If lockdown and the COVID-19 pandemic have taught that you need to be working doing something you love, then why not pack in your 9-5 and make money by starting your own business? If you’re passionate about food and hospitality, then why not start a business in this sector? Some say, if you find a way to turn your hobby into your job, then you’ll never work a day again in your life!

Here’s how to make money by starting your own food business.

Choose Your Cuisine

Identifying a cuisine early on is going to be key. Stick to what you know. For instance, if you come from an Asian background, then you might be best launching an Indo-Chinese food service. If your talents lie elsewhere, then perhaps Italian food is more for you. Pizza and pasta are both very popular takeaway food options. Alternatively, you may be really into your meats and want to open a burger joint or wing shack. Whatever you choose, you must have a strong interest, burning passion, and ideally, a long-standing history with your chosen cuisine as this will make for the best food and ultimately earn you the most money from your customers.

Hold a Soft Launch

Once you have mastered your craft, it’s time to host a soft launch. Ask your family and friends over and put on a whole spread of everything on your menu. This is a great way to iron out any final tweaks you may need to make to your dishes and get feedback from those who you know who can be honest with you on how you can improve your food. A soft launch will also help you assess your service levels and help you to practice becoming as efficient as possible with your cooking and food preparation. To really make use of the soft launch, ask your family and friends to complete feedback forms, giving them the chance to honestly assess your work.

Invest in the Right Equipment

When you’re ready to launch publicly, you need to make sure you have the right equipment in place to operate efficiently, effectively, and within food safety guidelines and regulations. One of the first things to purchase is a commercial fridge from the likes of SRC Refrigeration to store your ingredients and fresh produce. You’ll also need to find the correct packaging to keep your meals fresh and warm when being delivered or collected by customers. This is crucial for customer retention.

Build up a Customer Base

To start making some serious cash from your food business, you will need to build up a customer base to keep the money flowing in. Spend time on your business’ social channels as a large social following can drive new customers to your service. Introductory offers are also a great way of enticing new customers to try your meals, so why not offer people who are new to your service an initial 10, 20, or 25% off?