Everything Guide to Starting and Running a Catering Business: Insider's advice on turning your talent into a Career

324 Pages·2007·8.32 MB·English

by  Joyce Weinberg

StartingG auinded to R unning
a Catering Business
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Joyce Weinberg
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Visit the entire Everything® Series at www.everything.com
Guide to StARtiNG
ANd RuNNiNG A
CAteRiNG
BuSiNeSS
insider advice on turning your
talent into a lucrative career
Joyce Weinberg
Avon, Massachusetts
To my parents, my family, my son, Jonah, my friends and colleagues,
and to all the dedicated, hardworking caterers who
work to make their clients’ events so special.
Copyright ©2007, F+W Publications, Inc.
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions
are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
An Everything® Series Book.
Everything® and everything.com® are registered
trademarks of F+W Publications, Inc.
Published by Adams Media, an F+W Publications Company
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com
eISBN-13: 978-1-60550-229-8
-871959 :863-9I1S BN-384-3 9-384-06895-1 :01
Printed in Canada.
J I H G F E D C B A
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Weinberg, Joyce.
Everything guide to starting and running a catering business / Joyce Weinberg.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59869-384-3 (pbk.)
ISBN-10: 1-59869-384-0 (pbk.)
1. Caterers and catering. I. Title.
TX921.W44 2007
642'.4—dc22
2007015885
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to
the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged
in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert
assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
—From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the Ameri-
can Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are
claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was
aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.
This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.
Contents
Top Ten Things You Need to Know about the Catering Business | xii
Introduction | xiii
Chapter 1: What Is CaterIng? | 1
What Does Catering Really Mean? | 1
Running Your Own Business | 3
Fun Aspects of the Catering Business | 5
Not-So-Fun Aspects of the Catering Business | 7
Personal Chefs | 9
Should You Start as a Personal Chef? | 10
Chapter 2: UnderstandIng the CaterIng IndUstry | 11
Overview of Catering in the United States | 11
Catering Industry Segments | 12
Off-Premise-Only Caterers | 13
Restaurants | 14
Gourmet/Grocery Stores | 15
Large Caterers | 16
Hotels and Conference Centers | 18
Outdoor Caterers | 18
Specialty Caterers | 19
Twenty-First-Century Catering | 21
Chapter 3: reqUIred skIlls for a Caterer | 27
Is Catering for You? | 27
The Many Hats of a Caterer | 28
The Caterer’s Skill Set | 31
Acquiring Chef Skills | 37
Acquiring Business Skills | 37
Deciding Not to Be a Caterer | 40

Chapter 4: gettIng started as a Caterer | 41
Licensing and Other Legal Issues | 41
Finding a Commercial Kitchen | 44
Insurance | 45
Finding a Lawyer | 47
Your Business Structure | 49
Accounting | 52
Financing | 54
Catering Software | 56
Chapter 5: researChIng yoUr BUsIness opportUnIty | 59
Types of Research | 59
Take Advantage of the Public Library | 60
Qualitative Versus Quantitative Data | 62
Doing a Competitive Survey | 63
Identify Opportunities | 67
Digesting the Data | 69
Chapter 6: developIng a ConCept | 71
Identifying a Concept | 71
Positioning and Marketing a Concept | 74
Catering Positionings | 75
Differentiation | 77
Mapping Your Competitors’ Positionings | 78
Checking the Concept Against Your Skill Set | 79
Testing Your Positioning | 80
Chapter 7: BeIng a personal or prIvate Chef | 83
Personal Chefs | 83
The Personal Chef Industry | 87
Planning Menus | 87
Private Chefs | 90
Pricing Your Services | 91
Communication with Clients | 92
Professional Personal Chef Associations | 93
Opportunity Areas for Personal and Private Chefs | 95
i | The Everything Guide to Starting and Running a Catering Business