by Jenny Bug

Created on: February 06, 2009

Catering is the fastest growing segment in the food industry according to the National Restaurant Association's Industry
Forecast. There are over 53.000 caterers listed in the United States Yellow Pages. Annual sales of these listed are better between $7 and $8 billion dollars. The profit margin potential is extremely high. Some caterers report a 66 percent pre-tax profit. This may be hard to believe but when you take into consideration the low overhead costs compared to those of restaurants, it becomes for credible. Catering for beginners can a very profitable business, if you go in with your eyes wide open and are ready to have the time of your life.

While catering can a lucrative career, let's put things in perspective. Be ready for working long hard hours, having to multitask and organize and lots of satisfaction. You can start out with a low investment of $1 thousand dollars and go upward of $100 thousand dollars.

Are you an excellent cook and have the ability to present artistic food presentations? Do you have the basic business knowledge and do you love working with people? Do you have an abundance of tried and true recipes? If you have this knowledge and resources you have a good chance of having a successful catering business.

You must be a master at presenting your food. Keep in mind that your client thinks their event is special enough to put on such as affair. Your presentation should reflect the importance of the occasion. People eat with their eyes as well as their taste buds. You are your salesman. Happy clients will remember your catering business for future events and will likely tell others about you.

The beginning caterer needs to possess excellent organizational skills. Besides making sure the hot food stays hot and the cold food ice cold, there are multiply tasks that you will be to have under control. How to transport your food, renting equipment, set up and meeting your clients. Experienced caterers keep their heads under stressful situations and deal with the unexpected. Since each catering experience is unique, it can be more stressful than other areas of food service. Once you get your first oohhs and aahhs! you can sit back and relax.

A careful study of your potential client base for your catering business is essential. You need to explore your competition. Take a long hard look at your competition and find out what market share they already cover. Create a potential client base by reading your newspapers' social events and wedding announcements.

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