Abstract
The business will involve offering food to people during their movement to different places, cooking food on the vehicle, driving a food truck, and having a legal parking permit. The track visits different places to take its services to near customers (Yoon & Chung, 2018). Managers need to analyze the operating environment from time to time to understand strengths and weaknesses and eventually use opportunities to advance and learn how to avoid potential threats. This paper prepares a SWOT analysis for the food truck business and explains the involved projects.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Cheaper Prices
The company will offer its menu at a relatively lower price when compared to luxury restaurants and hotels (Yoon & Chung, 2018). Quality services will be offered at competitive prices to attract a large pool of customers.
Innovative and Fresh Food
The company will offer freshly cooked food since it has does not have storage space. It will apply innovative cooking methods to reduce the cooking time and enhance customer satisfaction.
Location Flexibility
The vehicle will move to strategic places near tourist locations or office buildings to serve more customers. Crowded places will also be targeted to increase sales and give more people a chance to taste the quality food.
Reduced Cost of Operation
The business will operate on a track implying that it will save on the renting cost.
Weaknesses
Costly Food Ingredients
The cost of food ingredients is increasing but the company has to maintain cheap prices for its food.
Lack of Adequate Information Regarding the Market
The company lacks adequate information about moving food truck, cooking style, and market.
Opportunities
Partnering with Local Clubs and Bars
The business can partner with bars and clubs to increase its market and attain better returns.
Better Taste and New Product
It offers innovative products and diverse tastes to meet the needs of many customers.
Website and Mobile App
It will help market the business and reach out many customers.
Threats
Analyzing the market and reading relevant literature will show possible threats. It can be helpful to consult business managers who are running a similar business to learn more about possible threats (Holmes et al., 2018).
High Risk of Emerging Similar Businesses
New businesses can emerge and offer similar or better services. This can affect the ability of the business to grow and achieve its objective.
Difficult to Attain Permits and Other Legal Requirements
It is expensive and involving to meet legal requirements to operate the business.
The Need for the Project and the Potential Outcome
The SWOT analysis reveals that the business is a profitable venture. Many customers will be interested in tasty food of good quality and for a cheaper price than most restaurants and hotels offer. Customers will have a chance to eat freshly prepared and healthy food away from home. It will offer better working conditions and create a positive impact on public health (Holmes et al., 2018). It will satisfy the social need by the provision of healthy foods that are free from sugars and fats.
Projects to Work On During This Class
I intend to engage in two projects during this class and make every effort to influence success:
- Developing a business website: I will develop a website to help market my business and promote interactions with my customers. The platform will promote communication and increase my ability to respond to issues raised and offer more customized services. Customers will be able to discuss with managers and expect an immediate response.
- Developing a business plan: I will prepare a detailed plan to outline my project and explain involved operations. I will plan different activities, determine the capital required, analyze the markets, and predict expected performance (Auad et al., 2018). I will also develop market penetration strategies based on customer requirements.
Prioritizing and Selecting One Project
I will evaluate the project with immediate importance for my business. Although the development of a business plan and website are both important projects, I will consider the one that should follow the other. In this case, a business plan should come before the website since it determines how the business will run. The nature of the developed websites will depend on the guidelines provided in the business plan implying that it should come first (Holmes et al., 2018). I will strive to complete the business plan during this class to facilitate the development of the website in the future. It will help define the market and learn customers’ needs to be satisfied.
Project Management Tool
Microsoft Project is the project management tool I will use for my project. It will be useful in the development of a schedule, analyzing workloads, managing budget, tracking progress, as well as assigning resources (Lock, 2017). The tool is easy to use and it can help generate timely and accurate results.
Project Charter
- Executive summary entailing the mission statement, description of products to be offered, and business focus.
- Company description explaining information such as registered name, physical location, history, and nature of the business.
- Objectives and business goals showing what the business intends to achieve.
- Business and management structure explaining the type of business, leadership, managers, and employees
- Products or services to be offered
- Marketing and sales plan to be used
- Expected business financial analysis (McKeever, 2018)
- An appendix covering a list of supporting information
References
Auad, L. I., Ginani, V. C., dos Santos Leandro, E., Nunes, A. C. S., Domingues Junior, L. R. P., & Zandonadi, R. P. (2018). Who is serving us? Food safety rules compliance among Brazilian food truck vendors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(12), 2807. Web.
Holmes, M. R., Dodds, R., Deen, G., Lubana, A., Munson, J., & Quigley, S. (2018). Local and organic food on wheels: Exploring the use of local and organic food in the food truck industry. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 21(5), 493-510. Web.
Lock, D. (2017). Naked project management: The bare facts. Routledge.
McKeever, M. P. (2018). How to write a business plan. Nolo.
Yoon, B., & Chung, Y. (2018). Consumer attitude and visit intention toward food trucks: Targeting millennials. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 21(2), 187-199. Web.
