ROAM – Mobile Food Conference Featured Blog

ROAM – Mobile Food Conference Featured Blog

by | Nov 1, 2014 | Food Trucks, Insurance 101, Mobile Food, Mobile Food Business

ROAM – Mobile Food Conference Guest Post

Mobile food vendors have their challenges most every day. Running a kitchen on wheels makes every owner aptly skilled with plumbing, electrical and all types of construction and repair. Sometimes contractors can be engaged and it is wise in certain circumstances, yet food cart and truck owners are DIY people by nature. However, when it comes to insurance, where do you turn?

Most owners turn to their personal insurance broker who may or may not be skilled enough to know the ins and outs of insuring a mobile food unit.  That’s why I recommend working with companies who specialize in food truck and cart insurance. Insure My Food works hard to make insurance easy and affordable for the industry. Simple application forms, the ability to pay with a credit card and quick turnaround on certificates puts them in a position to be a good member of the mobile food community. Standard forms for property, auto and liability insurance weren’t sufficient or designed for food trucks that operate as a mobile business which could create gaps in coverage. Insure My Food understands these gaps and work to inform the customer so that you’re covered.

Insurance is key to operating a successful mobile food business. Getting catering jobs or working with corporate clients will require proof of insurance and certificates. Some companies just can’t do that quickly. Insure My Food Trailer can. As a sponsor of the ROAM Mobile Food Conference for 2014, Insure My Food has committed to partnering with the ever growing and ever evolving street food industry. If you’re looking for a new policy or would just like to make sure you’re covered at the right price, drop them a line. You can find more details about Insure My Food at InsureMyFood.com.

Come on down to San Antonio, TX, November 8-9, 2014 for the ROAM Mobile Food Conference to learn more about opening a mobile food business whether it be a food truck or cart. There will be something for everyone, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced owner. Register Now.

Get More Catering Gigs with a better website!

Get More Catering Gigs with a better website!

by | Feb 19, 2014 | Mobile Food Business, Food Trailers, Food Trucks, Mobile Food

builde a better website for food trailers.jpg

Get More Catering Gigs with a better website!

Social Media is the darling of web marketing currently, and even more so with Food Trailers and Food Trucks that are on a shoestring budget.

But I think there is a case to be made that your website (yes, the old fashion website!) is equally as important to your marketing than social media.

Here are the reasons…

1) SEO (Search engine optimization)

If you have a website people can search for you on google.

Even if someone types your company name and your Facebook or Twitter pages pull up, that isn’t enough!

What you want is for your page to pull up when someone searches Asian food truck catering, or food trucks your zip code or part of town.

A website that has pages with catering info, food served, location, chef bio, etc., will be indexed by google and in turn more attention from people who are searching for your exact services.

Tip:

Don’t pay someone to do SEO when starting off, just google best practices. If you exhaust those efforts, then look to hire an expert.

2) Photos, photos and more photos!

With a website you can tell a story about your food with photos. Customers can’t taste or smell your food online, but having mouthwatering photos is the next best thing.

Tip:

Use a professional, not your iPhone! Barter for services if you need to, it’s well worth the investment!

3) Create personality, build your brand and design your own style!

With a static Twitter or Facebook interface, there is very little you can do to add your own personal touch to the design or layout. However, on a website you can have a section about the chef, or add links to menus and photos.

Tip:

Use a website builder where you can control the content, so you can tweak the page and keep cost low. Most site builders nowadays will offer a Responsive Web Design, which adapts your website to desktop or phone viewing.

Tip:

Need a graphic designer for your website? try Fiverr.com for low-cost options to outsource the work.

How To Insure Your Mobile Food Vendor Trailer

How To Insure Your Mobile Food Vendor Trailer

by | Jan 25, 2014 | Insurance 101, Food Trailers, Food Truck Insurance, Food Trucks

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How to insure your mobile food vendor trailer

What is Property Coverage for your food trailer?

Property coverage for your trailer protects against damage or loss to your trailer and the attached equipment or built in equipment.

Why Property Coverage for your trailer?

The most common types of losses covered are

  • Theft or Vandalism
  • Collision damage
  • Wind and Hail
  • Fire
  • Lighting

Common mistakes:

The most insurance policies only cover your property at the main location, unless you have a special type of property policy called an inland marine policy. An inland marine policy is designed to cover property that moves.

Not insuring the full value of your trailer. You must insure to value to make sure the insurance company will fully reimburse you if a claim occurs.

Including coverage for items not attached to the trailer. These items should be covered under a separate coverage for contents.

Endorsing your personal auto policy with the trailer. At best these policies do not cover your contents in the trailer and at worst exclude coverage because of the business use of the trailer

General Liability Insurance 101 for Mobile Food Vendors

General Liability Insurance 101 for Mobile Food Vendors

by | Jan 3, 2014 | Food Trucks, Food Trailers, Food Truck Insurance

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What is General Liability Insurance?

General Liability protects your mobile food vending business from lawsuits of bodily injury or property damage from a third party. Note though, this coverage does not cover employees.

Why have General Liability Insurance?

First, having general liability allows you to enter into contracts with event organizers, landlords, or commissary kitchens that require you to have coverage.

General liability insurance provides claims and legal expense protection from the below types of claims:

  • Food borne illness
  • Chipping a tooth from biting into something that should not be in the food
  • Slip and fall. For example, a customer trips over an extension cord you left out or burns themselves on your generator
  • Advertising injury, like if someone sues you over your marketing

Common mistakes:

Having a premise only policy. This means the policy doesn’t follow you when you move locations.

A policy that charges fees for each certificate they provide you.  If you’re moving around, eventually you will need to add additional insureds to your policy.  Find an agency that does not charge you for COI’s.  Learn more about COI’s and why they’re important.

Policies with deductibles. Since the insurance company pays the legal fees to defend, having no deductible allows you to pass the claim and legal expense onto the insurance company If a claim should occur.

Why You Need Insurance For Your Food Trailer

Why You Need Insurance For Your Food Trailer

by | Dec 31, 2013 | Food Trailers, Food Trucks, Insurance 101, Mobile Food, Mobile Food Business

Lawsuit

Why you need insurance for your food trailer

If you own a mobile food business like a food truck, food trailer, or concession trailer, you need general liability insurance.

Wondering why it’s so important?

  • Even if you win a lawsuit the legal cost could ruin your business, and legal fees are covered by insurance policies.
  • Lawsuit out-of-pocket costs for small businesses exceed $35 billion every year.
  • Most events won’t let you attend unless you can show you have the proper coverage to list the event organizers as an additional insured.

The need for general liability insurance goes beyond just mobile food vendors, and insuremyfood.com can help with many other types of vendors. Get a quote here.

  • Vendors at swap meets and flea markets
  • Retailers who sell out of mall kiosks
  • Food Carts
  • Indoor Vendors
  • Newsstands
  • Outdoor Vendors
  • Seasonal Lots or tents
  • Stands, Tables, and booths.

 

Keys to a Successful Food Trailer or Food Truck

Keys to a Successful Food Trailer or Food Truck

by | Oct 4, 2013 | Food Trucks, Food Trailers, Mobile Food, Mobile Food Business

Keys to a SUCCESSFUL Food Trailer or Food Truck

Raw Chef Renee1. Leverage your strengths

Everyone has unique skills and experiences. What things can you do better than most?

2. Identify what excites you

What’s your passion? Hopefully food! ;-), However, after you crank out the thousandth taco, hamburger, hotdog, etc, what will keep you going? What is interesting and stimulating for you?

3. Be willing to learn

Jumping into running a food trailer can be thrilling!  But make no mistake, there is plenty to learn. You will be reminded daily. Don’t let these failures run you off course.  Instead, use them to learn and grow.

4. Be wary of naysayers

Maybe it’s from friends and family or from the established food trailer owner themselves, change scares many people.  Be confident in your goals. As long as you’re willing to learn, failure doesn’t exist because you gain experience and knowledge.