Catering Business Profits, Earnings & Wages – How Much Money Can You Really Make?

Many people have turned their love of cooking and entertaining into a good way to earn a living by starting catering businesses.

Catering is a multi-billion dollar industry in the US and as one of the fastest growing segments of the food and beverage industry, the catering business offers great opportunities for those who want to start a small business on a low cost. initial.

In this article, we will look at the catering business earnings, earnings and salaries and how much money it is actually possible to earn in this industry. Then we’ll examine some of the things that separate the truly successful players from the amateurs.

Is a $100,000 annual profit possible in catering?

Many people view a salary or $100,000 pre-tax earnings as a benchmark for success and wonder if they can achieve this level of earnings in restoration.

Most small catering business owners who put in the effort can expect to earn between $20,000 and $40,000 in profit per year for the owner for the first few years. After a couple of years in business, you can easily scale up to a ‘six figure’ annual income from catering.

Tips for getting to the ‘six figure’ level

1) Forget catering your home kitchen if you want to get to this salary level. Business-savvy caterers make volumes that require them to rent commercial kitchen space by the hour, arrange access to restaurant kitchens after hours, or focus only on ‘on-site’ work and use the kitchens of your clients.

2) Successful players love to spend time creating menus, following food trends, and interacting with people without neglecting the business side of catering.

3) Start building a powerful brand from the ground up with your logo, company values ​​and a unique service that will become a valuable asset that will allow you to get a premium price for your catering services in the market.

4) Build systems for each part of your business to streamline daily operations. Analyze the way you and your staff work and strive to increase productivity.

5) Understand that there are “niche” markets within the restaurant industry that you would never think of until you really start looking. The major catering service providers find these untapped opportunities and create a business that meets the specific needs of these groups.

6) Perfect the process of consulting with new customers and learn how to politely upsell them some of your most expensive offerings.

7) Realize that you are leaving money on the table if you don’t sell additional event-related services to your clients.

8) Learn how to hire, train, and organize a small team to help you with food preparation, delivery, service, and even sales if you want to have a realistic chance of reaching an income level above $100,000.

9) Don’t neglect traditional advertising methods but also look for other modern marketing methods such as networking, cross promotions and guerrilla marketing.

10) Successful caterers also recognize the importance of customer recommendations. Customers can introduce you to friends because they like your food and services, but there are other ways to get them talking about your business as well.

To get started on the right track, read as much as you can about small business management in general and the catering business specifically. Many highly successful caterers have published start-up guides and you have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes instead of making your own and can benefit from their insider tips and advice.

It is possible to make a lot of money in the restaurant business if you put in the effort. Reaching an income level that allows you to earn a ‘six figure’ salary in your catering business is entirely possible within your first two years in business.