Don't Chase Too Many Opportunities

Don’t Chase Too Many Opportunities

Overloaded and overwhelmed is the norm in the mobile food industry these days, and with the rapid industry growth and acceptance, this isn’t going to change anytime soon. Most food truck owners feel they have too many opportunities coming at them that conflict with their priorities.

This has been proven through research that has shown that the more these vendors have to do, the less their business earns. In fact, high-performing food trucks have owners who focus on high-priority opportunities, not everything under the sun.

The Dangers Of Being Too Busy

Here are three ways that being busy can cripple your mobile food business.

Hurting your customers

When you’re too busy, you forget that superior service details set you apart from your competitors. As a result, your customers won’t receive the attention they deserve and you risk losing their future business.

Hurt your health

For most of you, your business is reliant on your health, even if you have a great team in place. You need to be on top of your vision and long-term growth strategy. The long hours, sleepless nights, and stress all can wreak havoc on your health.

Kills team morale

From not having the time to mentor your staff to scheduling too many useless meetings, your busy behavior is a morale crusher. We know that when you’re busy, your stress level peaks. Then guess who gets the brunt of it? Your team. They absorb your stress and this negatively affects the quality and productivity of their work.

How To Stop Chasing Too Many Opportunities

Stop asking. How can I find more opportunities for my food truck?
Instead try. How can I focus on opportunities that will help my food truck business excel?

Vendors need to learn to know what they are best at (daily truck stops, catering, etc.) the capabilities they have that others don’t, and focus where they can succeed. Learn to say no when an invitation to new parking location or to cater an event may seem appealing, but does offer you a real chance to win.

Everyone knows that we cannot do everything, this goes for your food truck business as well. The key to success is choosing the opportunities that are best for you. Learn how to turn down those that seem appealing on the surface, but do not offer you a real chance for success.

The Bottom Line

In today’s growing food truck industry, competition levels will continue to increase, but the strongest will survive and prosper. If your growth strategy is sound, you stay focused, invest, and do not become distracted by too many opportunities, you will succeed.

Do you have too many opportunities knocking at your door? How do you handle this situation? Share your thoughts on this topic in the comment section, our food truck forum or social media. Facebook | Twitter

By Richard Myrick|2019-12-31T10:18:02-05:00Dec 18, 2015|Growth|

About the Author: Richard Myrick

Richard Myrick is an architect by degree (Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan) who began his career in real estate development and architectural planning. In September of 2010 he created Mobile Cuisine Magazine to fill an information void he found when he began researching how to start a mobile hotdog cart in Chicago. Richard found that there was no central repository of mobile street food information anywhere on the internet, and with that, the idea for MCM was born. Richard also wrote the "Running a Food Truck for Dummies" available in bookstores everywhere and Amazon. You can reach out to Richard by email at: [email protected].