How to Gather Food Truck Start up Funds

Without the Bank, Now!

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Table of Contents

Biography 3
Provision. 4
Use of Prototypes 4
Copyright 5
Your Next Steps.

Creating Your Fundraising Plan.

Knowledge is Strength

Generate Interest & Excitement!.................................................... 10

Who is Your Target Audience?....................................................... 10
Fundraising Etiquette-Part 1.. 11
The Community. 11
Fundraising Etiquette-Part 2 15
The Corporate World 16
Educational Institutions.. 17
Crowd Funding. 18
Get Started. 18

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Biography
Truck Food Finds is a full-service Food Truck
Business Development, Consulting, and
Training Company based in Texas, drawing on
the extensive experience of its President,
Lakeisha Davis. Lakeisha has evolved with the
Food Truck Industry for more than 10 years,
participating in many aspects of the mobile
food trade, today enjoying her profession as an
International Food Truck Consultant, Educator, Speaker, Published Author,
and Freelance Writer.
Lakeisha has acted as Lead Project Consultant on numerous mobile food
developments, from the most prestigious 5-star cuisine concepts; to the very
intimate, customer-centric mom and pop concepts. She developed and
instructs the Truck Food Finds Online Food Truck Management Distance
Learning courses, which cater to both new and existing businesses, and are
still the only ones of their kind in the world! Lakeisha also offers onsite,
customized Management; Leadership; and Whole Mobile Food Training
Programs.
With a strong commitment to education and continuous learning, Lakeishas
goal is to be instrumental in helping to increase knowledge by improving
educational opportunities for career-minded professionals, globally.
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You can reach Lakeisha directly at truckfoodfinds@gmail.com or

www.truckfoodfinds.com.
Provision
This White Paper is intended to provide the Reader with an overview of the
possibilities related to the subject at hand. Although it may be considered a
reliable contribution to existing industry standards and materials, it is not
intended to be an exhaustive list of options, nor the only professional
viewpoint on the subject. Truck Food Finds does not assume any liability to
any party surrounding the use of this White Paper. Truck Food Finds does not
guarantee that the White Paper is error-free, nor does it guarantee results.
Your purchase, acceptance and voluntary downloading of this White Paper
confirms that you agree not to hold Truck Food Finds liable for any
consequential damages, including: loss of business; loss of profits;
investments, or the like.
Use of Prototypes
Any prototype forms made available herein are provided as samples only. If
you choose to utilize any of these prototypes within your business, they
should not be considered a substitute for a legally binding document; nor do
they negate the need for the user to obtain the advice of an Attorney where
necessary. These forms are provided as is. It is up to the Reader of this
material to perform due diligence, and be familiar with the laws, restrictions
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and guidelines governing all use of prototypes and documentation in the

applicable province, state, or country that are being used.
Copyright
The proprietary rights, without limitation, are the sole property of Truck Food
Finds and are protected by international treaty provisions and all other
applicable national laws of the country in which it is being used. The
structure, organization, and content of the material contained in the White
Paper are the valuable trade secrets and confidential information of Truck
Food Finds, made available to only you, the original Purchaser. Your
acceptance and voluntary downloading of this White Paper constitutes a
binding legal agreement between you, the original Purchaser and Truck Food
Finds and confirms you are agreeing to the terms and conditions of this
agreement, just as you would if you signed a hardcopy contract. This
Agreement grants you limited personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable rights
to download the White Paper as a single site on a single-use computer. You
are allowed to retain one back up copy only, should the original be lost or
corrupted. The backup copy that you are permitted to make under this
Agreement contains the same copyright and other proprietary notices as the
original White Paper copy holds.
You agree that:
1. You will not duplicate or make the White Paper available to any second
party, including electronic transmission or file sharing;
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2. You will not modify; re-engineer; disassemble; reverse-engineer;

translate; sell; lend; make derivative works; or distribute the White
Paper to any other person or organization;
3. You will not utilize this White Paper or file for multi-site applications.
This Agreement and use of the White Paper and file will terminate
immediately upon your breach of any of the above-mentioned terms or
conditions. Truck Food Finds is entitled to enforce its rights to the full extent
of the law for any breach to this Agreement, including the seeking of damages
through injunction or equitable relief.
To obtain permission to reproduce, re-engineer or distribute the information
contained herein, contact Lakeisha Davis, President of Truck Food Finds at
truckfoodfinds@gmail.com.

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Your Next Steps

Now that you have downloaded this Start Up Funding Report, you may
also be interested in purchasing additional Food Truck Management
Tools:
How to Write a Successful Food Truck Business Plan in 7 days
OR, our Consulting Services
OR, our Membership Services; for only $27/month you receive:
Free access to monthly reports
Special discounts on bulk orders
Discount ticket to Yearly Retreat
Free bi-weekly webinars to ask any questions you may have

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Creating Your Fundraising Plan

Like many other aspects of business it is best to start with a plan. By planning
your fundraising you are able to clearly see what you need, who you will
request it from, and how you plan to use your donations. When most people
think of fundraising-money/cash comes to mind; but you will find that many
companies are more willing to donate other things besides hard cash likeservices, time, equipment, etc.
Knowledge is Strength
Before you can convince someone else to give for your cause; you have to
first convince yourself. If your heart and soul is not into your business then
you cannot expect for others to get excited about your business. So in order to
show your donors that you are serious, you must first have a well thought out
business plan. You can create your business plan in 7 days here.
By creating your business plan before your fundraising plan you have a good
estimate of the funding and materials you will need which are always good to
know so that you are not asking for something you are not sure you need. This
cuts down on doing something without the full recognition of why you are
doing it. Your success depends largely on your minds momentum, so
planned; decisive action will always beat a spontaneous, defensive approach.
Taking initiative is taking control, and when you are in control, you are
afforded more opportunities. If failure is your Plan B, you wont need a
Fundraising Plan.
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Whether you are just starting up your food truck, or you are a seasoned
veteran, your fundraising plan will be your advantage. Using your business
plan, you are able to adequately complete your fundraising plan. You will
need your start up costs, marketing/sales strategy, organizational structure,
gross margins/profits (including-payroll, operating costs, occupancy costs, and
management costs).
If you are familiar with excel, you can use an excel sheet to tally the
items/equipment you need. If you are not familiar with excel you can use a
blank sheet of paper and follow the outline below. Your particular business
may not need much or you might need quite a bit, here are a few example
categories: Equipment, Services, Venue and Food/Beverages, Workers.

Equipment-Needed

Kitchen Utensils
4 Tires
Paper Goods
Griddle
Crepe Machine
Mixer
Serving Plates
First Aid Kit
Generator
Propane Tank
POS System
Logo-T-Shirt, Stickers
Recipe Book

Cost

Date Cash/Equip
$100 (Cash)
$100
$200 8/1 (Equipment)
$600
$250
$320
New Crepe
$430 3/2 Machine
$150
$500
$35
$125
0
$40
$299
$250
$60

From
Golf Tournament-Jane Doe-Walnut Creek
Country Club-8956 Main Street, Phoenix,
AZ 85007

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Thank
You
letter
sent

8/15

Services

Marketing (Social
Media)
Graphic Design
Commissary/Commerci
al Kitchen
Maintenance
Suppliers
Food Truck Workers
Event Scout

Cost

$315
$400

Date Cash/Service

From

Thank
you
letter
sent

Community Bake Sale-Boys & Girls Club of

Phoenix, AZ 85007

7/9 Cash

7/12

$1200/mo
Al's Repair-5200 North St, Phoenix, AZ
85007

$75
7/2 Service
$500
$1500/mo
$200

8/1

Sunny Event Scouting 5hrs/mo-3423 Shamrock Dr,

Phoenix, AZ 85007

5/2 Service

Generate Interest & Excitement!

Sometimes as entrepreneurs-we are so focused on putting the puzzle pieces
together that we forget to add our personalityour creativityour
PASSION! Although the Plan needs to be thorough and sensible, it should
also showcase your talents. Fundraisers are supposed to be fun with a cause,
you do not want to become so focused that the fun is non-existent. There are
not many fundraisers that do not call for you to be interested, fun, and excitedso this is definitely a must!!
Who is your target audience?
Since you have already completed your business plan, you know who your
target market/customer is but who will be your target audience for
fundraising? The Community? Corporate World? Crowdfunding? You can
choose one or all but make sure you tailor your message to each medium and
not approach each segment with the same cookie cutter message, because
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what works in the corporate world may not necessarily work in the
community.
Fundraising Etiquette-Part 1
Another reason why you want to have a fundraising plan is so that you can
warm the companies you plan to solicit before actually asking for something.
Would you be more likely to give to a person you have previously
communicated with or a cold caller? Would you buy a car before test driving
it? Before you make a big decision you may research the ins and outs of the
product before even stepping into the store. You need to have the same
mentality when completing a fundraiser. Brainstorm some ways you can
warm your audience before asking for something in return.
The Community
You want to target a soft spot in the heart of the community when thinking of
raising funds for your business. For example, imagine hearing an ice cream
truck coming down the street or into a park I guarantee you will see droves of
children in tow as well; what parent can resist giving to their children in order
to make them happy or keep them safe? None that I know of Or imagine the
pet owners (specifically dog owners) who take their pets for walks or a day at
the dog park-obviously their pets health and well being is very important to
them. Even though you are raising funds to start your food truck venture; you
may need to think outside of the box in order to reach your goal-dont be
afraid to venture. It is also important to remember that you can and will most
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likely do better when you combine more than one fundraiser. Here are some
example community focused fundraisers:
Cook Off
You can organize a cook off by putting an ad in your local newspaper (it
works) for contestants to the 1st Annual ____ Cook Off. You can add anything
to the blank such as chili, pie, cake, savory dish, breakfast dish, favorite
family recipe, kids dish, or (heres something new) dog food recipe. You
would charge contestants a flat fee to enter and also charge an entrance fee for
attendees. By allowing the contestants to bring their own dish you are not out
of pocket any cash for food or equipment, you have generated genuine
competition (who doesnt want their dish to win), and if you decide to host it
each year you have an ongoing fundraiser.
Walk-A-Thon
This can be organized like a 5k race-which you charge a nominal entrance fee
which would cover the cost of the race and a hot dog. You could then sell
chips and a drink (you can buy these in bulk and keep them in a cooler) to
accompany the hot dog. You could organize it by age groups, for exampleyoung adults, adults, the golden group (elderly crowd), pet owners. Notice
children were not mentioned-however if you add some type of kid-centered
activity this fundraiser can also apply to them as well; such as face painting or
jump rope contest.

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Religious Organizations
You being a member may work in your favor when approaching your own
organization; but whether you belong to the organization or not is irrelevant.
Some organizations boast 500+ members and could be very lucrative. You
would need to contact the person responsible for event hosting/planning and
make a list of acceptable events you can carry out for that particular
organization. For example, you could host a kids cooking night and charge a
fee or a pancake breakfast for a fee. Sometimes you can just ask for a donation
out right and vow to give a percentage of the donations to the organization.
You could also just ask for available space as a donation. Lets face it most
organizations are not open 7 days a week and could use some additional
funding for the time you may need their facilities. For instance, you could ask
to use their parking lot to host a festival or even your cook off. Sometimes you
just need to ask
Busy Corner
This method has been time tested and has helped many businesses reach their
funding goals. You can make signs and recruit a few of your family and
friends to stand on a busy (this is important) corner and collect donations for
your cause. Simple.

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Back To School Bash

School starts every year, doesnt matter where you are located and many times
parents do not want to go shopping for school supplies (its very tedious). So
what you can offer is a family-oriented get together in order to kick off the
new school year. You can visit office supply stores for donations of school
supplies or buy the supplies in bulk and offer them in smaller bundles. You
could combine your cook off with your bash and kill two birds with one
spoon. The attendees will have food to eat and everyone will receive a raffle
ticket to win a grand slam school supplies gift basket-with the supplies being
donated, you wont be out of pocket any cash win-win.
Halloween Costume Party
This can be geared towards any age group (but children work the best). You
will need to either rent a space in your local community center or offer a
percentage of your profits as payment. The reason why this idea works is
because parents see this method as safer than roaming unknown
neighborhoods and taking the risk that the candy is unsafe. By gathering at a
community center-it offers familiarity and safe unopened candy for the
kiddos. You can give out raffle tickets in exchange for an entry fee and give
out gift cards or other donated items. You do not want to hold a competition
like the best costume because some kids feelings may be hurt afterwards and
fundraisers are fun so we do not want that.

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Fundraising Etiquette-Part 2
Companies would rather spend their money giving away items for advertising
rather than spending actual cash on advertising services and products. In the
next section you will need to make face-to-face contact with the business in
order to obtain donations, so it is important to follow these etiquette rules to
ensure the most from your efforts.
Dont be afraid to just ask-(Ask and you shall receive)
Be personable
Invest your hard earned time (its your best asset)
Research your local area to pinpoint companies that will be beneficial
Call and make an appointment to meet with the Manager
Dont forget to get the name of the Manager and be on time (important)
If you cant make an appointment just walk-in to the business (prepared)
Prepare a presentation of who you are and what is your cause
o Make sure to bring your business plan
The best time to visit eateries are between 2p-4p
o Its after the lunch rush and before the dinner rush
Make sure to prepare a thank you letter (on letterhead)
o This is usually used to keep up with tax deductions and shows
youre serious about your fundraiser, even if they say no
Many businesses have donations in their budgets, so again just ask!

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The Corporate World

Know what you need before asking, be specific. The worst thing that you
want to do is meet with a manager and after they ask you what exactly you are
looking to get donated, you say oh, well anything you can give. You can ask
for supplies, equipment, gift cards, baskets, or some type of service-use the
list you created from page 9-10 of this report. Depending upon what they
decide to give, you can offer an incentive such as printing their company logo
on any flyers you will use for advertisement. The number of companies you
can approach are endless but here is a list to get you started in the right
direction:
Restaurants

Factories/Plants

Specialty Stores (Starbucks)

Craft Stores

Bowling Alleys

Sporting-Goods Stores

Toy Stores

Major/Minor League Sports

Teams

Banks

Hotels

Fitness Centers
Book stores

Party Supply Stores

Print Shop

Rental Companies

Dont forget the big names

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 Wal-Mart, Babies R Us, etc.

Clothing Stores

Music Stores

Educational Institutions
Here is an idea that many people never think to do, use your local college or
technical institute. These facilities are filled with hungry students willing to
make a name for themselves and what better way to do
so than with an up and coming business (you). They usually have bulletin
boards you can advertise on or even contact the school paper to run an ad.
Here is a list of services you can find a student to complete for you-usually at
a nominal fee:
Marketing (Social Media)
Event Planning
Graphic Designer (Logo, brochure, menu)
Mechanic
Music/Photography
Accounting/Bookkeeping
Radio/Television Broadcasting
Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD)
Culinary Arts (Food Safety, Menu Development, Portion Control)
Refrigeration
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Crowd Funding
Crowd funding to fundraising is like social media to marketing, its amazing!
You can reach a wider crowd in order to help you meet your funding goals. I
would recommend the first three ways to fundraise first before trying your
hand at crowd funding because some platforms only let you keep the funds
you raised if you meet your target goal. Who wants to raise $5,000 and have it
taken back because you are $500 short? No one I know. So by using this as
your last resort you have already exhausted your other resources and know
this is where the buck stops. You can also use your other fundraising activities
as proof you are serious about your business and you want let anything stand
in your way.
Here are my top 7 crowd funding sites:
Foodstart-they are actually geared towards entrepreneurs looking for funding
for their food truck.
Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Rockethub, FundMeFundYou, GoFundMe,
Crowdfunder
Get Started!
Here you have more than 20+ ways to gather your food truck start up funds
without the bank-all it takes is a little leg work and dedication.
To Your Success,
Lakeisha
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