Operating your own food catering services in Vermont is the ideal business for someone who enjoys entertaining and being creative with food. The perfect caterer is someone who pays attention to both large and small details. You should be flexible and reliable as well as highly organized.

Vermont, with its abundant natural foods and farms is a wonderful place to get creative catering. Bustling college towns and a year-round thriving tourist industry provide plenty of opportunities for a catering business to thrive.

To prepare for starting your own Vermont catering service you need to do the following:

1. Secure financing for your catering business.
2. Equip your catering business for both large and small events.
3. Market your food catering services in Vermont.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Finance your catering services in Vermont with a small business loan

The good news about starting your own catering company is that it is much less expensive than opening a restaurant. The bad news is that if you ever want to expand, you most likely will need some type of financing. In order to get the bigger (better paying) catering jobs you need commercial equipment, supplies and transportation. You also need a well-trained staff. All that costs money. The quickest route to expanding your catering business and buying big ticket items is through a small business loan.

I recommend: The Vermont Small Business Development Center can help you write a business plan and provides no-cost professional business counseling for budding entrepreneurs. Once you have your business plan ready, the Vermont Small Business Administration can help connect you with a lender. It can also help answer questions about insurance, licensing and permits.

Stock up on all the right supplies for your Vermont Catering Service

As mentioned earlier, a catering business can be started very inexpensively. All you need is a home kitchen and some disposable serving containers. But as your clientele grows, you will need to purchase both big and small catering supplies. You may start with smallwares, like salt and pepper shakers and serving platters and then move up to linens, China and flatware. Eventually you may need to purchase commercial ovens and coolers to keep up with the demands of catering in VT.

I recommend: There are many business that carry supplies for catering. Vermont is only a short drive from Pete's Restaurant Equipment out of Center Conway in (sales tax-free) New Hampshire. It is also near ABC Restaurant Equipment out of Glenn Falls, NY, which services western Vermont.

Carve your niche among other Vermont catering businesses

Starting a new business catering in VT means that you will be competing against better known, more established caterers. For this reason it is crucial that you know your competition. You need to offer something different, that will set you apart from the pack. But you also need to stay in the local price range.

I recommend: Find a list of restaurants and catering companies in Vermont through the Greater Burlington Region Chamber of Commerce and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. Both of these sites link to local caterers' websites. From there you can do reconnaissance on the competitions' menus and price ranges. If possible, try to sample their foods yourself at publicly catered event to see just what you are up against.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Vermont caterers should always network with other professionals. Hand out your business cards to the photographer and DJ if you are catering a wedding. Make sure to introduce yourself to the banquet hall supervisor. You should never, ever underestimate the power of word-of-mouth advertising.