8 Ways a Custom Mobile Vessel Works For Your Business

Mobile businesses are popping up everywhere and they’re not just food trucks these days. These mobile vessels can range anywhere from mobile healthcare, military and U.S. government units, mobile retail shops/popups, moving hair salons and barbershops, food trucks and much more. 

Where a storefront offers a solid location for patrons to easily locate you, adding or even eliminating the brick and mortar can offer many benefits such as mobile advertising, hosting different locations/events, more flexible and comfortable hours, etc. With the list below we dive into the top ways a custom mobile vessel can work for your business, give it a read and let’s start strategizing! 

1. Gain a new customer base, some customers live for the food truck scene and opt out of the same ole sit down restaurants - this is a great opportunity for a local brick and mortar business to branch out in a cost effective manner for a second location, and to appeal to a whole new audience.
   

2. Living in the New and the Now, a mobile business allows owners to change up their offerings, location, hours, marketing, etc.
   

3. Participate in Community events, get more involved with the community, festivals, gatherings and more to target a bigger audience.
   

4. Utilizing social media, if you are moving around quite a bit this is a great way to advertise and build a following to let customers know your branding and what’s available today/this week/etc.
   

5. Creatively thinking outside the box, mobile businesses are meant to stand out, utilize this opportunity to channel your creativity to draw customers in.
   

6. Travel to new heights, move around to different areas where your business may not be known -remember, mobile businesses are moving advertisements!
   

7. Cultivate comfort, being comfortable at work everyday is not a luxury for everyone, being a mobile business operator means you have the ability to make your days more comfortable, fun and exciting.
   

8. Cost effective expansion, when starting or expanding a mobile business it is a proven cost effective approach to starting/expanding a business, and here’s how: inventory costs are low, startup costs are lower than a brick and mortar in comparison to leasing a building there is high monthly overhead, whereas a mobile unit can be paid off and owned in a timely manner.
   

With all of these great benefits a mobile unit has to offer a business, an important element to consider is the unit itself. These days the mobile business scene is becoming more competitive and creating a stand out vessel is crucial to drawing your audience in for the wow factor. 

If you are interested in exploring what it takes to build a custom mobile business trailer, truck, cart, pod, etc. we’re here to offer you peace of mind. Specializing in mobile business building, we are here to walk you through the need to know facts, offer helpful information and insights, stepping stones, and how to create a stand out mobile vessel for a successful business. Give us a call today at 541.728.3511 to learn more about what we do or check out Our Work!

Top Benefits For Buying a Custom Food Truck

Buying a used food truck has few benefits, whereas buying a tailor made custom food vessel has many. Below we have listed the top benefits of purchasing a custom food truck, though there are many more perks that come along with it!

1. Tailored Layout + Flow
   An important and most adored feature of a custom food truck is the tailored layout and flow. Every truck owner has a layout in mind and a workflow that works best for them -it is one of our favorite parts to sit down with a customer to come up with theirs. We have a motto and it’s, “No Nuts to Butts” -there is nothing more exciting than a busy food rush for a food truck owner, there is also nothing more frustrating than a busy food rush with multiple chefs in the kitchen and bumping into each other while trying to prep, cook, assemble and run food -something we often see when hobby builders build trucks or people are looking at used food trucks. So save the headache and the shoulder checks, tailor made is the way to go. 
   
   

2. Minimize Issues and Maximize Functionality
   When going with the custom build option you minimize your chances of equipment and utility malfunction and maximize your opportunities of functionality. We recently had a new customer call us because her used truck only had a 2 space breaker and she needed much more power as a mobile food unit. We ended up placing a 12 space breaker, running new outlets and lighting to make her truck more efficient and functional for her operation. Remember that your vessel will make or break your business, if you are constantly having issues, shutting down for repairs because things are breaking, then you may notice a break in your business. Customers get frustrated with the lack of consistency, and will not be continuous patrons as they once were -something we have seen as well.
   
   

3. Equipment + Warranties
   Yes, that used food truck looks pretty nice and the equipment looks to be in good shape, price doesn’t look so bad either...but what about a couple months from now? One rule of thumb is never buy refrigeration equipment used. Why?  You never know how or if it was maintained, the life of that specific equipment is about 7-10 years before problems occur or become obsolete, so it’s better to play it safe than sorry. That’s just one “for instance”. We have a good friend and customer of ours who always says, “Buy it nice, or buy it twice” -a good motto to live by. When building custom, you have the opportunity to get the equipment you need and want and also have more warranty options available to cover your equipment if something were to happen like a break during transport, faulty item upon use, factory defects, etc.
   
   

4. So Fresh So Clean
   Used food trucks have lots of wear and tear, and even though someone may have cleaned it up real nice it still may have underlying issues like mold, water leaks, electrical issues, grease build up and unnecessary health risks. Instead of finding a used truck that was utilized for someone else’s previous business venture, you will have a fresh and clean truck that is ready for you to utilize it towards its’ specific purpose, and no scary surprises down the road.
   
   

5. Saving in the Longrun
   Some may think it is cheaper to buy a used food truck/trailer/cart, but purchasing a custom truck will actually save you more money in the longrun. We have worked with people who purchased $50,000 food trucks, just to turn around and dump another $5-15k into them because they either were not functional for what they were needing, were poorly constructed, or did not follow city/county codes, and it can be completely devastating for a new business owner. So do yourself a favor and don’t take the cheap way out!
   
   

6. Broader Palatte
   When looking for a used food truck/trailer/cart, it can be very limiting. You will only come across certain layouts, vessel sizes, and equipment which may not even work for what your food truck’s flow needs to be -forcing you to settle for what’s available. When opting for a custom vessel, you don’t have to settle, you have the ability to create exactly what you need/want tailored for your business.
   

We hope that this information can be helpful when making the final decision about purchasing a used vs. a new custom food truck. Still need more convincing? Check out some of our work or give us a call at 541.728.3511 to learn more about making your food truck dreams come true today!

7 Ways To Keep A Food Truck Afloat During Cold Weather

Many food truck owners cringe at the thought of winter. Why? Business tends to slow down, their truck may not be fit for cold weather, or their menu offerings are geared towards warmer months. But no worries, we’ve got a pretty handy list of 7 ways to keep your truck thriving during cold weather to help bring peace of mind. 

1. Caterings
   This is a great way to keep things thriving in cold weather or even during wedding season. Many food trucks make big bucks offering catering services!
   

2. Park at a location with indoor seating
   Would you want to sit out in the rain or snow and eat a delicious meal? In most cases no, we typically will opt for indoor seating during the colder months, and you should expect that from your customers as well. If you are parked in a location with no indoor seating or draw to warmth and it effects your business, it may be time to look at finding a spot that does.
   

3. Prepare your truck for the cold
   One of the biggest issues we run into in the winter/early spring months is food trucks/trailers not being set up for the cold. We’ve fixed countless frozen pipes and busted sinks/faucets due to poor winterization and lack of heat in a truck, Instanthot water heaters crack and break in cold climates leaving business owners no hot water and nonoperational -you get the picture, set your truck up for success during all months of the year.
   

4. Switch up the menu
   Changing up the menu offers a refreshing take, and gives customers a chance to experience seasonal foods.
   

5. Offer delivery through local delivery services or platforms like grubhub, ubereats, etc.
   We’ve seen many of our customers utilize these apps to keep their food truck business prospering and growing during the winter months. In places where snow is prevalent, many potential customers aren’t willing to make the drive to their favorite local food truck for a delicious hot meal, but with takeout businesses, and the apps listed above it makes it possible to keep businesses thriving and customers satisfied.
   

6. Focus on marketing
   It is a great time during this slow season to focus on marketing efforts like social media, print advertising, revamping menus and dropping them off/uploading them, etc. Create a strategy and continuously run tests to see what outlets work for your food truck.
   

7. Nurture customers and relationships to build loyalty
   When business slows down it’s important to pay special attention to your patrons turning them into continuous customers, so they continue to support you -even during those cold months. 
   

These 7 ways to keep your truck thriving is surely a great place to start when those cold weather months approach. These are things that we have either seen out in the field first hand or our customers have shared what keeps them going during these colder days with us. If you are interested in learning more about opening a food truck -rain, sun, or snow check out 5 Tips For Building a Mobile Food Truck or to learn more about renovating your existing food truck to keep up with these cold times then give us a call today at 541.728.3511!