Caterer looking for advice, insight or feedback

[MikeMisk]

Hello my name is Mike, and I run a small full service catering company in central Florida. I have been in business since Jan. 1 2020. Rough year to start but I muscled through and I am still in business today. I have over 12 years of serious cooking experience in various cuisines and restaurants in Miami, Fl. and this is my first business. I didn’t graduate from college and I did not come from a wealthy family. Homeowner, husband and father to 2 kids.


I currently have 3 main services

1. School Delivery - not a huge profit margin but makes an impact in my community. I feel good about broadening kids paletes and we’ve seen great results. 3 days a week. M, W &Th.
2. Meal plans - 3 diet options, 5 meals a week. I personally shop for all the food on Saturdays and cook on Sundays and Wednesdays. I deliver twice a week. Takes up most of my time and effort and it’s not my favorite style of serving food. I continue to do it due to demand for it in my area. Somewhat consistent throughout the year and has gotten me through 2021.
3. Events - Private dinners, cocktail parties, drop offs, weddings, showers, holiday celebrations, and on and on. Highest profit margin but less consistent. I would consider this my preferred way to cook, however, I don't see long term scalability and during the slow season, well, it’s slow. I have done very well in this area for being a new business in a new area.

Being a first time business owner, having pretty good success within my first year, starting from pretty much nothing and with covid very prevalent, I feel kind of lost. Although I am grateful that I have had success, I can’t help but ask myself “Am I running 3 different businesses?” And, honestly I am not sure what I should do. According to the “10 stages of the lifecycle of a business” I am at the infancy stage. I work around a lot of other caterers and food businesses and I have come to see that I am definitely ranked pretty high, even with the OG’s in the area. I am a bit unorganized and time allocation is not my strong suit. I work out of a commissary/shared kitchen and I do pretty much everything in the business by myself.


Any advice? Has anybody had success running a catering business with this many services? I have a lot of questions so if anyone is willing to help, I’d definitely be thankful.

Thanks!

 

Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member: Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)

[G-Cream]

Jiz, O’n puv op vji devisoph catopitt epf qsucecmz puv vji citv vu eptxis vjiti raitvoupt, cav O tii vjev pu upi jet ziv tu O’mm vsz vu uggis tuni efwodi.
Gostv O tii vjev vjot jet ciip qutvif op Kepaesz tu juqigammz vjopht esi nuwoph op vji sohjv fosidvoup, og puv jisi’t e duaqmi ug vjopht vu vjopl ecuav.
O vjopl epzvjoph djesovecmi (us katv podi) xom fu pu jesn. Vji tdjuum fimowisz nohjv puv ci neloph zua nadj nupiz cav O jewi e giimoph ov ot emtu hipisevoph zua pix datvunist. Og puv, ot vjisi epzxez zua dep siedj uav vu vji qesipvt vu miv vjin lpux zua uggis uvjis tiswodit (O jewi e gappz giimoph vjiz xuamf muwi vu fu catopitt xovj tuniupi vjev ot neloph tasi vjios djomfsip esi gif).
Gus zuas niem qmept, og ov ot puv wisz qsugovecmi, ot vjisi e xez vjev zua dep tjux vjuti dmoipvt jux vu duul vji niem vjintimwit epf katv uggis vji sidoqoit? Nezci dsievi tuni wofiut up Gedicuul us ZuaVaci tjuxoph jux vu duul vjin, epf vjip duni aq xovj pix ofiet iwisz xiil/nupvj us xjeviwis zuas dungusvecmi xovj.
O vjopl zua tjuamf miep opvu vji vjopht vjev esi nutv qsugovecmi. Ov nohjv ci e tohp vjev zuas nesliv ot vimmoph zua tunivjoph.
Moli zua teof, zua tvesvif vjot catopitt fasoph e wisz vuahj voni epf jewi nepehif vu fu ximm, liiq qatjoph gusxesf epf huuf vjopht esi tasi vu gummux
Zua’wi huv vjot!