Scooping Up Sales: Launching Your Ice Cream Truck Business

Some of the most loyal ice cream customers out there can’t afford to buy your product: children. But, their parents can, and that’s all you really need to verify the market for your new ice cream truck business. Once you’re confident that the market exists, you need to take a few important steps to ensure that your truck gets off on the right tire.

Start With a Business Plan

Every good business has a plan. Sit down and write out how much money it will cost you to start marketing your business, how much supplies will cost, how much a truck will cost, whether you will be a cash-only truck or whether you will accept plastic. Every imaginable cost, right down to gasoline costs, must be projected. When you think you’ve got all of your expenses, calculate your expected income.

Get Your Licensing Out Of The Way

Get all local and state licensing out of the way. In almost every state, there are licensing rules and regulations that you have to follow. These are not optional. Fortunately, many states have streamlined the process of getting a license. It’s a simple matter of paying a fee and waiting for the license to come in the mail.

Get Your Equipment And Supplies

You’ll need equipment and supplies. The obvious necessity is an ice cream truck. These are usually converted vans or single-purpose food trucks with refrigeration on-board. They will also sometimes have an awning that swings out – these are good for times when you are able to park and serve customers for hours on end.

Now, if you plan on taking credit and debit cards (which might be a good idea) an inexpensive route to accomplish this would be to buy an ePOS or cloud-POS system. These are point-of-sale terminals that are powered by software and run on an iPad. They happen to be very cost effective (setting you back only a few thousand dollars for the setup) and very easy to use.

Then there’s the napkins – you’ll need lots of napkins.

You’ll also need a lot of ice cream packaging supplies too, like cones and cups. Don’t forget the ice cream. Finding a good supplier will be one of the most important keys to your success. If you decide to be your own supplier, you’ll probably want commercial ice cream machines so that you can keep your inventory fully stocked. It’s a bit more money on the overhead, but you can offer custom flavors and a unique ice cream experience this way.

Market Your Business

This is probably the hardest thing to do – especially in this day and age. Marketing a mobile retail business will largely depend on your ability to network and get referrals. Your business is highly localized and vulnerable to the local economic climate.

You could start out by joining your local Chamber of Commerce and other local business organizations. This will help get your name out there. Next, create colorful flyers and put them all over the town or city. Just make sure you’re obeying all local laws. Now, get out there and drive around neighborhoods when and where you know children will be. Before you know it, you’ll be raking in the dough.

Jesse McIver is a passionate restauranteur who enjoys finding ways to please more customers. After years of experience managing a handful of restaurants and food trucks, he often blogs about ins and outs for a successful food business in today’s market.

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