Is it possible to build a successful food truck if you don’t love what you need to do on a daily basis? Can you push through even if you don’t have a burning passion about running a food truck business? I know a lot of people reading this may argue with me, but the answer is, yes.
Running A Successful Food Truck Business Starts With Work
Please don’t get me wrong, passion is a great thing to have when starting in the mobile food industry, but it can’t be the only reason you open a food truck. Let me explain with a simple break down I learned from Mark Cuban.
When you work hard at something you become good at it. When you become good at doing something, you will enjoy it more. When you enjoy doing something, there is a very good chance you will become passionate or more passionate about it. When you are good at something, passionate and work even harder to excel and be the best at it, good things happen. Don’t follow your passions, follow your effort. It will lead you to your passions and to success, however you define it.
The point he is making is that you don’t necessarily have a burning passion about your food truck as a prerequisite for success. You do, however, have to be motivated to put in the work and to get the help, answers, and other support needed to turn your concept into a successful mobile food operation.
Without Passion: Where is the Fire?
Will having passion about your food truck business itself right at the beginning help you to grow it? Absolutely! If you love making food, serving the public and all of the tasks required to run a food truck, it will be easier to put more effort into it, especially when you are trying to get through those first difficult stages of growth.
The problem with passion alone, is that it can quickly fizzle out as time goes on and obstacles stand in your way. To push through, you really need to be motivated by other factors such as wanting to have a successful food truck business, wanting to be in control of your own income, or wanting to positively impact the community you operate in.
These are all motivations that are not directly connected to your food truck, yet they can help you stay focused during the down times. This is such an important idea, yet many, culinary entrepreneurs seem to miss it.
In general, we tend to be more successful at the things that we have passion for. But the biggest and most effective way to get yourself to consistently care about something is to invest yourself in it. This can be an investment of time, effort, and money. Once you do so, you will have a vested interest in carrying on and getting good at what you do, and that can ultimately make you feel more passionate about it.
RELATED: Passion vs Talent When Hiring
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is if you are very clear about why you want to start a food truck business, and you are motivated to carry through, don’t worry about the passion part at the beginning. If you put in the work and you have the right attitude, you can build a successful food truck empire and the passion will come later on.
If you’d like to discuss the topic of passion further, share your thoughts in the comment section, our food truck forum or social media. Facebook | Twitter
