rough dog 333 Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 does anybody on here own or even run a catering van????? im thinking of buying one because my current job is driving me insane! is it as easy as it looks or are there things that i'll need to know that arent obvious? I own a Cafe mate ,its hard work for little profit my family have been in the cafe game for over 100 years and always made a very good living but now its gone mate. I cant speak for the vans even though I've always fancied one. If you have a go with one make sure you only supply top quality food... it will bring people back and also the right pitch is essential. The food hygiene isn't a problem they are there to help you but don't expect to make a fortune because customers will complain about prices even when suppliers put prices up over and over again sometimes without a chance to deal with them, Its hard mate but good luck with it ! I`m not an expert but if you want any advice just pm me ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Carraghs Gem 1,699 Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 Im torn between getting a catering van or stall selling army surplus, im raising the cash for it now I really hate having to break this to ya but... There's loads of firms that will happily take you hard earned a promise the earth...you'll be lucky to earn a living out of food....Sunday market pitch will cost ya a grand n they feckin fill the place with other vans n then limit what you can sell..... Army serplus.......up until last year I rented my yard off a family which in the 70's 80's were the biggest in the UK and made millions..when the old boy died we counted 376k in cash he had hidden in the boot of a scrap triumph stag.....they are now selling bric a brack on e bay and starving......years ago the MOD would auction the gear off in stilages...you could go a bid and buy the gear from the three day sales..when I first started I would go blow all my money on the first day come home sell a load of gear off n be back for the next morning to buy again......now the MOD are sending everything to a handful of agents so there's Bp cheap gear anymore...withem had the contract for a few years now I think its up in Scotland.....so now you will have to buy your gear off a firm that's already bought the gear through an agent and then punting it on to you.....they will also be selling into your target market....all this equals no profit for you.......if you can get a few grand together look to buying a container of something from China...but again you'll need a good shipping agent or again you'll come out with burned fingers and a bad taste in ya mouth........ps pm me if you fall on a decent earner because I haven't done any good for the last year or so lol no catering vans hardly in my area so intend to hit certain small villages... and the food will be far better than most catering vans as i am a chef by profesion. Army surplus there is a demand for in my area, will buy a quantity of stock that is of decent quality and will give it a go as well see how it does... Have found a wholesaler that has some decent stuff so im going to fill a transit up and give it a go. Well bloody good luck to you CG!I keep fantasizing about doing farmers markets selling rabbit stew and game chilli etc. Still not got round to it - hope you make a go of it! Been unemployed since november and only working part time for quite a while now, cant be doing with twiddling my thumbs in front of the tv and ive been thinking of starting my own business for some time now, just have to tighten our belts and save the money.. Think 5k would get me set up with either business and i will only pay myself minimum wage until the business is established Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Duncan 802 Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 Im torn between getting a catering van or stall selling army surplus, im raising the cash for it now I really hate having to break this to ya but... There's loads of firms that will happily take you hard earned a promise the earth...you'll be lucky to earn a living out of food....Sunday market pitch will cost ya a grand n they feckin fill the place with other vans n then limit what you can sell..... Army serplus.......up until last year I rented my yard off a family which in the 70's 80's were the biggest in the UK and made millions..when the old boy died we counted 376k in cash he had hidden in the boot of a scrap triumph stag.....they are now selling bric a brack on e bay and starving......years ago the MOD would auction the gear off in stilages...you could go a bid and buy the gear from the three day sales..when I first started I would go blow all my money on the first day come home sell a load of gear off n be back for the next morning to buy again......now the MOD are sending everything to a handful of agents so there's Bp cheap gear anymore...withem had the contract for a few years now I think its up in Scotland.....so now you will have to buy your gear off a firm that's already bought the gear through an agent and then punting it on to you.....they will also be selling into your target market....all this equals no profit for you.......if you can get a few grand together look to buying a container of something from China...but again you'll need a good shipping agent or again you'll come out with burned fingers and a bad taste in ya mouth........ps pm me if you fall on a decent earner because I haven't done any good for the last year or so lol no catering vans hardly in my area so intend to hit certain small villages... and the food will be far better than most catering vans as i am a chef by profesion. Army surplus there is a demand for in my area, will buy a quantity of stock that is of decent quality and will give it a go as well see how it does... Have found a wholesaler that has some decent stuff so im going to fill a transit up and give it a go. Well bloody good luck to you CG!I keep fantasizing about doing farmers markets selling rabbit stew and game chilli etc. Still not got round to it - hope you make a go of it! Been unemployed since november and only working part time for quite a while now, cant be doing with twiddling my thumbs in front of the tv and ive been thinking of starting my own business for some time now, just have to tighten our belts and save the money.. Think 5k would get me set up with either business and i will only pay myself minimum wage until the business is established Its a killer not working; murders your self-esteem and saps your soul. If you've got a passion for making tasty food that customers will want to eat and a will for mastering your own destiny with enough planning and basic funding laid down, I reckon you'll do well and be happy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
the_stig 6,614 Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 lol@sweaty sid .................. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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