New year, New Business – Catering business tips to make your 2017 extra delicious
It’s that time of year for making life changes. Alongside the annual pledge to lose weight or get fit, New Year is the time many of us decide to radically shake up our working life. We dream of leaving the rat race to start our own business. We yearn to do something we enjoy, like running a gourmet burger stall in the local farmers market or opening a pop-up cupcake cafe.
Get a quote now. We can create a bespoke package of catering insurance to help your business to thrive in 2017.
Is 2017 the year that your foodie dreams will become a reality? If cooking and catering is a passion that you want to turn into a successful business, we have some tips to get you started:
First of all, think about what you really want to do
You might enjoy cooking, but there is far more to any catering business than simply dishing up delicious food. If you like meeting people, then setting up a mobile business, where you’re out in front of your customers would work well for you. If that sounds too sociable for you, consider setting up an event catering business, which will require good organisational skills, but less requirement to deal with lots of people.
Do your research
You might love your product, but will everyone else? Ask friends, family and neighbours for their honest opinions and be prepared to take negative criticism. This way you can fine-tune your business to satisfy the expectations of your customers.
Don’t forget catering business essentials
Working for yourself in the catering industry also requires getting to grips with essentials like registering your business and gaining the right food hygiene certificates. You will need to register your business at least 28 days before you open and have the right training certificates and procedures in place to satisfy your local environmental health officer.
Insurance for peace of mind
Starting up a new venture can be daunting. But good insurance can help to give you the confidence to give it a go. It will protect you financially from anything that could go wrong, helping your business to continue through many problems you might face.
What insurance does a catering business need?
- Commercial building insurance
- Stock cover
- Essential equipment cover
- Public liability insurance
- Employer’s liability insurance
- Commercial vehicle insurance
- Money cover
- Personal injury insurance
Liability insurance could be considered an absolute essential for any catering business. Even Michelin-starred chefs have had experiences of food poisoning in their restaurants and it’s easy for the general public to make a claim against you. Public liability insurance covers the legal costs of dealing with claims for illness or allergic reactions. It also covers you for damage caused to property. The other sort of liability insurance you’ll need to remember is employer’s liability insurance. This is a legal requirement if you employ any members of staff, even if they only work for you part time. Like public liability insurance, it covers you for claims of injury or damage to person or property, specifically for people who work for you.
Personal injury insurance covers you if you’re ill and unable to work for a period of time, ensuring essential bills like wages and invoices can still be paid.
Products like stock cover, essential equipment cover and money cover can also give you extra reassurance. Broken equipment or damaged stock can be very costly to replace and cause a major cash-flow problem that could sink your business. Avoid the risk with the right insurance cover.
When it comes to things like building and vehicle insurance, it’s essential you purchase specialist commercial cover or any claim will be invalidated.
Depending on your business, you might not need all the different insurance options available, so make sure you choose a bespoke package that suits your requirements. This will help to keep costs down as you’ll only pay for what you need.
Good value insurance you can trust
Our specialist catering insurance team at Park Insurance has been helping businesses of all sizes for 30 years. This experience, coupled with close links with some of the UK’s leading insurance providers, enables our team to negotiate a better deal on insurance that is designed specifically for your business. You’ll pay a competitive price for cover that can be depended on.
Get a quote now. We can create a bespoke package of catering insurance to help your business to thrive in 2017.