Services & Consulting

Catering Business

Turn cooking into contracts — from weekend events to recurring corporate accounts.

Startup Cost

$1,000 – $10,000

Time to First Dollar

2–6 weeks

Income Potential

$3K – $20K+/month

Difficulty

Medium

What It Is

A catering business prepares and serves food for events: weddings, corporate lunches, birthday parties, graduations, nonprofit galas, and more. You may work from a commercial kitchen (rented or your own), a food truck, or a home kitchen (depending on local cottage food laws). Revenue comes from per-head pricing, package deals, or ongoing corporate accounts.

How It Makes Money

Event catering typically earns $30–$100+ per person depending on menu complexity and market. A 100-person event at $50/head generates $5,000 in revenue. Corporate lunch contracts — recurring weekly or daily orders — provide predictable income that smooths out the feast-or-famine cycle of event-only businesses.

How to Get Started

1
Research your local cottage food and catering laws. Most states require a health permit and licensed commercial kitchen access — get legal before you take your first paid booking.
2
Start small with backyard events, family gatherings, or pop-up dinners to refine your process, pricing, and menu without the pressure of a large event.
3
Define your signature offering: BBQ, soul food, Mediterranean, corporate box lunches. A clear culinary identity makes marketing easier and referrals more likely.
4
Build relationships with event venues, wedding planners, corporate event coordinators, and nonprofit coordinators who hire caterers regularly.
5
Create tiered packages with clear per-head pricing, minimum headcounts, and service fees. Ambiguous pricing creates disputes; clear packages create easy decisions.

Tools & Platforms

Square

Point-of-sale, invoicing, and payment processing for events and deposits.

Free + 2.6% per transactionVisit

Caterease

Catering-specific event management software for quotes, menus, and event logistics.

$85–$175/monthVisit

Google Workspace

Docs for menus and contracts, Sheets for event cost calculations, Calendar for scheduling.

$6–$12/monthVisit

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Operating without permits. Health department violations can shut down your business and permanently damage your reputation in a local market.

Underpricing to win business. Low pricing attracts high-volume, low-margin work that burns out operators. Know your food cost (target 28–35%) and price above it.

Taking every event type. Weddings, corporate, and casual events require completely different logistics. Specialize early.

Not collecting deposits. Require 25–50% upfront for all events. No-shows and last-minute cancellations are a real risk and deposits protect your time.