Many food truck owners create a business plan only to let it gather dust after they open for business. If you are doing this you are missing out on a useful management tool. For that reason alone, it’s best to update your food truck business plan regularly.
Why You Need To Update Your Food Truck Business Plan
A good business plan is much more than just a plan. When done properly, it can be used help your business grow. Remember that your business plan is more than a tool to help you get initial financing. It’s about writing down what you want to happen so you can track it, manage it and make decisions. Planning ahead always helps you run your business better.
The trouble that I hear, from vendors consistently, is that they are busy. It’s not always easy to find the time to update their food truck business plans. Don’t let this be a problem for you. The key to remember; you don’t need a big, formal business plan. Instead, use bullets, lists and tables that you can review and update at least once a month.
A monthly review of your food truck’s financials makes it possible to look at the difference between what you planned for and what’s actually happening. Your food truck business plan provides specific insight for making changes when the unexpected happens.
Your business plan is not just a map, it’s also the GPS that shows you where you are on the map. It’s the real-time information about what has changed. It’s like having the map, weather and traffic.
Update your food truck business plan more in-depth annually. This should be a time when you review your local market and the competition, and then evaluate what’s changing. Your food truck business plan should include key strategies, tactics, milestones and essential numbers (projected sales, spending and cash flow). Adding a lot of text isn’t necessary unless you plan to get additional funding. Instead, think of your business plan as an internal management tool for your use.
As an added bonus, you can use your food truck business plan for team collaboration. During monthly meetings, you can ask your trusted employees to share goals and milestones and respond to any changes. This will help you build a way to develop accountability among your staff.
RELATED: 6 Questions Every Food Truck Business Plan Should Answer
The Bottom Line
A strong food truck business plan that vendors refer to at least monthly will help keep your business on track. It’s easy to get lost in the daily details of running a mobile food business. Food truck owners need to always look towards their next phase of growth. If you continually update your food truck business plan, it can help you do that.
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