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Hot Dog Cart Vendor Business Planning Guide

• Check the licensing requirements for your state. The county or state Board of Health usually issues mobile food permits. You may also have planning and zoning regulations to look into for each city and county. Ask about peddler's permits or transient permits for vending on city property.
• Register your business with the city and state as soon as you choose a business structure. You want to make sure that the name you choose for your business is not already being used.
• Consider incorporating to protect your personal assets and to enjoy tax benefits. Business license requirements differ in every state. Your first year you may want to form a LLC which is a limited liability company.
• Get an Employee I.D. number from the IRS. Request it by phone for faster service. This will allow you hire staff if you decide to expand your mobile food services. My advice get someone else to do your payroll and take responsibility for tax filings. It's not worth the headache to do it yourself.
• Hire a bookeeper, even if they only help out once a month.
• Get prices for your insurance coverage, you will need concessionaire liability insurance as well as coverage on the vehicle you pull your cart with.
• Register for a food safety manager course.  These are available everywhere, even online training is available. Food safety certification courses are required in most states for even hot dog vendors so that you don't make anyone sick.
• Start your hot dog vendor business plan, marketing plan and cost analysis.
• Investigate where you want to purchase your cart.  Who is your audience? What is your menu like?  Will you do hot dog cart street vending or will you only cater to special events?  There are so many options to explore.
• Estimate your start up costs, cost of licensing, insurance, mobile food unit & your initial food start up costs.  Dont overbuy supplies, you can always get more.
• Take a look around, who is your competition?  How many months will you be able to operate in your region?  Do you have a good market?
• location, location, if you have a good lunch crowd could you possibly have a breakfast market as well?  There are many pre-cooked items that the health department will approve on a steamer type mobile food or hot dog cart.  pre-cooked sausage, pre-cooked egg patties and biscuits sandwiches, hot bagels and a large cambro container of hot coffee coulod just double your daily income.
• Develop your marketing plan, I suggest a good website, business cards and coupons.  Always be open to festivals, fairs and special events.  Consider fundraising.
• Locate your suppliers, brand recognition is expensive.  Be careful and get a good product at a good price.
• Determine your menu, keep it simple the first year of operation, you can grow later.
• Determine pricing through cost analysis, remember 3 X the cost will make sure that you make enough to make it worth your while.  You don't want to work for free.
• Develop a written operations plan, make sure anyone could run the operations with it in case you are ill and unable to operate it.
• Get professionals to do your accounting, legal work, graphics.  
• Specialize only in what your business plan outlines for you.