterers do?

How to Start a Catering Business

Tony Sekulich

20 min. read

Updated July 3, 2024

Free Download:  Sample Catering Business Plan Template

Do you find the process of shopping and chopping, sautéing and flambéing for large groups of people rewarding and fulfilling? Would you rather die than serve a salad that is topped with anything other your homemade vinaigrette dressing? Are people constantly asking you to cook for their next gathering?

If any of this sounds familiar, you’ve probably at least toyed with the idea of starting a catering business. It’s a thriving industry which can be scaled and tailored to whatever best suits your skills and situation. This article is intended to serve as a step-by-step guide to show you how to get started.

To supplement this guide, I interviewed two seasoned veterans of the catering business:

Jean-Marc Fontaine is a French-trained chef, event planner, and sommelier who now serves as the Catering Sales and Events Consultant for Urban Source Creative Catering in the heart of downtown Toronto, Canada. Warren Dietel is the Owner and President of Puff ‘N Stuff , a full-service wedding, corporate, and holiday event caterer and planner serving the greater Orlando area and all of central Florida.

• 1. Understand the state of the catering industry in the U.S.

In the United States alone, the catering industry is an $11 billion juggernaut and growing every year—more than 4.5 percent between 2014 and 2019. 

An industry report shows that in 2012, the average costs for the foodservice at a wedding reception in the United States was to $3,579 U.S.; wedding planning website The Knot surveyed  their users and found that in 2017, the average cost was $6,528, or $70 per guest. Wedding Wire says the average cost is about $4,000, but most couples spend between $1,800 and $7,000. Not surprisingly, the largest market segment that supports the catering business is households earning at least six figures.  In 2015, of households with a combined income of 100,000 U.S. dollars or more, 5.4 percent spent $500 to $999 U.S. on catered events outside the home.

Though there are major players in the catering industry, there are a lot of reasons why it’s appealing to entrepreneurs: Unlike most other sectors, the industry is highly fragmented, meaning there is no single corporate entity dominating the market share. 

This means there’s room for everyone who has some skill and hustle. Large companies can leverage their ability to scale to any size event and cover multiple events at the same time; smaller outfits can push their personal touch for a competitive edge.

2. Figure out if you’re ready to start a catering company

There’s no shortcut to determining if you are just a “weekend warrior” dazzling your friends and colleagues in your own home or someone who is a great candidate to branch out and start their own catering business. Jean-Marc Fontaine says to find success, people need to spark that burning desire from within.

“I really have a passion for food and entertaining and the reason I’m still doing this job today is because I am passionate about the food industry,” he says. “It’s a very special area, it’s not like an office job, it’s more like art—you have to really love it.”

Jean-Marc believes this passion is necessary because almost everyone who enters the foodservice industry greatly underestimates the amount of time, effort, and expense it requires to be successful. This is a lesson he has learned personally.

“Many years ago when I was in France, my brother (also a chef) and I opened a small restaurant together—30 seats so not a big operation. It was just his wife serving and we had someone helping in the kitchen. We knew it would be a lot of work; we didn’t know we’d be working literally 18 hours a day, seven days a week. So many things to think about, not just food prep but cleaning and overhead, you need equipment, you need a vehicle which means expenses for gas and parking. If you don’t anticipate all the expenses and overhead charges, it can be overwhelming,” he says.

Warren Dietel also cautions anyone thinking of entering the business against getting swept up in the glamorous portrayal they may have seen on television, as the reality of the industry is altogether different.

“Catering is not for the faint of heart, this is a hard business,” he explains. “You can’t get into this thinking this is what you see on the Food Network. I think the cooking networks have done a fabulous job of showcasing the glamorous side of what the foodservice and special event industry is, but at the end of the day, it takes hard work, grit, and determination to be successful.”

If you are driven by that burning desire to start a catering business and are prepared for the work and accompanying expenses, the catering industry will offer some distinct advantages over starting a traditional sit-down restaurant. Before you get started, take this quiz to help you think about what it takes to start your own business. 

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Advantages of starting a catering business

Food production costs.

Caterers know exactly how many people they are expected to serve. That means you can buy only what is absolutely necessary and reduce the expense of food waste. A traditional restaurant may be prepared to serve 150 people on any given night, even if only 30 walk through the door.

Equipment costs

Since most small catering operations only need their equipment for a few days each week, it makes more sense to rent it for only the times they will be in use. This expense is factored into the overall job quote. That means, unlike the new restaurateur, the caterer does not have to deal with a staggering amount of overhead right out of the gate.

Serving staff

Most catered events are buffet style, which means the catering company can get by with two or three servers for a party of over one hundred guests, whereas that same guest list in a restaurant would require at least eight to ten paid serving staff.

• 3. Test the waters by working in the industry

You’ve seen the advantages, you know what’s in store, and you’ve decided you will forge ahead and start a catering business.

Before you lease space and start advertising, there are some “test drives” you should do first. These are things that can give you a better sense of the professional landscape and either confirm or challenge your commitment to moving ahead.

Work for a local caterer

As obvious as it may seem, there is no better way to prepare yourself for the realities of making it on your own. You will get a master class in everything that goes into running a successful (or not so successful) catering business. 

It will also show if you have the one trait Jean-Marc believes any caterer must have to make it in the business:

“I know it sounds a little cliché, but you always have to keep a positive approach because there are so many factors that can be stressful,” he says. “A lot of things can go wrong from the get-go. It could be accidental food poisoning or the delivery van could have an accident on the way to an event. No matter what happens, you always have to have a positive approach.”

Volunteer as an event planner

For any prospective caterer, the ability to multi-task is just as important as the ability to prepare mouth-watering dishes. The most delicious food in the world will not save an event that is an organizational train wreck. 

The experience you gain from helping to plan fundraising events for your favorite charities or church functions could reap huge benefits further down the line.

Work as a personal chef

This is a very common training ground for many eventual caterers.

By working as a personal chef, you not only hone your skills in the kitchen, but you can also develop a client base and begin networking, which will be very beneficial when you transition to catering.

• 4. Do your research and write your business plan

When you’re finally ready to make a go of it and launch your catering business, the first thing you have to do is determine what makes your business unique. One way to describe this is your unique value proposition , or UVP. In a nutshell, your UVP covers: how your catering service works, what makes it valuable and unique, and why it’s better than the rest.

When you’re first starting out, you will likely be a very small operation and that makes it especially important to establish your niche in the marketplace. Large corporate events like Jean-Marc’s Urban Source Creative Catering can scale up or down depending on the order. They can be a large one size fits all operation that can be, in many ways, everything to everyone.

“A couple of weeks ago I was planning a corporate lunch for executives for one day and the next day, it was a birthday party for a five-year-old girl,” he says. “We’re flexible enough to adapt the menu to the needs and preferences of the client.”

Identify your target market

With that in mind, it’s very unlikely you will have the same capability. Most businesses benefit from identifying their target market —and it probably won’t be everyone who needs to eat, from five-year-olds to corporate executives. 

So here are some things you can do to narrow the focus of what your catering business is all about.

Identify your concept—who and what you serve

This is essentially determining what the DNA of your catering business will be.

What’s your most identifiable and unique business trait? Are you a target-based caterer, meaning you specialize in certain events like weddings, corporate lunches, or social fundraising events? Or are you a cuisine-based company that specializes in vegan and vegetarian dishes, Southeast Asian food, or catering for some of the more common food allergies and restrictions?

Find out who your competitors are

Maybe you decided that you are going to be the premier vegan and vegetarian caterer in your city. You’re going to want to find out how many other businesses out there are trying to service that same market. You need to know who else is serving your same target customers in your area. Putting together a simple competitive matrix can help you see where you and your competitors overlap, and where you stand out. 

Practically every business has competition . If there aren’t any other caterers serving your style of food in your area, don’t make the mistake of thinking that you don’t have competition. Find out how your target customers are getting their needs met already. What do they do when they want to serve 30 of their friends a huge meal? How do they make it happen? Make it your business to find out. 

You may be in trouble before you begin if your chosen niche is already oversaturated in the market. So, find out who has been successful locally and why. What are people saying about them? Why do they get repeat business? The answers to these questions will help you guide and shape you’re growing catering business.

Write your business plan

If you’ve done some market research and thought about competition, it’s time to start thinking about putting together your business plan . You’ll need a formal business plan if you plan to seek a bank loan or investor funding. Check out a  free sample catering business plan in the Bplans sample business plan library to give you some insight on what to include.

If you’re not planning on seeking funding, consider putting together a Lean Business Plan instead. It’s shorter by design, and it will help you make sure you’ve thought through all the critical aspects of your business. 

• 5. Build your catering menu

A caterer does many things and must wear many hats, all at the same time. But, nothing is more central to the core identity of the business than the menu .

Your service and presentation must be impeccable, but it is the food that will keep customers coming back and offering referrals to their friends and associates. For many, it is the single defining aspect of a catering business.

Here are some things to consider when putting together your catering menu.

Have an area of expertise

The larger corporate catering firms which often target large and expensive executive lunches can scale their operation up or down to meet any food request presented to them. Starting out, your focus will have to be more narrow, partly because for budgetary reasons and partly because that will help you create an identity.

By targeting your menu to what you do best, you put yourself in a better position to deliver a top-quality product to your client. This is something Warren Dietel believes is crucially important for new caterers.

“Know your limitations and always try to undersell and over-deliver,” he advises. “You don’t want to promise something that you can’t deliver upon.”

Stay on top of current food trends

Food is no different from fashion, architecture, or technology in that it is nearly impossible to stay on top of all the current trends.

The advent of food and cooking television networks over the past 10 years has given rise to self-proclaimed “foodies” who are very specific about what they consume, and this is the biggest change Jean-Marc has seen in the industry in the last five years.

“We are seeing a big demand for gluten-free items these days, but it’s always changing,” he says. “Up to a couple of years ago, it was all about cupcakes, everybody had to have cupcakes. You would see cupcake shops spring up all over the place, but now that’s fading away and now we’re in the macaron phase. Everyone now wants macarons for their parties.”

It would seem keeping current has never been more important in the foodservice industry. Consider joining a food service organization or other professional group with a mission of helping food businesses succeed to help you keep your ear to the ground. 

Determine your price point

Like most other goods or services, catering businesses range from the very affordable to quite expensive. You’ll need to determine where in that spectrum your business is situated.

If you are going for high-end clients like corporate lunches or expensive wedding parties, you will need to price your meals and services accordingly. Or perhaps you’ve decided to make catering affordable to those who would normally not consider it, and so you’re going to offer delicious catered meals at a lower price.

In either case, how successful you are in your targeted market is going to depend in large part on determining the right price point.

The other side of this is putting together a sales forecast. Once you have a sense of what your price point will be, and what your materials and other overhead costs will be, put together a simple sales forecast to help you model different scenarios. 

Make sure your menu is cost-efficient

This may seem self-explanatory, but there is no faster way to put yourself out of business than by delivering amazing dishes that cost more to produce than what you are receiving from the client. Be sure to factor in all food preparation costs when deciding what you will put on your menu.

• 6. Choose your location and handle logistics

Before you can place that first order and take that first piping hot tray out of the oven, you will have to clear some logistical hurdles to get your business operational. To work through this next step, you will have to wear the hat of a shrewd CEO and CFO.

Choose a business location

Perhaps the biggest difference between the catering and restaurant industries is that the restaurant mantra “location, location, location” does not really apply as much when it comes to starting a catering business.

Jean-Marc believes what is most important in choosing a location is what amenities are available rather than what part of the city you are situated in.

“I don’t think it really matters where you are located,” he says. “What is important is to have plenty of preparation and storage space. We have office space plus a basement for storage with walk-in fridges and walk-in freezers.”

Decide on transportation

Setting up shop anywhere you’d like is a positive, but having reliable and sizable transportation is an absolute necessity. You will have to determine if it makes sense to buy a company van or simply rent one on an as-needed basis.

Of course, there’s more to transporting food than simply loading it into the back of a van. You will need special units to keep the food properly preserved from your location to the function.

This might include: 

• Food carriers
• Beverage carriers
• Insulated food carts
• Banquet carts
• Thermal insulators

Make sure you have insurance

Anyone entering the foodservice industry absolutely must protect themselves with adequate business insurance coverage .

Even with the most careful attention to detail, accidental food poisoning or other mishaps can happen and you must be prepared for all eventualities. Your serving staff will also require workers’ compensation insurance.

Reduce risk wherever possible

Pay attention to workplace safety . Catering disasters aren’t unheard of. Plan for the unexpected . Think about what can go wrong and come up with a few ideas for how you might deal with it. You can reduce your risk if you plan ahead. You’ll encounter challenges that it never occurred to you to think through. Do yourself a favor and check a few of those off the list, well before go-time. 

• 7. Develop your marketing strategy

You’re already the culinary master, you’ve taken on the role of CEO and CFO, and now it’s time to put on yet another hat: marketing specialist.

No matter how great your food is, your business won’t survive without the clientele. Here are some things to consider when it comes time to start marketing your catering business.

Think twice about brochures and flyers

Not long ago, this was one of the go-to methods for getting exposure for a catering business. Handing them out a wedding or trade shows was considered a no-brainer for any enterprising caterer.

“We used to do brochures and flyers but that doesn’t really work these days,” Jean-Marc says. Instead, they now use a targeted cold-call method when they have on-site office jobs. “Let’s say we have a job in the building at 110 King Street. What we do is take business cards to the neighboring businesses and let them know who we are and what we have to offer. That has worked well for us in the past.”

Establish a website and social media presence

Your website is the first place most people will go to see what your business has to offer and determine if it’s a good fit for them. This is by far the most effective marketing tool you will use.

Having a strong web presence is an absolute must. Make it easy for clients to reach you and understand what you’re about. Should you  run your entire catering business on a Facebook page? Probably not. There are some risks associated with running your business from a platform that you don’t own and don’t have much say over. Think of social media as one arm of your marketing strategy, but not the entire thing. Especially as Facebook and other platforms have evolved to deprioritize business-related content, remember that you get what you pay for. Instagram might be a great way to generate some buzz around your food, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket. 

Volunteer your services at a charitable event

This is a tactic that Jean-Marc has found to be very effective during his years in the business. Find a great cause you want to support, and offer to cater the event as your contribution in exchange for the organizers using your company name and logo on all promotional materials and at the event itself. 

You will be incurring a significant expense at the outset, but it is a great way to penetrate a target-rich environment.

Partner with event planners and venue owners

Look to develop long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with other organizations that frequently use caterers. Establishing a great working relationship with the top two or three event planners in your area is a great way to keep your business going strong.

Below you’ll find a list of different resources that can help you find out more about what goes into getting your catering business off the ground.

• The Catering Institute : An excellent online resources which offers downloads, essays, videos, and webinars on topics such as leadership, operations, sales and marketing, and delivery. Past webinars include “Catering Menu Optimization,” “How to Market Your Holiday Catering Program,” and “Building Loyalty and Order Frequency with Rewards and Incentives.”
• NACE : The National Association of Catering and Events offers online learning opportunities through what they call NACE University. Their courses fall under two umbrella headings: The Business Academy, and Food Safety. They also offer Certified Professional in Catering and Events (CPCE) Designation.
• Vegetarian Society : An excellent resource to help caterers navigate the often choppy waters of providing excellent meals to a strict vegetarian clientele.
• TES : An online educational resource hub that is home to the world’s largest online community of teachers, with 7.3 million registered users. It has numerous resources for caterers including information on cooking skills, health and safety, managing an event, customer service, world foods, and preparing food—just to name a few.

Books and magazines:

One visit to Amazon will give you numerous options for published guides on starting a catering business.

Some of the titles you’ll find include:

• How to Start a Catering Business: The Catering Business Plan—An Essential Guide for Starting a Catering Business by Sierra Young
• Good Food Good Business: Starting and Running a Successful Catering Business by Culina Salus
• The Everything Guide to Starting and Running a Catering Business: Insider’s Advice on Turning Your Talent into a Career by Joyce Weinberg
• Starting and Running a Catering Business by Carol Godsmark
• Taking those first steps

Both Jean-Marc and Warren stress the importance of patience and determination in those early days. It will be harder and more labor-intensive than you can possibly imagine, but it will also be unbelievably rewarding.

Warren said anyone new to the field must anticipate seasonal ups and downs—there will be natural ebbs and flows and it is important to be both psychologically and financially prepared.

“This is a very seasonal business . It seems we work really, really hard for eight months out of the year and for four months out of the year we get to regroup, recalibrate, reorganize,” he says. “That’s a good thing, but you just have to be sure you prepare for that from a cash flow perspective.”

So, the next time you amaze your social circle with your culinary mastery and someone says “you should really start your own catering company,” ask yourself one question—are you ready to flip the switch?

Tony has returned to his early love of journalistic writing by freelancing long form articles and blog posts. He is currently turning his TV series pilot for The New Twenty into his first novel. Tony lives in Toronto where he continues to be tormented by his beloved Maple Leafs.

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How to Start a Catering Business

Last Updated: March 9, 2024 Approved

This article was co-authored by JoAnna Minneci . JoAnna Minneci is a retired Professional Chef based in the Nashville, Tennessee area. With 18 years of experience, Chef JoAnna specialized in teaching others how to cook through private cooking lessons, team-building events, and wellness and nutrition classes. She also appeared in numerous television shows on networks such as Bravo and Food Network. Chef JoAnna received Culinary Arts training from the Art Institute of California at Los Angeles. She is also certified in sanitation, nutrition, kitchen management, and cost control. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 53 testimonials and 91% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 729,649 times.

If you host dinner parties for your family and friends every chance you get, you're up on food trends and you have an entrepreneurial spirit, consider starting a catering business. You have the advantage of starting small with relatively low overhead and building your business as you gain more clients. Read on for information on how to find your niche, launch your business and spread the word.

Finding Your Catering Niche

• Lunch or brunch-style food. If you enjoy making sandwiches, quiches, tarts, salads, and other food that is generally served during the day, you might want to model your business around lunchtime service. You could cater business luncheons, daytime awards ceremonies, school functions, and so on.
• Wedding reception or special event meals. Wedding caterers typically offer a variety of appetizers and finger foods along with several hearty entrees and a few desserts.
• Desserts only. If you love baking and have a flair for making cookies and cakes, consider desserts-only catering. This may limit the types of clients who hire you, but you'll also have less equipment to buy.
• Appetizers and cocktails. Clients are increasingly hiring caterers to create a trendy, festive atmosphere by serving only appetizers, sometimes accompanied by caterer-prepared specialty cocktails.

• Try to have a variety of items to suit different tastes. Even if you specialize in one cuisine or type of meal, make sure your menu appeals to a lot of tastes. For example, if you want to offer a lot of spicy food, have non-spicy options as well.
• Consider offering vegetarian and vegan options for clients who don't eat meat and other animal products.
• Keep your menu to a manageable size, with food you're comfortable cooking made with ingredients you know you can source.

• Tweak your dishes until you're convinced they're delicious and crowd friendly.
• Practice makes perfect. Make sure you've got the techniques, cooking times, and presentation down before you launch your business.

Securing Your Space and Supplies

• Consider operating from a commercial kitchen. Some kitchens allow people to rent the space for a day or a few hours at a time. This situation could be the right one for you if you cater only on the weekends or a few times a month.
• If catering is going to be your full-time business, you'll probably need a more permanent storage and cooking facility. Find a place with adequate plumbing so you'll be able to set up your cooking and catering equipment. Check with your landlord and your local zoning office to make sure you can install the proper equipment like ventilation hoods and grease traps.
• If you plan to host tastings or sell food directly from your kitchen, look for a place with a storefront that's separate from the kitchen, and provide tables and seating for customers.

• Base your equipment purchases on your menu. For example, if many of your items are baked, install at least two ovens. If you have a lot of fried foods, opting for more than one fryer might be a good idea.
• You may want to install multiple sinks to make your prep work more efficient, especially if you plan on hiring people.
• Plan ahead for food storage, too. Multiple refrigerators and a walk-in freezer might be necessary to store dishes you prepare ahead of time. Heated and non-heated holding areas are important for holding temperature and storing prepared items.
• Obtain all the pots, pans, and other kitchen equipment you need to make the items on your menu.
• If you are starting a business, you should understand a fixed cost and a variable cost.
• Fixed costs do not change every month. For example, the rent, utilities, and payroll.
• Variable costs vary monthly, such as marketing expenses.

• Many catering businesses provide plates, silverware, glassware, or disposable plates and utensils.
• You may want to offer special display trays and tiered food platters to help make the catered event more festive.
• Make sure you have the proper equipment to keep the food either cold or hot, such as chafing dishes with liquid fuel burners.
• Consider buying linens, napkins, table decorations and centerpieces. Some catering businesses also offer tent canopies for outdoor events.

Setting Up Your Business

• Instead of hiring staff right off the bat, you could also use a temp agency for your cooks and servers, at least until you build up your business.
• Consider what type of uniforms you want your serving staff to wear.
• Train your employees to provide the type of service you want to offer your clients.

• Produce can be acquired locally from farmers.
• The makers of alcohol will sometimes give you a special deal on their brand if you display their logo at events.

• Submit your business information to wedding sites and ask for banquet halls and popular local wedding venues to refer potential clients to you.
• Word of mouth is one of the best ways to get new catering business. Do your best to make the first few events go smoothly, and soon you'll have your hands full with new clients.

Community Q&A

• Start small by opening a mobile food center (only if you have a van) or a small stall, tent, etc. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 0
• Many caterers start by working at another catering company before jumping in and starting their own business. This will help you see if catering is truly the business for you. Thanks Helpful 5 Not Helpful 1
• Plan ahead by contacting your staff in advance especially for an outside catering event. Time yourself adequately to meet the deadlines, consider transport time. For this you can take a trip to the area before hand. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 2

• Operating a catering business from your kitchen or without the proper licensing can get you shut down. Don't skip this important step before launching your business. [7] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://business.fullerton.edu/news/2018/08/29/how-to-be-a-foodpreneur-finding-your-niche-in-the-food-industry/
• ↑ https://www.shopkeep.com/blog/how-to-make-a-restaurant-menu
• ↑ https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/73784
• ↑ https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/on-the-line/restaurant-kitchen-designs
• ↑ https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/on-the-line/restaurant-equipment
• ↑ https://www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou/industry/ucm322302.htm
• ↑ https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/how-to-start-a-catering-business

About This Article

To start a catering business, start by deciding what kind of food or events you want to specialize in, like appetizers and cocktails or wedding receptions. Once you know what kind of food you want to make, start coming up with a menu and testing it on your friends and family. Also, since most local laws prohibit catering companies from operating in a home kitchen, you'll need to rent a space where you can prepare food. You'll also need to purchase catering equipment that you can use on-site, like serving platters and utensils. To learn how to set up your catering business and hire staff, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Home-Based Catering Business

Here are the key steps to follow to start a home-based catering business.

Get the Home-Based Catering Business Guide

Launching a home-based catering business can open the door to a fulfilling career. Grasp the fundamentals to start, from licenses and permits to essential marketing strategies.

Clicking the "Get the Survey Now" button constitutes your express request, and your express written consent, to be contacted by and to receive automated or pre-recorded call, texts, messages and/or emails from via phone, text, and/or emails by Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts at the number(s)/email you provided, regarding furthering your education and enrolling. You understand that these calls , texts, messages and/or emails may be generated using an automated or pre-recorded technology. You are not required to agree to receive automated or pre-recorded calls, texts, messages or emails as a condition of enrolling at Escoffier. You can unsubscribe at any time or request removal of street address, phone number, email address via Escoffier website .

Listen to This Article:

With lower startup costs than a restaurant and the ability to determine your own hours and dishes, a home-based catering business can be an exciting entry into culinary entrepreneurship!

With no brick-and-mortar, “customer-facing” space needed, starting a catering business from home can be more affordable**, and a great way to either supplement your full-time income or replace it entirely.

Still, this is a big undertaking. However, you can follow this step-by-step guide for helpful tips in getting your home-based catering business off the ground, and start wowing clients with your delicious food!

On-Site vs. Off-Site Catering

Catering services are generally split into two categories—on-site and off-site. With on-site catering, the food is cooked and completed at the event location, like a wedding venue or hotel. With off-site catering, food is cooked somewhere else and then brought to the event location. This is often the case with catered business lunches and private parties.

As a home-based caterer, you may have the option to work either of these methods into your business. You could do the prep work at home, and bring everything to the event location for the final cooking and plating. Or you could do all the cooking from your home kitchen, and deliver the completed dishes to the venue.

The method you choose could be influenced by your city and state catering regulations, so make sure to do your research before determining your business model.

Take the Culinary Career Survey

We’ve compiled a checklist of all of the essential questions into one handy tool: career options, culinary interest surveys, educational opportunities, and more.

Know Home-Based Catering Laws

Before you file any paperwork or spend a dollar to establish your business entity, you need to know what is possible (and legal) in your area.

Does your city/county/state even allow for catering out of your home? And if so, does your kitchen meet the health department guidelines? These rules may require extra ventilation, a three-compartment sink, and non-permeable surfaces, like stainless steel countertops. Rules vary from state to state and city to city, so make sure to get the specific details for your region!

You may find that while you can operate the business side of your catering operation from home, you may still need a commercial kitchen rental where you can do the actual cooking for off-site catering. You may have to rent a shared commercial kitchen, or you may be able to cut costs by operating out of a kitchen at a local church, restaurant, or community center. Get creative!

Start Looking at the Numbers

There are two factors to a business’ profitability—income and expenses. Before you jump into your new venture, start sketching your financial outlook and making some projections so you can build a profitable business.

What Can It Cost to Open Your Doors?

There are costs associated with every business—your job is to figure out how much you may need to spend starting and operating your catering business at home. Additionally, you should calculate your anticipated income to determine how long it may take to recoup those startup costs.

Keeping your expenses low at the beginning can help you become profitable sooner. Instead of buying all new equipment and serving dishes, what can you find second-hand or borrow? Can you purchase and store ingredients in bulk to save some money?

After you figure out your potential startup expenses, think about how you’ll pay for them. Will you be able to cover these startup costs out of your personal bank account, or do you need to seek a small business loan or grant? Even if you don’t need outside funds right away, you may want to secure a loan just to cover any possible emergencies that may occur as you get up and running. Unexpected expenses can crop up, like higher food prices or broken equipment that needs repair.

Remember to factor in the cost of a rented kitchen space if you need one!

How Much Can You Expect to Bring In?

How many events can you reasonably cater per year? And how large do you plan for those events to be? This is a vital part of your planning process and goes to the very heart of your home catering business.

It’s not all about how many events you can do—it’s about how many you want to do. Flexibility is part of the appeal of this business model, so it’s up to you to decide what you want your business to look like.

Is this going to be a full-time venture with a team that serves large weddings and corporate events? In that case, you want every weekend to be booked.

Or do you envision it as a supplemental business to your full-time job, or a fun money-making hobby? If that’s what you envision, you may only plan to do one small, high-end dinner party per month, focusing on personalized service and top-shelf ingredients.

Do you plan to be a company of one? This will limit the size of the event you can manage, but it may also reduces your expenses.

These factors determine how much income you can make per year. Build out a rough calculation of the amount you can expect to make versus your anticipated expenses to make sure there’s room for profitability.

If financial planning seems a bit daunting, Escoffier’s Online Food Entrepreneurship program can help you grasp the culinary math fundamentals to start a food business, such as money management, purchasing, receiving, menu pricing, inventory, and more!

Create Your Business Entity

Name your home-based catering business.

Time to brainstorm some names!

Check with your Secretary of State (if you’re in the U.S.) to make sure that the name hasn’t already been registered. It’s also a good idea to do a web search of the name to make sure there are no catering businesses that already hold that name. Remember, you want to make it easy for people to find and remember you.

Plus, putting in a little research upfront can allow you to avoid confusion or legal troubles from a similarly-named company.

Build Your Business Structure

Consult with an attorney and/or tax professional to decide what the best business structure for your company will be.

A sole proprietorship is the easiest to create, but it doesn’t keep your personal and business assets separate. A limited liability company will protect your personal assets from business debts or liability, but it is a little more complicated to set up. If you’d like help with setting up your business, consider contacting a local small business center.

Once you’ve established your business name and structure, you can register for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) with the IRS.

Set Up Your Business Banking

Keep your personal funds and business funds separate, so you can accurately track your profit and expenses. This may also make paying your taxes much easier at the end of the year!

Get Any Required Licenses and Permits

Each state, county, and city will have its own requirements for permitting and licensing. To start, you’ll probably need a business license. Contact the Small Business Administration (SBA) to get guidance on the rules in your local area.

If your state allows you to cater from your home kitchen, you may need an annual health inspection from the local health department. You may need a food handler’s or food manager’s license as well.

And if you plan to sell alcohol as part of your catering services, you’ll likely need a liquor license to stay in compliance.

Long story short: be diligent in your permits and licenses! An error here could lead to financial or even legal trouble down the road.

Get Liability Insurance

Even if you take proper precautions, any time you cook for others there is some element of risk. If someone gets ill from eating something you cooked—even if it’s not your fault—you may face liability. Liability coverage can protect you and your business if something unfortunate happens. A specialty insurance provider like the Food Liability Insurance Program may be a good fit for this type of business.

You may also need to update your homeowner’s insurance since you’re running your business out of your home. Contact your insurance company for details.

Craft Your Menu

Now that all the paperwork is out of the way (for now), let’s talk food!

Caterers may choose numerous specialties, from regional cuisine to farm-to-table to plant-based catering. Choosing a specialty in your menu plan reduces your pool of possible clients, but it also makes it easier for you to stand out and market directly to your ideal customer. After all, if I’m a client who wants to serve guests a gluten-free, vegan meal, I’m probably more likely to hire the gluten-free vegan caterer than a “jack of all trades.”

“The most valuable part of my Escoffier education has been the knowledge I gained from all of the Chefs. Each one had a different take on things. It was a great experience.”* Kathy Gadison, Escoffier Culinary Arts Graduate

To avoid reinventing the wheel for every event, you can opt to offer a set number of dishes that customers can pick from. You may also want to establish “tiers” in your menu, with each tier having a different per-person cost. This gives your customers flexibility in choosing their dishes while still working with their budgets.

When pricing your menu, consider your food costs , labor costs, and additional overhead (insurance, kitchen rental space) to make sure you can cover all of your expenses and still have some profit left over from each event.

Also, consider your service method when designing your menu. If you’re only offering buffet-style catering, you may want to avoid dishes that rely on exquisite presentation or need refrigeration. Finally, think about on-site vs. off-site delivery. Food that you plan to deliver from your home kitchen to the venue must maintain quality through the transport and setup process.

Escoffier’s Online Food Entrepreneurship program curriculum may also examine the various aspects of menu design and management, including how to use home-based catering menus as a strategic financial tool.

Assess Your Equipment

What do you have, and what do you need?

If you offer baked goods on your menu, for example, you may need a second stand mixer or multiple ovens. A dedicated catering refrigerator can give you extra cold storage, plus make it easier to keep your catering supplies safe from hungry family members if you’re cooking at home.

You may also need chafing dishes and Sterno to keep food hot when it reaches its destination, plus serving utensils and dishes.

When you have all these extra items, where will you keep them? If you have a large garage or storage shed, that can work. But you may need to rent a storage unit nearby to keep these things out of your home or rental kitchen space.

Start Building Relationships with Vendors

As a catering business owner, you have access to wholesale food suppliers that can supply you with bulk ingredients at better prices. They may also be able to help you source specific ingredients, which is valuable if you’re in a specialty market.

Start communicating with vendors early to get an idea for who has the best prices, quickest delivery times, and most responsive customer service. And if you’d like to source ingredients from local farmers and small food producers, start reaching out early to build relationships.

When it comes to sourcing, think beyond the food. If you can source linens, flatware, and plates as part of your service, you may be able to charge a higher rate and provide a useful service to your clients. So strive to develop relationships with rental vendors as well.

Start Marketing Your Home-Based Catering Business

How will you get the word out? If you plan to cater to an older crowd, you may want to go with traditional marketing methods, like taking an ad out in a local publication. If your ideal customers are younger and tech-savvy, social media is probably a better place to target your efforts. Focus on high-end photography.

You’ll most likely need a website. A website makes you “findable” online, and it can be your home base to display menus, testimonials, photos, and pricing. It’s also where you can share your story and credentials, like your Food Entrepreneurship degree or diploma , and what is special about your cuisine.

“For me, having access to the school online means it is now possible to receive the culinary education I have desired, while still being able to grow my business and take care of my family, without even having to leave our valley. It is awesome that in my lifetime, we have developed the technology making this educational venture even an option. I am grateful for the opportunity, to say the least.”* Kristen Douglas, Online Culinary Arts Graduate, Owner & Catering Chef at The Main Event

Hire and Train Your Staff

If you’re catering small events, you may be able to handle them on your own. But as events get larger, they often grow in complexity.

Even if you can handle all the cooking on your own, who is going to serve it? Two or three people may be enough to keep a buffet well-stocked, but if you plan to do seated meals, you may need more staff to prevent slow service and cold food.

If you’re an Escoffier graduate, you may be able to find some team members among your fellow alumni through the Escoffier Alumni Association !

Collect Reviews and Testimonials

One of your best sources for new clients can be be old clients. Along with relying on word of mouth, encourage past customers to leave positive reviews and testimonials you can share.

Some bookkeeping software has this function built in. After you send the final invoice and the client pays it, the software can send out an automated email with a link to your review platform of choice.

Celebrate Major Moments Through Food

Starting a catering business at home can be flexible and rewarding! You have the opportunity to make rewarding connections with interesting people and help them to celebrate life’s big events through food. But it can also be challenging and demanding.

Education can be a great way to prepare you for starting a catering business. Escoffier’s Online Food Entrepreneurship programs include core culinary principles, marketing concepts, and business planning methods that may help demystify some of the important concepts of entrepreneurship and help set you up for success. And with online culinary school , you may even be able to complete your program while you start your catering business. To take the next step in your entrepreneurial journey, contact us today to get started!

Interested in learning more about culinary entrepreneurship? Try these articles next:

• How to Start a Bakery Business From Home
• How to Start a Restaurant with Little to No Money
• How to Start a Food Business From Home

This article was originally published on June 11, 2021, and has since been updated.

*Information may not reflect every student’s experience. Results and outcomes may be based on several factors, such as geographical region or previous experience.

**Consider your situation and resources to determine what is affordable and on budget, for you.

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Launching a home-based catering business can be a rewarding and flexible career option! In our guide, explore what you might need to start: from licenses and permits to marketing strategies.

Clicking the "Get the Guide Now" button constitutes your express request, and your express written consent, to be contacted by and to receive automated or pre-recorded call, texts, messages and/or emails from via phone, text, and/or emails by Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts at the number(s)/email you provided, regarding furthering your education and enrolling. You understand that these calls , texts, messages and/or emails may be generated using an automated or pre-recorded technology. You are not required to agree to receive automated or pre-recorded calls, texts, messages or emails as a condition of enrolling at Escoffier. You can unsubscribe at any time or request removal of street address, phone number, email address via Escoffier website .

How to Start a Catering Business

A catering business is a perfect idea for anyone who loves cooking and making people happy with their food. Moreover, it’s an excellent opportunity to start a company without much capital—you can even do it from your garage, cook for friends and acquaintances and build your way up step by step.

However, if you want to do it right, you need to plan everything carefully and prepare yourself. Since a lot will be at stake here, you certainly want to avoid unnecessary risks and reduce the probability of failure. And we are here to help you with that.

Below, you will find the essential tips for starting a catering business. Read on to learn all about choosing an entity type and working on your brand name, preparing your working space, drawing a business plan, getting clearances and licenses, marketing and more.

Come up with the Name and Choose an Entity Type

Keep the name simple but catchy. Make sure it’s easy to remember and spell and reflects who you are and what you offer. The catering business is popular, and there will be a lot of competition. You don’t want your clients to get confused and accidentally go to one of your competitors. This is why it’s vital that your company name stands out without being too long and complicated.

After deciding on the name, you need to consider how to register or incorporate your catering company. The two most common options are: LLC (limited liability company) and corporation.

The main difference is that LLC is taxed as a partnership while corporations are taxed separately from their owners. A single-owner LLC—for instance—can be reported on a personal tax return, whereas a corporation would be taxed independently. Having said that, there are certain restrictions related to corporations—for example, you need to have at least two shareholders. Also, LLCs are easier to form and maintain than corporations, so many people prefer LLCs when it comes to their catering businesses.

However, you should also research other options or contact a professional advisor.

Find Your Niche

You might make the world’s best vegan comfort food, but if you’re setting up shop in an area where there are already six other caterers who specialize in vegan fare, you’ll have a harder time getting your business off the ground.

Do some basic market research to find out what catering companies serve your area and what might be missing from the culinary landscape. You can browse your competitors’ websites or give them a call to get a sense of their menus, the size and type of functions they serve and how much they charge. You can also read reviews to learn what’s working for them and what their customers want them to do better.

With this information in mind, you can tailor your vision. If other caterers already serve the food you’re great at making, that doesn’t mean you need to give up on your dream or that you need to find other cuisines to master. Find an angle that sets you apart or gear your business towards a customer base that’s not currently being served.

Decide on a Working Space

Whether you want to rent out some space or work from your garage, you need to ensure it’s suited for a catering business. First, check with local regulators to find out what your space will need in order to comply with food safety standards.

Second, check the conditions of your space. You might want to add caulking to any gaps around your garage door or repair the windows to ensure that proper ventilation is not obstructed. Then, work on providing air circulation and insulation. After all, you will spend a lot of time there, and you will be working with food that can spoil easily.

After that, look for enough countertop space to work on and think about the lighting—you want to have enough natural light, but it shouldn’t be too bright or too dark. You also need a separate space for cleaning dishes, preparing foods, and so on. Make sure it has a sink with hot water, an oven, a refrigerator and so on.

Additionally, you should have enough storage space for food items, cooking supplies, cleaning supplies and so on. You can use a closet or a similar storage space, but also a place with the right temperatures for different types of food.

Moreover, make sure you have a strategy for food waste and trash containers for garbage. Ideally, these should be easy to clean and have lids. If you plan to use public dumping space, make sure you follow all the rules for cleaning up after yourself.

Last but not least, organize your cooking equipment . Depending on the type of catering business you are planning to run, you may need anything from pots and pans, mixers, blenders and so on to special equipment like a mobile kitchen trailer or a grill.

Prepare a Business Plan

A business plan will help you evaluate your idea and clearly define how your business will succeed. It forces you to think about all the major aspects of your catering company, which can help you avoid mistakes and improve your organizational skills.

The main aim of a business plan is to create a blueprint for your company—it should include a description of your concept, your goals, your strategy, market analysis and risk analysis. 

Have in mind that writing a good business plan takes time and effort. Make sure you think about every aspect of your business and provide enough details. You can check out some valuable tips online and get yourself familiar with the process of creating a business plan. You might also work with a professional financial advisor.

Draw up a Budget

After preparing your business plan, you need to draw up a budget . This will allow you to determine how much money you need to start and how much you can make once you are operating. Also, it will help you assess whether your business idea is profitable and whether your strategies will be adequate.

You should have a detailed budget where you describe how much money you will be spending on different aspects of your business, such as food, marketing, supplies and equipment. Apart from these costs, you also need to think about factors such as loan payments, taxes and so on. Of course, this is just an estimated budget—it’s possible that things won’t go as planned, and you will need to adjust it accordingly.

Check if You Need a License or a Clearance

In the case of a food-related business, you will likely need to get a license or clearance in order to work in your area. This can include food handling licenses in most states and other types of permits, depending on the kind of company you plan to run.

To find out what licenses and clearances you need, check the rules and regulations in your location. Contact the right local authorities and ask all the necessary questions to ensure you don’t omit anything important.

Develop a Marketing Strategy

If you want to build a catering business, you need to develop a proper marketing strategy. Even though you don’t need a big chunk of capital and can even work without paying for advertising (which is better for smaller companies), it’s still crucial that you make people aware of your presence and what you can offer them. This means that you need to invest time in marketing activities.

The first step to improve brand awareness would be to create a list of all the possible ways to promote your business. Then, focus on the ones that are most practical and affordable for you. For example, you could start with social media marketing. Facebook is free to use, but other sites may require registration or payment. You should also consider using video marketing, including YouTube videos.

From there, go on to more traditional methods like putting up flyers and posters around your area. Don’t forget about local events—you can also get in touch with organizers and offer them catering services at the event. The same goes for fundraisers, weddings, parties and other events that could be a good opportunity for you.

Whatever option or a combination of options you choose, make sure you have enough budget for it.

Now you have a clear goal and a step-by-step guide to starting a catering company. All you need to do is take action, analyze your results and make changes when needed.

If you want to start a catering business, be ready to work hard and get your hands dirty. You can’t get rich overnight, especially if you are a novice in the field. But, with the right strategy and enough inner motivation, you can make it. Just remember to develop a good business plan and a budget, get a good working space and don’t forget about marketing.

The most important thing is to be patient and persistent. The more time you dedicate to starting your own catering business, the faster you will succeed. And remember— research is vital, so make sure to follow all the steps we outlined above.

Feature image : Medina Catering ; Image 1 : Lukas Blazek ; Image 2 : Kelly Jean

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Catering Business: Expert Guide on Getting Started

Starting a catering business takes more than an extraordinary talent in the kitchen. It is more than your love for the hospitality industry and making guests comfortable at events. 

Unlike a restaurant business and other businesses in the food and beverage industry , a catering business combines extraordinary cooking skills and a flair for handling events. As a caterer, you must be able to perfectly plan a menu, prepare meals for a set number of guests, and deliver the meal to the event. 

You must also be able to serve these meals with class and style, even if this means bringing the plates and utensils to the event. That sounds like a good job description! 

So, how do you start your catering business? Let’s find out!

What is Catering ? 4 Types of Catering

The catering business is fiercely competitive and brutal. So it's crucial to carve yourself a distinct specialty that will set you apart from the competition. Understanding the different forms of catering is necessary for you to accomplish this.

What, then, is catering? Let's first go over all you need to know about the fundamentals of the catering industry and the many types of catering.

What Is Catering?

Catering is the process or business of preparing food and providing food services for clients at remote locations, such as hotels, restaurants, offices, concerts, and events. The catering industry consists of businesses that offer a variety of consumers food, beverages, and other services, usually for special occasions.

Catering occasionally includes managing and preparing events. For instance, if you provide corporate catering services, you must deal with enormous crowds and corporate clients' needs.

Some restaurants may hire caterers to do their cooking, or they may even let customers order food from them. Customers might, for instance, be so enamored with a specific meal that they insist on having it served at their event.

Who Is a Caterer? 

A caterer is a person or business that prepares, cooks, and serves food and beverages to clients at remote locations and events. In addition to creating seasonal menu selections, the caterer may be expected to supply the plates, spoons, place settings, and wine glasses required to serve guests during an event.

If you enjoy connecting with customers and creating a variety of foods that are both delicious and appealing to the eye, starting a catering business is the perfect endeavor for you. A caterer is creative regarding new recipes, menus, and culinary presentations.

Caterers are also excellent multitaskers. For instance, the caterer must be prepared to make all the dishes for the event at once if professional wait staff will serve each course of the dinner to visitors.

What Does a Caterer Do?

• Ensures that attendees enjoy their time at events. 
• Offers delicious, relaxing dinner. 
• Deals with particular demands.
• Designs menus for unique events directly with clients.
• Setting tables and serving meals during sit-down dining occasions. 
• Sending staff to prepare chafing dishes, bowls, and platters.
• Serving food to guests.

4 Types of Catering

• Event Catering: Event catering is planning a menu, preparing, delivering, and serving food at social events and parties. 
• Full-service Catering: Full-service catering manages every facet of an event, including meal preparation, decorations, and clean-up following the event.
• Self-catering in Hotels: Self-catering in hotels is when guests have the facilities to prepare their meals themselves. 
• Family-style Catering : When meals are served family-style, plates are passed around and shared at tables. 

What Is the FDA Requirement for an Offsite Caterer?

Here are some of the requirements to take note of:

• Structural and Equipment Requirements
• A caterer is expected to run their business out of a licensed kitchen that can handle their projected operation.
• All food transport equipment must be NSF-certified or equivalent.
• The entire operation must be able to safeguard all food products from contamination and maintain the necessary temperatures for serving.
• A certified powered serving device will be needed for continuous food service that lasts longer than four hours, such as portable steam and refrigerator tables.
• Administrative Requirements
• Only a catering permit is necessary from a food outlet authorized to provide catering to an event location.
• All goods sold separately over the counter, such as sandwiches, cookies, bagels, and doughnuts, must be packaged in food-grade packaging or placed in containers that have been certified for use.
• Licensed restaurants are exempt from needing a separate catering permit. However, they must inform the health department that they offer catering services.

Starting a Catering Business

Starting a catering business is a great way to make money from your love of cooking and event planning. A food catering business requires a lower start-up cost than other businesses in the food and beverage industry.

If you are an entrepreneur or a business owner interested in starting a catering business, you have come to the right place. Let’s discuss a step-by-step guide on how to start a catering business.

How to Start a Catering Business in 8 Steps

Here’s how to start an at-home catering business in eight steps:

• Select Your Catering Specialty

The first step to starting your catering business is choosing your niche. There are different types of catering businesses, and selecting one makes it easy to build your catering brand. 

• What type of events will you cater? Social event catering, wedding catering, corporate catering, or concession catering. When just starting a catering business, serving small parties and events like cocktail parties, staff functions, and other social events is easy.
• What type of food will you serve? Will you target a niche market , like vegan food, gluten-free delicacies, baked goods, or snacks? 
• Write a Business Plan

A business plan is a document that helps you map your goals and objectives. A well-written business plan will include strategies to actualize these goals and make your business ideas a reality.

• Choose Your Business Structure

A sole proprietorship business structure means your business will be unincorporated and owned by you alone. On the other hand, if you have a partner, you can register your catering business as a general partnership, limited liability company, limited partnership, or limited liability partnership.

• Obtain Your Catering Business Licenses

Businesses in the food service and restaurant industry need to obtain a business and food handling license from the State. In addition, you may be required to pass a health inspection as well. Consulting a local law firm is a great idea. 

• Get Your Catering Equipment

A successful catering business requires several things. First, consider taking a small business loan or buying used equipment if the cost exceeds your budget. Take note of these when preparing your catering business plan.

• Create Your Menu

Starting a catering business is one thing. Creating a menu your customers will love is another. Consider your target market, cooking facilities, and capacity when creating your menu.

• Pick Your Team

Selecting the right team is critical to the success of your catering business. Your team includes the in-house staff to help you cater events and cook meals. You’ll also need to partner with wholesale distributorships , distribution warehouses , and wholesale food distributors that supply wholesale food ingredients.

• Market Your Business

Here are a few tips for running an effective marketing campaign for your catering business:

• Launch a catering website.
• Use digital catalogs.
• Integrate restaurant technologies like contactless payments , restaurant POS system s, inventory management systems, and restaurant management software .
• Implement payment processing software , invoice processing tools, and invoice management software.

Catering Business Plan

A catering business plan is easy to write and contains the same essential elements as other restaurant business plan formats. However, when writing a business plan for a catering business, add catering industry-specific sections.

Let’s review how to write a catering business plan for your catering business.

How to Write a Catering Business Plan

Writing a catering business plan is more than just filling out a downloadable catering business plan template. Your passion for your catering business idea must be evident in each business plan section.

When writing a business plan for a catering business, include these sections:

• Executive Summary: Your executive summary, usually one page, is the opening section of your business plan. The executive summary is a summary of your business plan.
• Company Overview: Your catering business overview should include details of your company. It should describe the client experience, ownership and management components, and business operations.
• Team and Management: This section is a great place to explain your eCommerce team structure and organogram. Start the section by explaining your role within the company.
• Market and Opportunity: Market research will help you know which type of catering business will succeed in your chosen market. When writing this section, use graphs and charts to explain your findings.
• Business Operational Plan: Explain your business process flow in this section. From how you will attract clients to how you will serve meals at an event, your operational plan is a great place to explain your workflow in detail.
• Products and Services: If you plan to specialize in a menu item for specific events, this is the place to discuss it. Ensure you include a sample of your menu and pictures of your meals. Include details about your pricing as well.
• Marketing Plan: Describe your eCommerce marketing plan and strategies to grow your catering business.
• Financial Projections: Draw your financial projections, estimated costs for starting a catering business, and cash flow statement.

5 Action Plan for Catering Business

• Choose a Format
• Decide on Your Brand
• Be Aggressive With Marketing
• Try Software Automation

Catering Business Ideas to Get You Started

Choosing a unique idea that will grow the catering business can be challenging with hundreds of catering business ideas. Several catering business ideas exist, from being a restaurant contract caterer to offering group catering services for team meetings.

Let’s look at some of the best catering business ideas you can adopt for your catering business.

5 Best Catering Business Ideas 

• Mobile Catering Business: In a mobile catering operation, meals are made and served from a moving van. An instant food delivery service, a street vendor selling food to onlookers, or a concession stand at a fair are all possible uses for a mobile catering unit.

Tips For Starting a Mobile Catering Business

• Write a restaurant business plan
• Secure mobile catering permits and license
• Register the catering vehicle
• Buy catering insurance
• Use catering management software
• Set your prices
• Get your mobile catering van and catering equipment
• Hire catering team
• Promote and grow catering business
• Event Catering Business: Event catering is one of the most popular categories of catering services. Event caterers handle various events and food, from birthdays and backyard barbecues to modest luncheons and retirement celebrations.

Tips for Starting an Event Catering Business

• Build a relationship with other event vendors such as wedding planners, photographers, and bakery business owners
• Work with a great team
• Be great at organizing events
• Use professional wait staff uniforms
• Offer competitive pricing
• Make delicious food
• Lunch Catering Business: The lunch catering business involves preparing meals, especially lunches, for customers in a company. You may cater lunch for small teams within a department or the entire company. 

Tips for Starting a Lunch Catering Business

• Invest in automated order management software like Revolution Ordering
• Use restaurant QR code menu
• Create flexible menu options
• Build a connection with the corporate community
• Try digital marketing to reach more customers
• Make a brand statement with your food packages
• Work with the best delivery route optimization software
• Meals to Go Catering Business: Catering companies specializing in meals-to-go provide consumers with quick meal options. In this kind of catering, the food is prepared and then heated in the oven for the diners.

Tips for Starting a Meals-to-go Catering Business

• Research your niche market
• Use an online order management system
• Implement eCommerce marketing strategies
• Partner with the right wholesale restaurant food distributors
• Health Catering Business: Health catering is a specific type of catering business. You should consider starting a health catering business if you fancy cooking healthy meals and making healthy drinks.

Tips for Starting a Health Catering Business

• Create the perfect healthy-food menu
• Partner with a nutritionist or healthy-food expert
• Build the perfect health-themed brand marketing plan

Catering Software : 6 Best Catering Business Software

Setting up an effective business system is crucial when starting a catering company. Catering software keeps track of all administrative activities while streamlining restaurant operations, cutting labor expenses, and maximizing time management.

You can utilize a variety of catering business software for your operation. Let's first examine some of the greatest online catering software to assist you in automating your catering business.

Catering Management Software: Top Features to Consider

• Task management
• Time management
• Employee Scheduling
• Calendar Management.
• Accounting and Billing Management
• Inventory Management

6 Best Catering Business Software You Need

• Catering Kitchen Management Software

Features of Kitchen Management Software

• Tracking orders
• Managing inventory and kitchen supplies
• Preparing and reviewing orders
• Planning menus
• Reporting kitchen performance

Best Kitchen Management Software

• Revolution Ordering
• Catering Booking Software

Features of Catering Booking Software

• Responding to emails and invites automatically
• Integrating with Google Calendar, Xero, and QuickBooks
• Modifying the calendar to suit your business
• Assigning tasks to team members
• Tracking your mobile workforce

Best Catering Booking Software

• Total Party Planner
• Catering CRM Software

Features of Catering CRM Software

• Managing leads and customers
• Automating leads
• Delivering the best customer service
• Managing delivery addresses
• Capturing signatures
• Managing online orders

Best Catering CRM Software

• Social Tables
• Catering Inventory Software

Features of Catering Inventory Software

• Maintaining an accurate record of inventory
• Checking the variance between the inventory used in a day and what’s left at the end of the day
• Reducing inventory stock quantity automatically once the catering event is over
• Automating restocking and ordering of restaurant supplies

Best Catering Inventory Software

• Accounting Software for Catering Business

Features of Catering Accounting Software

• Accepting payments online
• Creating financial reports 
• Tracking and processing payments
• Processing invoices automatically
• Managing recurring payments
• Sending notifications for failed payments

Best Catering Accounting Software

• Catering POS Software

Features of Catering POS Software

• Reducing wait time
• Integrating loyalty programs
• Managing inventory
• Inventory tracking
• Controlling errors
• Sending reports
• Processing payments
• Managing tables

Best Catering POS Software

• TouchBistro

How to Advertise a Catering Business

The key to generating sales, scaling up, and developing your catering company is to learn how to market it. Despite the fact that there are several sorts of catering businesses, the same marketing and expansion techniques will work for all of them.

Let’s look at some of the best strategies to grow the catering business. 

7 Tips to Promote Catering Business

Here are seven tips on how to market a small catering business:

• Draw Your Marketing Budget
• Get Creative With Marketing
• Build a Website
• Implement Digital Marketing Strategies
• Integrate Automation Software
• Use Digital Catalogs
• Offer Referral Programs

Starting a catering business needs considerable preparation, from having the appropriate tools to employing qualified staff. However, you can get started right away with the help of the advice and suggestions in this guide.

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Catering Business

Back to All Business Ideas

How to Start a Catering Business from Home

Written by: Carolyn Young

Carolyn Young is a business writer who focuses on entrepreneurial concepts and the business formation. She has over 25 years of experience in business roles, and has authored several entrepreneurship textbooks.

Edited by: David Lepeska

David has been writing and learning about business, finance and globalization for a quarter-century, starting with a small New York consulting firm in the 1990s.

Published on October 27, 2021 Updated on July 2, 2024

Investment range

$23,750 - $55,750

Revenue potential

$325,000 - $750,000 p.a.

Time to build

1 - 4 months

Profit potential

$39,000 - $75,000 p.a.

Industry trend

Here are the most important things to know about when starting a catering business:

• Start from home — The location of your catering business is important, but consider starting the venture from home to cut down on costs. Just make sure you Check with your local health department and other relevant authorities to understand the regulations governing home-based food businesses.
• Pick a niche — To stay competitive, you should specialize in one of many niches, such as corporate events, weddings, health-focused catering, or seasonal or local cuisine.
• Licenses and permits — Since you are handling consumable products you will likely need to obtain food handler’s permits , which certify that you are trained in safe food handling practices. You will also need a health department permit and a commercial kitchen license . If you intend to serve alcohol as part of your catering services, you will need a license to do so.
• Packaging and delivery — Ensure that you have reliable transportation. Based on the volume and nature of the food you’re delivering, consider the type of vehicle needed. A vehicle with plenty of space and the capability to maintain food at safe temperatures (hot or cold) is essential.
• Register your business — A limited liability company (LLC) is the best legal structure for new businesses because it is fast and simple. Form your business immediately using ZenBusiness LLC formation service or hire one of the best LLC services on the market.
• Legal business aspects — Register for taxes, open a business bank account, and get an EIN .
• Ingredient sourcing — Find reputable suppliers for fresh ingredients.

Interactive Checklist at your fingertips—begin your catering business today!

You May Also Wonder:

What permits or licenses do I need to operate a catering business?

You’ll need general business permits like zoning and sales tax licenses, along with food-specific licenses from your state. Depending on your menu, you might also need to register with the Food & Drug Administration. It’s important to research your specific requirements. Local health departments are key resources for obtaining the necessary permits and licenses.

What are my production options for preparing my food?

You don’t need your own facility; consider using your home kitchen or renting a professional kitchen. Options include  incubator kitchens  designed to support new food businesses,  co-packer kitchens  for contract production, co-renting with other caterers, or using a restaurant’s kitchen during off-hours. Resources like  The Kitchen Door  can help you find these options.

What are the appropriate food safety procedures for my food products?

Food business owners should first and foremost understand the various food safety protocols, such as  Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points  (HACCP),  Good Manufacturing Practices  (GMP), and the  Global Food Safety Initiative  (GFSI).  In general, preparing, packaging, and labeling your food appropriately is necessary to comply with food safety protocols.

How profitable is running a catering business?

The profitability of running a catering business can vary depending on factors such as target market, pricing strategy, and operational efficiency. Successful catering businesses have the potential for high-profit margins, but careful cost management and effective operations are crucial for profitability.

How do I get more clients for my catering business?

To attract more clients for your catering business, network with event planners and other professionals in the industry, build a strong online presence with an impressive website and social media profiles, encourage satisfied clients to provide testimonials or reviews, collaborate with local businesses for partnerships, and create appealing marketing materials.

How can I organize a catering menu?

When organizing a catering menu, consider your target market’s preferences, offer diverse options to accommodate dietary restrictions, consider seasonality and ingredient availability, create customizable menu packages, pay attention to presentation, seek client feedback, and regularly update your menu based on preferences and market trends.

Step 1: Decide if the Business Is Right for You

Pros and cons.

Every business has its advantages and disadvantages, including running a catering business. Weigh each pro and con to find out if catering can work for you.

• Invest in your passion — Share your culinary talents with your community
• Flexible — Work on your own time and in your own niche
• Simple — Uncomplicated business model with a consistent service offering
• Opportunity — There are always reunions, weddings, corporate events, etc.
• Choose your clients — Choose your own clients and workload, with a high degree of client retention if you deliver good service and delicious food
• Rich networking capabilities — You never know who you will meet at an event!
• Must satisfy — Even one dissatisfied or sick customer can hurt your business
• Health and safety — Food preparation means you are legally bound to focus on
• Weak profits — Catering industry offers relatively low profit margins
• Repetitive — Catering can be repetitive work, leading to high employee turnover
• Low scalability — Difficult to scale your business over time

Catering Industry Trends

In the last decade, the catering business has grown faster than the rest of the US economy, benefitting from a larger urban population and more corporate events. 

Industry Size and Growth

• Industry size and past growth — Market researcher IBISWorld values the US catering industry at $12.2 billion. The market has recovered from the pandemic slump, which brought the average annual growth rate to 4.3% over the past five years.(( https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/market-size/caterers-united-states/ ))  
• Growth forecast — The catering industry market is expected to decline in the next five years.(( https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/caterers-industry/ ))
• Number of businesses — There are around 100,000 catering businesses in the US.(( https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/number-of-businesses/caterers-united-states/ ))
• Number of people employed — The industry employs about 275,000 people.(( https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/employment/caterers-united-states/ ))

Trends and Challenges

Tech design and education firm Harbinger Learning(( https://harbingerlearning.com/blog/catering-industry-growing-by-leaps-and-bounds-and-sustaining-beyond/ )) attributes the industry’s strong growth to four main factors:

• Technological reach — Apps and websites put catering at event planners’ fingertips
• Healthy consumer spending — The average catering order has increased in recent years due to larger corporate profits and a surge in consumer spending
• Rise in catering avenues — Boxed lunches, catering out of a vehicle, interior decorating, and other non-traditional services have expanded industry offerings
• Better packaging — New packaging that controls temperature and maintains food freshness has enabled caterers to be more mobile and flexible
• High level of competition
• High employee turnover

What Kind of People Work in Catering?

• Gender — 57% of caterers in the US are female, while 43% are male.
• Average level of education — 41% of caterers hold a bachelor’s degree and 28% hold a high school diploma.
• Average age — The average age of a caterer is 36.6 years old.(( https://www.zippia.com/caterer-jobs/demographics/ ))

How Much Does It Cost to Start a Catering Business?

Entrepreneur magazine estimates the startup cost for a catering business at $10,000 to $50,000 , with an average of $30,000. The most significant costs include cooking equipment (~$15,000) and potential furniture fixtures such as tables, chairs, and refrigerators (~$15,000). And these costs are likely to increase as your business grows.

The right equipment is crucial for the successful launch of a catering business. You might consider specialty equipment for your particular menu needs. Here’s a list of some of the major items you may need to get started:

• Kitchen equipment: ovens, stoves, grills, fryers, plates, bowls, trays, utensils
• Holding cabinets (for easily transporting trays of food)
• Chafing dishes (steel, lidded containers to keep food warm)
• Food pan carriers
• Hot food tables
• Catering carts
• Catering service trays
• Ice beverage bins
• Insulated beverage carriers
• Punch bowls
• Tabletop and buffet displays
• Food and drink fountains
• Ice sculpture molds
• Buffet serving utensils
• Concession equipment

Here is an overview of some of the likely startup cost estimates for a catering business in 2021, as compiled by Step by Step Research:

How Much Can You Earn From a Catering Business?

A catering business can expect to make $30,000 to $50,000 in annual profits, with leading jobs site ZipRecruiter putting the national average at just over $42,000. A typical catering firm maintains a profit margin from 10% to 12%, which may be low but is a sizable improvement on restaurants’ 3–6% margin.

Thus, a catering solopreneur could expect to earn $350,000 to $420,000 in annual revenue and $35,000 to $50,000 in net profit. A catering business’s main source of revenue is the per-event fee, which varies depending on the number of people being served and the extent of service.

Event catering can cost clients anywhere from $500 to $3,000 and above, depending on the number of people and the caterer’s market niche. To make $40,000 in annual profit, a catering firm would have to host around 200 events and charge an average of $1,800.

In your first year or two, you could work from home and do 15 events per month for $1,800 per event, bringing in $325,000 in annual revenue. This would mean about $39,000 in profit, assuming that 12% margin. As your brand gains recognition, sales could climb to 25 events per month and you could charge higher at $2,500 per event. At this stage, you’d rent a commercial space and hire staff, reducing your profit margin to 10%. With an annual revenue of $750,000, you’d make a tidy profit of $75,000.

What Barriers to Entry Are There?

The primary barriers to entry for starting a catering business include:

• Startup capital — A catering business requires a kitchen, cooking equipment, and possibly furniture, each of which requires significant monetary investments. Licenses, permits, and insurance are other initial costs.
• Competition — The catering industry is growing fast and that means competition. Many restaurants perform catering services as well.
• Logistics — Cooking a mass meal is one thing, but effectively packaging, transporting, and delivering it to an event is another. The logistics of catering can be a problem if you do not have the experience or equipment to effectively do it and maintain your food’s freshness and quality.
• Difficult to scale — Due to the time-intensive work required, scaling your business enough to serve multiple events simultaneously is difficult.

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Step 2: hone your idea.

Now that you know what’s involved in starting a catering business, it’s a good idea to hone your concept in preparation to enter a competitive market. 

Market research will give you the upper hand, even if you’re already positive that you have a perfect product or service. Conducting market research is important, because it can help you understand your customers better, who your competitors are, and your business landscape.

Why? Identify an Opportunity

To begin as a prospective caterer, you should research your local market to identify what kinds of businesses cater events, what kinds of events those are, and what kind of equipment, fixtures, and logistics such events require. 

Consider the most common avenues of wedding catering and corporate catering. Catering is also likely to be used for other special events, such as graduations or birthdays. Alternative niches in the realm of catering might include flowers, tables, or other non-culinary decorations and interior design.

What? Determine Your Food Menu and Offerings Scope

Compare your local market’s needs to the food and beverage menus you’re capable of providing. Do you want to provide full-service, multiple-course meals, or just pastries, cookies, and desserts? Will you serve alcohol? These decisions could necessitate additional planning.

Determine your offerings by researching the most popular food and beverage products at the events you plan to serve. Examples of catering niches include:

• Corporate lunches
• Holiday parties
• Rehearsal dinners
• Anniversaries
• Conferences
• Award ceremonies
• Bar mitzvahs
• Box lunch events
• Baby showers
• Concessions
• Dessert delivery

Adding some personality to your menu could also be a boon to your brand.

Maybe you provide the best brunch, vegan meals, or mobile dining. Traditional or cultural dishes could be popular in your market.

Consider how you’d like your dishes served — on plates, by servers, or in boxes. There are many options for your choice of food and its delivery. It is best to consider your market relative to your capabilities, both in terms of skill and equipment.

How Much Should You Charge for Your Catering Services?

Generally, catering services charge based on the size of the event. You should structure your pricing plan based on your expected expenses. Whether you are preparing mass meals or just delivering treats, you need to weigh labor and ingredient costs against your desired profit margin (avg. 10–12%).

Search site Thumbtack provides a handy guide on catering costs on a per-person basis. Their rates for weddings and other common events include the prices customers should expect to pay. On average, for the most common food station or buffet-style catering, they calculate that the customer will pay around $30 per head:

For high-end food and services, the prices will, of course, be higher. Formal plated meals with multiple courses, for instance, require more preparation time and more expensive ingredients. Here are some more example prices from Thumbtack:

Depending on your target market and specific catering offerings, this should get you started in brainstorming your own pricing plan.

Once you know your costs, you can use our profit margin calculator to determine your markup and final price points. Remember, the prices you use at launch should be subject to change if warranted by the market.

Who? Identify Your Target Market

Your target market — whether it’s corporations, weddings, or another niche — will have different demands. You should adjust your menu and your services accordingly.

For example, weddings and rehearsal dinners are more likely to make specific requests and ask for certain dishes. Corporate events may be more informal, with generic food requests or adherence to your menu offerings.

If you are ready to customize your menu and include a capacity for your cooks to accommodate unique wishlists for meals, then perhaps you should seek out weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other personalized celebrations. If you intend for your meals to be more standardized, boxed, and templated, then corporate events and conferences may be a better fit. If you want to make extravagant meals fit for fine dining, then you should pursue the higher-end clientele looking for that type of service.

You should understand going in, no matter what type of cook you are, your menu will largely be determined by the desires of your target market.

Where? Choose Your Business Premises

In the early stage of business development, you may want to operate your business from your home, assuming your kitchen is big enough. This will help you keep expenses in check.

But as your business grows, you’ll likely need to hire workers for various roles and may need to rent out a physical storefront. You can find commercial space to rent in your area on sites such as Craigslist , Crexi , and Instant Offices .

When choosing a commercial space, you may want to follow these rules of thumb:

• Central location accessible via public transport
• Ventilated and spacious, with good natural light
• Flexible lease that can be extended as your business grows
• Ready-to-use space with no major renovations or repairs needed

Step 3: Brainstorm a Catering Business Name

Here are some ideas for brainstorming your business name:

• Short, unique, and catchy names tend to stand out
• Names that are easy to say and spell tend to do better
• The name should be relevant to your product or service offerings
• Ask around — family, friends, colleagues, social media — for name suggestions
• Including keywords in the name, such as “catering” or “foods,” boosts SEO
• Choose a name that allows for expansion; for example, “Tasty Temptations Catering” rather than “Wedding Bells Catering” or “Vegan Ventures Catering”
• A location-based name can help establish a strong connection with your local community and help with the SEO but might hinder future expansion

Discover over 450 unique catering business name ideas here . If you want your business name to include specific keywords, you can also use our catering business name generator. Just type in a few keywords, hit Generate, and you’ll have dozens of suggestions at your fingertips.

Once you’ve got a list of potential names, visit the website of the US Patent and Trademark Office to make sure they are available for registration and check the availability of related domain names using our Domain Name Search tool. Using “.com” or “.org” sharply increases credibility, so it’s best to focus on these. 

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Finally, make your choice among the names that pass this screening and go ahead with domain registration and social media account creation. Your business name is one of the key differentiators that set your business apart. Once you pick your company name and start with the branding, it is hard to change the business name. Therefore, it’s important to carefully consider your choice before you start a business entity.

Step 4: Create a Catering Business Plan

Here are the key components of a business plan:

• Executive summary — A brief summary outlining the key points of the catering business plan, including its mission, objectives, and anticipated success
• Business overview — A comprehensive introduction to the catering business, encompassing its mission, vision, location, and legal structure
• Product and services — Details on the specific catering services offered, including menus, pricing, and any unique features that set the business apart
• Market analysis — A thorough examination of the target market, customer demographics, and trends to justify the demand for catering services in the chosen area
• Competitive analysis — An assessment of competitors in the catering industry, highlighting strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to inform the business strategy
• Sales and marketing — Strategies for promoting the catering business, including advertising, promotions, and sales tactics to attract and retain customers
• Management team — Profiles of key personnel in the catering business, outlining their roles, expertise, and contributions to the company’s success
• Operations plan — Detailed information on the day-to-day operations of the catering business, covering logistics, suppliers, staffing, and facilities
• Financial plan — Projections for the financial performance of the catering business, including revenue forecasts, expense estimates, and break-even analysis
• Appendix — Additional supporting documents and information, such as resumes of key team members, detailed financial spreadsheets, and any other relevant supplementary materials

If you’ve never created a business plan, it can be an intimidating task. You might consider hiring a business plan specialist to create a top-notch business plan for you.

Step 5: Register Your Business

Registering your business is an absolutely crucial step — it’s the prerequisite to paying taxes, raising capital, opening a bank account, and other guideposts on the road to getting a business up and running.

Plus, registration is exciting because it makes the entire process official. Once it’s complete, you’ll have your own business! 

Choose Where to Register Your Company

Your business location is important because it can affect taxes, legal requirements, and revenue. Most people will register their business in the state where they live, but if you are planning to expand, you might consider looking elsewhere, as some states could offer real advantages when it comes to catering. 

If you’re willing to move, you could really maximize your business! Keep in mind that it’s relatively easy to transfer your business to another state. 

Choose Your Business Structure

Businesses come in several varieties, each with its pros and cons. The legal structure you choose for your catering business shapes your taxes, personal liability, and business registration requirements, so it’s important to choose wisely. 

Here are the main options:

• Sole proprietorship — The most common structure for small businesses makes no legal distinction between company and owner. All income goes to the owner, who’s also liable for any debts, losses, or liabilities incurred by the business. The owner pays taxes on business income on his or her personal tax return.
• General partnership — Similar to a sole proprietorship but for two or more people. Again, owners keep the profits and are liable for losses. The partners pay taxes on their share of business income on their personal tax returns.
• Limited Liability Company (LLC) — Combines the characteristics of corporations with those of sole proprietorships or partnerships. Again, the owners are not personally liable for debts.
• C Corporation — Under this structure, the business is a distinct legal entity and the owner or owners are not personally liable for its debts. Owners take profits through shareholder dividends, rather than directly. The corporation pays taxes, and owners pay taxes on their dividends, which is sometimes referred to as double taxation.
• S Corporation — This refers to the tax classification of the business but is not a business entity. A corporation or an LLC can elect to be an S Corp for tax status. In an S Corp, income is passed through directly to shareholders, who pay taxes on their share of business income on their personal tax returns.

We recommend that new business owners choose LLC as it offers liability protection and pass-through taxation while being simpler to form than a corporation. You can form an LLC in as little as five minutes using an online LLC formation service. They will check that your business name is available before filing, submit your articles of organization , and answer any questions you might have.

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Step 6: Register for Taxes

The final step before you’re able to pay taxes is getting an Employer Identification Number or EIN. You can file for your EIN online, or by mail/fax. Visit the IRS website to learn more.

Once you have your EIN, you’ll need to choose your tax year. Financially speaking, your business will operate on a calendar year (January–December), or a fiscal year, a 12-month period that can start in any month. This will determine your tax cycle, while your business structure will determine which taxes you’ll pay.

The IRS website also offers a tax-payers checklist , and taxes can be filed online.

It is important to consult an accountant or other professional to help you with your taxes to ensure you are completing them correctly.

Step 7: Fund Your Business

Securing financing is your next step and there are plenty of ways to raise capital:

• Bank loans — This is the most common method, but getting approved requires a rock-solid business plan and a strong credit history.
• SBA-guaranteed loans — The Small Business Administration can act as a guarantor, helping gain that elusive bank approval via an SBA-guaranteed loan .
• Government grants — A handful of financial assistance programs help fund entrepreneurs. Visit Grants.gov to learn which might work for you.
• Venture capital — Offer potential investors an ownership stake in exchange for funds, keeping in mind that you would be sacrificing some control over your business.
• Friends and family — Reach out to friends and family to provide a business loan or investment in your concept. It’s a good idea to have legal advice when doing so because SEC regulations apply.
• Crowdfunding — Websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo offer an increasingly popular low-risk option, in which donors fund your vision. Entrepreneurial crowdfunding sites like Fundable and WeFunder enable multiple investors to fund your business.
• Personal — Self-fund your business via your savings or the sale of property or other assets.

Bank and SBA loans are probably the best options, other than friends and family, for funding a catering business. You might also try crowdfunding if you have an innovative concept. 

Step 8: Apply for Catering Business Licenses and Permits

Starting a catering business requires obtaining a number of licenses and permits from local, state, and federal governments.

Federal regulations, licenses, and permits associated with starting a catering business include doing business as (DBA), health license and permit from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( OSHA ), trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual properties, as well as industry-specific licenses and permits.

For a catering business, you will potentially need state-level licenses, a business license, and local county or city-based health and food-handling licenses and permits. If you plan to serve alcohol, you will need to obtain a liquor license as well.

Additional permits may be required by your state, such as a general business permit or license. The license requirements and how to obtain them vary from state to state, so check your state government’s website or contact the appropriate person to inquire about licenses and permits needed to run a catering business. 

You could also check this SBA guide for your state’s requirements, but we recommend using MyCorporation’s Business License Compliance Package . They will research the exact forms you need for your business and state and provide them to ensure you’re fully compliant.

This is not a step to be taken lightly, as failing to comply with legal requirements can result in hefty penalties.

If you feel overwhelmed by this step or don’t know how to begin, it might be a good idea to hire a professional to help you check all the legal boxes.

Step 9: Open a Business Bank Account

Before you start making money, you’ll need a place to keep it, and that requires opening a bank account .

Keeping your business finances separate from your personal account makes it easy to file taxes and track your company’s income, so it’s worth doing even if you’re running your catering business as a sole proprietorship. Opening a business bank account is quite simple, and similar to opening a personal one. Most major banks offer accounts tailored for businesses — just inquire at your preferred bank to learn about their rates and features.

Banks vary in terms of offerings, so it’s a good idea to examine your options and select the best plan for you. Once you choose your bank, bring in your EIN (or Social Security Number if you decide on a sole proprietorship), articles of incorporation, and other legal documents and open your new account. 

Step 10: Get Business Insurance

Business insurance is an area that often gets overlooked but is vital to your success as an entrepreneur. Insurance protects you from unexpected events that can have a devastating impact on your life and business.

Here are some of the different types of insurance to consider:

• General liability — The most comprehensive type of insurance, acting as a catch-all for many business elements that require coverage. If you get just one kind of insurance, this is it. It even protects against bodily injury and property damage.
• Business property — Provides coverage for your equipment and supplies.
• Equipment breakdown insurance — Covers the cost of replacing or repairing equipment that has broken due to mechanical issues.
• Worker’s compensation — Provides compensation to employees injured on the job.
• Property — Covers your physical space, whether it is a cart, storefront, or office.
• Commercial auto — Protection for your company-owned vehicle.
• Professional liability — Protects against claims from a client who says they suffered a loss due to an error or omission in your work.
• Business owner’s policy (BOP) — This is an insurance plan that acts as an all-in-one insurance policy, a combination of any of the above insurance types.

Step 11: Prepare to Launch

As opening day nears, prepare for launch by reviewing and improving some key elements of your business.

Essential Software and Tools

Being an entrepreneur often means wearing many hats, from marketing to sales to accounting, which can be overwhelming. Fortunately, a number of excellent software programs and digital tools can help you with many business tasks. 

Several catering-specific websites and online tools can strengthen your business and boost efficiency. Here’s a list of top catering software offerings: 

• FlexCatering
• Total Party Planner
• BetterCater
• Popular web-based accounting programs for smaller businesses include Quickbooks , FreshBooks , and Xero .
• If you are unfamiliar with basic accounting, you may want to hire a professional, especially as you begin. The consequences of filing incorrect tax documents can be harsh, so accuracy is crucial.

Develop Your Website

Website development is crucial because your site is your online presence and needs to convince prospective clients of your expertise and professionalism.

You can create your own website using website builders . This route is very affordable, but figuring out how to build a website can be time-consuming. If you lack tech savvy, you can hire a web designer or developer to create a custom website for your business.

However, people are unlikely to find your website unless you follow Search Engine Optimization ( SEO ) practices. These are steps that help pages rank higher in the results of top search engines like Google. 

Here are some powerful marketing strategies for your future business:

• Website & SEO — Optimize your website with SEO best practices for catering-related search terms and encourage clients to leave positive reviews to boost local visibility.
• Professional branding — Ensure your branding reflects elegance, quality, and unique flair, from your logo to your presentation style.
• Direct outreach — Build relationships with event planners, corporate entities, wedding venues, and other professionals who can refer your services.
• Social media engagement — Use Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to post high-quality images and videos of your dishes, events you’ve catered, and behind-the-scenes content.
• Culinary blog — Publish posts about menu planning, event-specific catering tips, and the latest trends in event catering to establish thought leadership.
• Customer success stories — Share testimonials and case studies from successful events to highlight your impact and service quality.
• Catering tips and guides — Develop useful content for event planning, dietary considerations, and selecting the right caterer for different occasions.
• Tasting events — Host tasting events where potential clients can sample your menu and experience your service style firsthand.
• Participation in local events and expos — Engage in local food expos, wedding fairs, and business networking events to promote your services and network with potential clients.
• Email marketing — Send newsletters to keep past and potential clients informed about your latest menu items, event ideas, and special promotions.

Focus on USPs

Unique selling propositions, or USPs, are the characteristics of a product or service that set it apart from the competition. Today’s customers are inundated with buying options, so you’ll have a real advantage if they are able to quickly grasp how your catering service meets their needs or wishes. It’s wise to do all you can to ensure your USPs stand out on your website and in your marketing and promotional materials, stimulating buyer desire. 

Global pizza chain Domino’s is renowned for its USP: “Hot pizza in 30 minutes or less, guaranteed.” Signature USPs for your catering business could be:

• Gourmet food on the go
• Niche food expert
• Organic and vegan meals
• Traditional or cultural dishes
• Well-planned; consistent and timely delivery
• Cater to customized requests
• Food presentation specialist
• Day-of prep and delivery
• Decorations, interior design
• Cooking instruction; a micro-culinary school
• Offer photography/videography
• Airline/cruise ship catering
• Cocktail catering

You may not like to network or use personal connections for business gain but your personal and professional networks likely offer considerable untapped business potential. Maybe that Facebook friend you met in college is now running a catering business, or a LinkedIn contact of yours is connected to dozens of potential clients. Maybe your cousin or neighbor has been working in a catering company for years and can offer invaluable insight and industry connections. 

The possibilities are endless, so it’s a good idea to review your personal and professional networks and reach out to those with possible links to or interest in catering. You’ll probably generate new customers or find companies with which you could establish a partnership. Online businesses might also consider affiliate marketing as a way to build relationships with potential partners and boost business.

Step 12: Build Your Team

You may not need to hire any employees if you are starting with a small catering firm that’s run out of your kitchen. But as your business grows, you will likely need full-time employees to fill various job roles, such as:

• Event planner
• Busboys and dishwashers
• Admin & HR

Your business may at some point need to hire all of these positions, or just one or two of them, depending on the size and needs of your business. You might also hire multiple workers for a single role or a single worker for multiple roles, again depending on need. 

Free-of-charge methods to recruit employees include posting ads on popular platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, or Jobs.com. You might also consider a premium recruitment option, such as advertising on Indeed , Glassdoor , or ZipRecruiter . Further, if you have the resources, you could consider hiring a recruitment agency to help you find talent. 

Step 13: Run a Catering Business — Start Making Money!

Higher consumer spending and corporate marketing budgets bode well for a catering business, so be prepared to step up once the opportunity comes knocking. 

To jumpstart word-of-mouth marketing, it’s wise to identify a niche market, such as product launches, meetings and conferences, and other corporate events. But you might also want to keep your options open and cater to a broader client base. Either way, cooking up a diverse and appealing menu is important to keep clients satisfied and inspire their loyalty.

You’re now ready to launch your catering business and start your entrepreneurial journey. Good luck!

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• Decide if the Business Is Right for You
• Hone Your Idea
• Brainstorm a Catering Business Name
• Create a Catering Business Plan
• Register Your Business
• Register for Taxes
• Fund Your Business
• Apply for Catering Business Licenses and Permits
• Open a Business Bank Account
• Get Business Insurance
• Prepare to Launch
• Build Your Team
• Run a Catering Business — Start Making Money!

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How Far Is Berezniki From Yekaterinburg? - Yekaterinburg Forum

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How Far Is Berezniki From Yekaterinburg?

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I Would Like To Know if i can get a room or an apartment in Berezniki? i cannot seem to locate a map with this city? i understand it is near the Ural Mt.? Any Information will be much appreciated!! Thank You Very Much Sincerely backwoods

Hi, i guess Berezniki is Berezovsky town. it is 10km from Yekaterinburg. i've found it on a map on http://www.visit-ekaterinburg.com Better try booking a hotel in Yekaterinburg itself))

Berezniki is the city in Permskaya oblast (~200km)to the north from Prem.

To locate a map with this city follow the link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Berezniki&sll=58.147519,59.677734&sspn=6.323717,16.523437&ll=58.516652,60.117188&spn=6.258139,16.523438&z=6

It is near 500km from Ekaterinburg (200km from Perm) and I don't think that it will be easy to get room by internet (since it is not large town).

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.

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