If you are in love with cooking, then personal chef business is a perfect way to earn your living. Day by day people get so busy that cooking cannot fit into their schedules; as a result the demand for personal chefs increases. For you, it is a perfect opportunity to earn with the help of your hobby! The main clients you can rely on are business owners, especially those handling their work from home. However, there are also large and busy families, corporate launches, small home parties, and services for special events (marriages, birthdays, anniversaries).
Many personal chefs also specialize in particular areas of culinary art, such as only Italian cuisine, or only gourmet dishes, or maybe just molecular cuisine. Whatever cuisine is your cup of tea, you can use as the basis of the personal chef business.
The benefits of personal chef business from home
- One of the lowest startup cost. When you only begin the business, you can always use your own home kitchen, supplies, and equipment for pre-cooked orders; should you get an on-spot order, ask your client if you can use their kitchen (as a rule, they won’t mind).
- Very low overhead cost. Generally, you buy food for your clients and they pay you back for it. This leads to the necessity of paying only for transport and particular kitchen equipment (utensils, knives, etc.). Of course, today marketing is always an item of expenses.
- Flexibility in time. You don’t have to work 24/7 with personal chef business. This type of activity requires as much free space as you have; you can even do it part-time!
The disadvantages of personal chef business from home
Fastidious clients. You should be ready that some people won’t like your food. Listen to their critics, but don’t always think that it’s your fault.
- Training. While not required for personal chef business, special training and/or education will definitely help you run a successful business.
- Liability exposure. This is something you need to be ready to carry. You never know when the client’s kid runs into your kitchen and gets an oil burn from your pan.
Essentials to start the business
As it has already been mentioned, the most important decision for you to make when starting a personal chef business is the area of your expertise. Decide on the cuisine and the volume of your service. After that continue to the following steps.
- Practice, practice, and practice! Learn cooking in your field of expertise, and in particular pay attention to the food presentation. To learn this art you can attend several specialized cooking classes to gain the art.
- Always pay attention to the paperwork. Get your business license, set up your business structure, and take care of the insurance issues.
- Think of the menu you will be offering your clients. Consider also adding menu services to the ordinary food serving. To create an extensive menu with competitive price, research the market. Don’t also neglect the prep time and ensure that you add it to your services description.
- Recruit the clients. Begin with offering this service to your friends and family, in your church; post stickers around the neighborhood and local stores. Use all marketing available to you at the moment.
- Create a website. Today website with all services description, menu, pictures, and references is essential to spread the word about your personal chef business.
- Use social networks. Consider also adding pages of your business in all social networks. The more people will subscribe to your pages, the more clients you will get.
An additional tip is to join the local chapter of the Personal Chef Association. This organization will help you earn the trust of the clients and learn about the latest trends in the industry.
