Non Food Franchise | Franchise Philippines

Food cart crews can make or break your business. They are the ones who cook the food, interact with the costumers, receive payments and keep the profit while you are not in your business. Finding a food cart crew is crucial. It is important to set standards to find an excellent crew. Qualifications are as follows:

1) Able and willing to cook.

2) Has good hygiene and presentable appearance. Since you are in the food sector, your representative should look clean to have a good impression from the costumers. For male, it is best to have a haircut that is 3 cm from the nape and 2 cm from the ears. For females, their hair should be tied and they should be willing to put on a hair net. Both should not have skin problems and body odor. They should also able to maintain presentable appearance despite busy times when the body is producing more perspiration.

3) Interacts well with people. People interaction is very important in sales. This may keep regular costumers and may welcome new ones. Be sure the crew is able to balance costumer relations and his duties as a food cart crew.

4) Capable of simple calculations. 

5) Physically and mentally healthy

6) Has a positive Attitude.

7) Trust worthy and has no criminal background.

Now that you have your crew, it is best to build a good communication with him or her. Aside from having his or her loyalty, you will also make him or her want the food cart business to prosper. Here are practical tips to help your crew be loyal and motivated with his work:

1) Greet him as you arrive and address him or her with his/ her name. 
2) Treat him or her with foods and sometimes gifts. Usually, crews have very little salary (150 PHP per day or 4,500 PHP per month), so they literally does not have much opportunity to experience foods other than the basic ones.
3) give quotas and incentives. This is a good way to may your crew motivated and self driven. When he or she reaches the target sales, you may give him or her additional 50 PHP or it depends upon your computation.
4) Do not be rude when he or she happens to make mistakes, just be firm and authoritative. Set the rules and consequences in a nice way.
5) Show him or her that you also care.

Remember that your goal is to find an excellent crew and keep him or her as long as possible to prevent from having problems in your food cart operations.

Franchising is a booming business in the Philippines today. Among all the franchising business, the food cart franchise business has the fastest growth. Main reason that food cart franchise businesses flourish today because the capital is not  that big that even employees with regular pay could afford and most of the time, low capital businesses have faster return of investment compared to high capital businesses. Another reason is that it is still in the food sector. Food business has always has a fair share in the market. 

What is good about franchising is that you do not need to make your own products and formulate a new business system. However, there are things to consider in choosing the best food cart business for you. Things you need to consider are as follows:

1) Evaluate how prepared are you to do business. You must be decided to take risks and be a good boss of your food cart franchise  business.

2) Your maximum budget
    Capital is the primary factor to consider in choosing a food cart franchise business. Calculated risks are vital to increase the rate of your business success. Make sure to set an allowance to your budget or set aside certain amount of money for emergencies and plan B. Yes, you should always have plan B. Always make sure that the food cart franchise cost alone will not occupy most of your capital. For example, your budget to start a business is 100,000 PHP, the best food cart franchise cost should only range from 30,000 PHP to 50,000 PHP. The rest of it will be allotted for your rent, additional crew uniform, product supplies, freezer (if your freezer at home is not enough to store your product supplies), tables and chairs for your costumers & others that are not included to your food cart package. Speaking about renting a space where to place your food cart business, lessors have different conditions with regards to payment but the most common is the 1 month advance and 2 months deposit scheme. Meaning, if your monthly space rental 8,000 PHP, a 1 month advance and two months deposit is required to rent he place, your total cash-out is 24,000 PHP. 

   It is important to write everything down in a paper for you to anticipate your soon-to-be business cost and compare it with your maximum budget. You don't wanna end up in debt at the beginning of your business venture. Remember that it takes weeks, months and even years to stabilize a business in the market.

3) Find a reputable franchise company
    The success of the franchiser does not mean success of all the franchisee. But, a stable franchising company can surely back up your success. Here are questions you need to ask in choosing a franchising company:

A) company's legalities- you would not want to partner with fly- by-night franchising companies
B) How long has it been operating? A company that is operating for at least 10 years is a better option.
C) Where does this company get their product supplies? find a company who manufacture their own product so you would not have the issue of poor product availability every time you order.
D) What does the support the franchise company gives to its franchisees.

4) Find a good location. It is best to find a location near where you are living or where your chosen manager is residing so that it will be easy and accessible for you to check on your food cart franchise business. The closer the food cart location to your place, the closer the product source will be since all the products will be stored in your freezer. if your food cart location is in a commercial area, it's best to use chest cooler instead of a freezer to reduce electric consumption. 

   These are just basic factors to consider in starting a food cart franchise business but every business is unique, so as preparations.

Wherever you are in the Philippines, it is a requirement by the government to register the business you have whether it is a macro and micro type of business. Some of the permits are acquired at the mayor's office, barangay hall, Bureau of Internal Revenue and sometimes DTI proof is needed. In order to gain this legalities, you should submit your full name and company name as a verification that you own the business. This also ensures that you are operating a legal and real company in the Philippines.

Macro business are the types of firm that is considered big. Some of the examples are Jollibee, Mcdonald's, Yellow Cab and more. On the other hand, micro business are small enterprises like food carts and other booths that sells certain products. Upon submission of your proposal, inspections may commence if you follow the other factors or facilities that is needed for safety for both owner, staff and customers. Most common obligation is a fire exit gate and a fire extinguisher to protect the establishment for uncertain situations. 

Some companies like the franchising type, your DTI permit is already registered since you are under them. It is considered as a sole proprietorship sub to the institutions trade name. Sanitation must also be done especially to water refilling station and macro businesses. If you still do not know how to get these important written permits and licenses, better yet to ask for assistance with business professionals or agencies that can help you as soon as possible.

Franchise operating offices usually have a step by step guide to educate you on how to obtain the requirements and how much will this cost you. Macro business is much expensive and has more terms to follow than the micro category.