I’ve worked with a lot of new food truck vendors over the years, and I’ve seen many of them find success while others have found failure. Among those who have struggled the most, I have seen common issues but if a vendor is willing to work through those startup mistakes they can find success.

5 Common Food Truck Startup Mistakes & How To Avoid Them

Use these tips to help you start your food truck the right way.

Questioning Yourself

The first of our startup mistakes is to question yourself too much. Starting a food truck has been proven not to be easy, especially because of the unknown variables involved in planning your mobile food empire. It can become too easy to second guess yourself when challenges pop up, but it’s important to stay on track with your ideas. If you’re not confident about your food truck, why would anyone else be?

Of course over confidence can get you into trouble. Just make sure to tell yourself that your concept has the potential to make a difference in your community.   When you have any doubt, just remember that you aren’t the first person to start a food truck business, and if they can be successful, there’s no reason you can’t.

Taking On Too Much

Keep your food truck’s growth at a pace you feel confident with. Don’t push for growth when it can’t sensibly happen. This is where your food truck business plan will help. If you have a concrete plan for growth with measurable goals you’ll know if you are headed in the wrong direction. Understand your limitations as a new food truck owner and you’ll be running with the big dogs soon.

RELATED: 5 Increasingly Common Causes Of Food Truck Failures

Lacking A Social Media Presence

I can’t tell you how upset I get when I find a new food truck that has avoided building a basic social media presence. Social media is a simple way to reach out to people, yet some food truck take too long to get onboard. While there are numerous social media platforms to choose from, Facebook & Twitter are must-haves for startup food trucks.

Create an account for your truck and use each platform to engage with prospective customers. Being consistent and adding value are the two most important things to remember when using social media. At this point in the evolution of the mobile food industry, not having a social media presence is one of the most easily avoidable mistakes a food truck owner can make.

RELATED: Social Media Rules For New Food Truck Owners

Expecting Everything To Be Handed To You

Being a food truck owner and starting a food truck requires help from others. No one builds a food truck empire alone. However, you can’t expect to be given everything you need. Starting a food truck requires more work than I could ever stress and a strong work ethic is mandatory.

Not Listening To Others

So as the last food truck startup mistake explained that you will have to do a lot and not to expect things to be handed to you. The next mistake you can make is to trying to do everything on your own. Find a mentor. Even if you have no idea who to talk with, keep networking. Make connections and reach out to people in your local food truck community.

You’ll build up a wealth of knowledge and insight as you continue to develop connections that’ll prove to be invaluable over time.

RELATED: Grow Your Mobile Food Truck Business Through Learning

The Bottom Line

Of course every food truck owner will have their own trials. Just use these reminders to save you from a headache.

Did I miss any food truck startup mistakes? Have you learned any startup food truck business lessons the hard way? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Share your ideas in the comment section, our food truck forum or social media. Facebook | Twitter