Food Trucks Inspire Other Small Businesses to Hit the Road

There's no denying that food trucks are on a roll, having become the culinary trend and one of the biggest small business success stories of the moment. From Los Angeles to New York, San Francisco to Miami, these restaurants on wheels have made eating lunch curbside hip and spawned their own celebrity chefs, magazine profiles, and even a series on the Food Network. And perhaps the ultimate sign that food trucks are part of the mainstream: Last year, the National Restaurant Association launched the Food Truck Spot at its annual restaurant show, with seminars on how to run a restaurant on wheels.

"One of the first things most businesses cut back on [in tough economic times] is advertising," writes Brian Sacks, founder of Mobilefoodprofits.com, a company that advises people on how to get started in the food truck business. A food truck, he says, becomes a mobile billboard that reaches new clients each time it moves to a new location.

But the moveable-feast movement holds allure not only for those dishing up fish tacos and red velvet cupcakes, but also for purveyors of everything from pet supplies to home goods.

"Food trucks can show small businesses the importance of lean operation and capitalizing on a strong brand and focused product to service your customers with a very clear offering," says Ross Resnick, founder of the food truck-centric site Roaming Hunger.

One such small business is VIP Petcare Services of Windsor, Calif., which holds mobile clinics every weekend at various locations throughout Northern California. The company, with 20 trucks, says it can offer services from licensed veterinarians at a much lower price than a full-service vet clinic because it does not have to support a costly brick-and-mortar operation.

Another innovative up-and-coming mobile business is Gamin' Ride of Jackson, N.J., an indoor-outdoor video game theater that features jumbo high-definition TVs and gaming systems like Xbox 360 and Wii. The company, which sells franchise opportunities, offers small business operators a gaming center on wheels that can accommodate up to 24 players at a time. "Forget about another bowling party or arcade -- here is something new!" Gamin' Ride says on its site. Arcade-type entertainment centers are busy on weekends, but not so much during weekdays -- a challenge for anyone who owns a brick-and-mortar location. Having the ability to shut down during off hours is a great cost benefit to having a mobile business.

Then there's New York's Monster Savings, which delivers discount office supplies, groceries, and other products from Costco stores to businesses and households throughout the city -- and which, as it happens, was started by the owner of a restaurant.

Monster Savings founder Michael Eberstadt explains that his idea grew from the realization that most New Yorkers do not own cars to transport them to big box stores. "I decided to essentially put a Costco warehouse on wheels and drive right up to the doors of my peers in the small business community." Though he has no official relationship with the retailer, Eberstadt considers Monster Savings as a sort of "app" for Costco. Similar to the FreshDirect model, which delivers groceries, Monster Savings takes orders from businesses and individuals each day, fulfills them at Costco warehouses, and delivers items within 24 hours.

But launching a mobile enterprise is not quite as simple as getting your hands on four wheels and spreading the word on Twitter. In the case of food trucks, for example, there are many practical business issues such as health codes, zoning regulations, and marketing challenges that anyone hoping to jump on this trend needs to be educated about if they expect to break through the street clutter.

"There is a misconception that starting a food truck or mobile business is a guarantee of success -- not the case. Starting a mobile business is just as challenging as starting an immobile business," says Roaming Hunger's Resnick, whose company enables mobile foodies to search for information on food trucks across multiple markets. Resnick notes that in Los Angeles alone, more than 125 gourmet food trucks hit the streets on any given day.

Business owners who want to start a mobile business can apply many of the lessons veteran food truck operators have learned in this competitive and growing sector. "It is just as important to market a new truck and differentiate it from the others to achieve success as it is with a brick-and-mortar [business]," advises Resnick.

"Starting up a [mobile business] can be easier than a brick-and-mortar business, but it also has its challenges," explains Claudia Gonzalez, owner of four-year-old Chunk-N-Chip of Los Angeles, which specializes in gourmet ice cream sandwiches and last summer was awarded second place in Yelp's "Most Popular Food Trucks" in Orange County, Calif.

Buying your own truck, Gonzalez says, can run anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000. Consider leasing a truck, which can be more affordable and is becoming an increasingly popular option, she says. And there are the usual startup costs that apply to any business, such as supplies, equipment, personnel, permits, and so on.

Letting your clientele know where to find you can also be a challenge that brick-and-mortar stores don't have. Social media certainly has been a major driver of food trucks' success, enabling business owners to tweet their location every day, and informing consumers of daily menu offerings and special deals. But hitching your star to social media can have a downside, too. "The obvious problem . . . is that customers literally have to chase you, every day," says James Sinclair of Los Angeles-based OnSite Consulting, which serves the hospitality industry. "Imagine if you had to check Twitter to see where Nobu is today. It's like hunting lunch with a BlackBerry instead of a gun."

But social media is, for the most part, free. Used consistently in all its many forms -- Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, and Foursquare, to start -- along with successful word-of-mouth buzz, you'll quickly establish a following.

Despite the considerable operating issues involved, for many small business owners the cost of entry of a mobile business makes it a more viable option, especially in tough economic times. No long-term leases, lower utility costs, and fewer employees are just some of the ways that costs are reduced.

It's also a way for a company to expand its footprint, testing the waters in new communities, and in a cool way that resonates with customers. "Where we have seen great success is a food truck as an extension of a brick-and-mortar store, for catering, events, or even serving the standard food truck customers," says OnSite Consulting's Sinclair. "When the truck and the restaurant exist together, it can be both a satellite location and a marketing tool with significant economies of scale."

As with any small business, running a mobile business may present challenges, but the payoff can be as sweet as one of Chunk-N-Chip's gourmet ice cream concoctions. As owner Claudia Gonzalez points out, "At the end of the day, if you've got great food, great customer service, and start building a following on Twitter and Facebook, word spreads fast."