Putting up a catering business is easy. You need a place to prepare and cook the meals, enough staff for both administration and operations, and, of course, the capital to make it all happen. But while putting up a catering business is easy, being the best is difficult.
Do you want to be the best caterer among the highly competitive field? Here’s how to be an amazing caterer
Cooking
Catering, while a business, all comes down to food. No matter how well the venue is decorated, you won’t get a good review if your food isn’t good. As manager, hire staff with stellar cooking experience. You might also want to learn a bit of cooking yourself.
Customer service
As a service industry, what matters most is how you deal with your clients. Remember to be courteous. Be diplomatic when you need to persuade a client to make some changes in their plans. Make sure to listen well to their needs and communicate your own to have a successful event, a happy customer, and good reviews.
Flexibility and creativity
Some of your clients may be vegetarian. Others may have religious sensitivities. Whatever the case, a good caterer must be able to conform to clients’ requests and adjust accordingly. This assures the client that you are doing your best to keep them happy, and they will keep coming back to you with hopefully referrals.
Motivation
As a catering business tends to be busy in the days leading to the event, there will be times when the staff will work long hours, which can lower morale. It’s important for you to motivate your employees, and yourself, when times like these happen.
Financial planning
Of course, it’s all about the money. There will be times where there’ll be many clients, but there are times where there’ll be none. At this point, you must be able to plan your funds ahead.
Marketing
While the food may be good and the clients have good reviews, no one will call you up unless you put yourself out there. It is highly important to get your business noticed, so make connections with suppliers, venue organizers, event networks who can be your network of referrals.
Attention to detail
Aside from the food, there’s the decoration and table arrangements. Good presentation will make the clients enter the room and make them want to stay there. Keep the clients’ wants in mind but make sure to keep these needs organized and pleasing to the eye.