How To Start a Coffee Truck on a Budget

*** This post is a work of our own opinion and not intended to be used for financial or business advice.***

Our Dream of Starting a Small Business

My husband and I have always dreamed about being financially secure and stable and we felt like owning our business would be a great endeavor in order to be in more control over our finances as we get older and then to eventually turn that small business into passive income. We have decided to open a Coffee Truck, or rather, a coffee trailer.

A Coffee Truck has lower over head costs and the ability to go move the business where the money is.

The Coffee Truck Idea

We are coffee lovers and snobs. We will will admit to it without shame.
There are no other coffee truck or trailer businesses around our area for over 150 miles in either direction.
There is only one drive through coffee shop in the next town over.

We (we being my husband) have the handyman skills needed to outfit a trailer into a mobile business once we have the capital.

I have been seeing a few other food trucks starting to surface in the towns around us and the idea really appealed to me. There are quite a few taco trucks and even a lemonade truck floating around but I never see them advertising or doing anything special to attract customers. I feel like we can really take the idea and run with it and make something profitable.

How To Start on a Budget

Main Goal: Put as little of our own money as possible into the start up costs.

So far we are on track to put in about $2,500 if I round up and account for any miscellaneous expenses. I really think we are going to come in just under two grand though. (edit: currently about $3,300 of our own money in)

Keep all of the receipts and/or emails associated with the start up costs of your endeavor. When it comes to do your taxes these can be a write off and therefor help you out when it comes to that time of year. We actually use an app called Foreceipt (not sponsored) and it so easy to use. I can take pictures of all paper receipts and even forward my email invoices and Square reports as things come in! It’s free to use for up to 500 items so for our first year in business this has been so much more cost effective than QuickBooks or some other pricey software.

We have purchased only the very bare necessities of what is needed in order to learn and be able to produce our product. So far, this has included only a couple basic flavors of syrups, a few different coffee beans to try out, and an espresso machine and grinder.

Update: We have a post of all the supplies we now have that have been needed as our business has taken off.

Equipment

We chose mid level machines. Machines that were capable of making a quality espresso, that weren’t too expensive, and had good reviews.

The Espresso Machine- Rocket Apartamento

This machine is meant to be an at home espresso maker and not used for commercial use. We understand that. However, we wanted this to be a low risk venture and also one that wouldn’t break the bank. Espresso machines are expensive! We even went ahead and bought our Apartamento as an open box returned unit for $1,400 and saved a decent chunk of change. When you’re talking about all the expenses for starting a new business venture, it’s important to save where you can while also making smart choices. The unit we purchased had never been used (according to the company) and was essentially new but because the previous purchaser had opened the box and returned it they had to sell it at a discounted price. Win for us!

Since this isn’t intended for commercial use, the idea is that it would get us started on a smaller scale and that as we grew and our profits grew we can replace it with an actual commercial level machine. The smaller machine has been great for catering gigs though. Plus, if this business venture were to not work out in the end, then we could at least have a smaller machine essentially paid for on its own for personal at home use. Low risk my friends, low risk.

The Coffee Bean Grinder- Baratza Sette 30

Same goes for the espresso grinder. This is a good middle ground option. It is better than basic models. It has the conical burrs to ensure a good grind. Multiple settings. Compact. Doesn’t have too many gadgets.

The Baratza Sette 30 does not have any timers or grind dosage options, but it does grind the beans well and it does the job just fine! We keep a small kitchen scale that has a tare function (found at Hobby Lobby on sale for like $10 a couple years ago) and we weigh the portafilter before and after we grind the espresso to ensure the correct dosage. Gets the job done!

Coffee Truck, Trailer, or Cart?

Right now, the goal is to buy a trailer as cheaply as possible and then work on outfitting it.

We found a vintage 1960 Shasta camping trailer for $2,700 on Facebook marketplace. Currently we have it ripped out and are renovating it as we earn money at different events and catering. It’s a tiny 6ft x 10 ft little thing but it has so much character and will be more than sufficient for a coffee business run by my husband and I.

Why? Our main goal is to use as little of our own money as possible. So we will be doing small events and catering which do not require any of those options (well I guess a cart kinda) and then once we have enough profit revenue, we will use those funds to take the next step.

Like I said, if we fail, all we need is to make enough money to cover our initial start up costs.

That being said, we had fully planned on buying a trailer over a truck or van or any other mobile business vehicles. This is because we have an SUV that has a lower towing capacity and we do not want to buy a new vehicle which will inevitably be even more expensive. Also, we didn’t want to chance buying a used food truck and having engine problems that could cause us to not be able to up and running.

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Pop Up Events and Catering

We began by doing small events like farmer’s markets, craft fairs, wedding expos, local summertime events in the parks, etc. We also advertised as a catering business for weddings and other events where businesses or couples can hire us to set up a table and make drinks for a predetermined price. Setting up at the local pumpkin patch and holiday markets has been a huge money maker and people are recognizing us!

We figured starting with small events, especially the farmer’s markets, can help us start bring in a decent amount of cash to cover or initial investment and then hopefully make enough to buy the trailer and keep the momentum going.

The Farmers Markets are what we are putting a lot of our faith into. There are two that we are currently signed up for. Both are once a week on different days and in different towns. This will give us a steady place and time and crowd to put ourselves in front of. If we can sell 20 drinks at each market day, for a total of 40 per week, we can make a return of investment within one summer.

Keeping the Menu Small

We started off in summer markets so we did a few things to keep the budget down:

One size drink. 16 ounces. A medium size that fits right in the middle that most people will be okay with.

Iced drinks only. Iced lattes. Italian sodas. Flavored energy drinks.
- If you’re starting in the cooler months start with a 12 oz hot cup. No one has complained so far about us having only one size cups at events.
Small flavor list until we dial in the commonly requested drinks.

Chalkboard menu. We won’t be paying to print off a menu board until much later.

The Takeaway

Keep your budget small by keeping it low risk.

Buy quality but smaller machines, and purchase open box units if possible to save a little extra when you can. Heck! Start with cold brew even and you won’t need an espresso machine right away.

Don’t go all in all the way. Buy only what is necessary to do small events like markets or catering and buy the larger items as your business grows.

Have you started a Coffee Truck before? Are you currently planning one?

Best Wishes,

Ashley M

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