When is the Right Time to Sell Your Food Truck?

food truck attendant serving chinese food to customers

If you think you are making money out of your food truck, then why entertain the idea of selling it? Different entrepreneurs may have different reasons for disposing of their business despite having invested so much time, energy plus money into it. While some may think of their business as an extension of themselves, others will also find it hard to part with the thing that makes them happy which they have to ultimately let go of in the end.

On a more serious note, the food truck might only be getting a marginal income, hence, its owner is now eager to get rid of the business. So, when and how might you know if it’s the right time to sell your food truck? Well, as observed by the experts, here are the possible indicators that may signal it’s time for you to sell your business.

How Would You Know When You’re Ready to Sell Your Food Truck?

No more fun


When you realize you’re no longer enjoying the business because you’re all burnt out, then that could be one legitimate reason.

No more use of leveling it up


You may be having another business other than your mobile kitchen which is giving you more money than your food truck does and then you just feel content with the profit you’re getting. And so, you’re thinking there’s no more need for you to level up hence, the idea of selling. Besides, if you’ve got more than one business to attend to, it would be too exhausting to manage all of them at the same time. Therefore, you have to prioritize one and dispose of the others.

Lack of management skills


No matter how much effort you exert to save the business, it just doesn’t level up because you still lack the skill to bring it to the next level. And most probably, you’re thinking of moving to another venture that doesn’t require you to do all the tedious tasks involved in such an enterprise.

Remember, different owner-operators could vary in their reasons but one thing remains clear at this point – they no longer need the business and that is why they have to sell their food trucks. But then again, you can apply these things mentioned above in your case.

If you try to modify your existing business model, and with luck, discover the resolutions to your issues, then you might decide not to sell your business any longer. Perhaps, getting some people to help you in the day-to-day operations would be a better idea instead of selling your stuff.

The Best Time to Sell


Now, are you ready to sell your food truck? If you are, according to industry experts, the best time to sell is before the season starts as this is the time sales are picking up. In other words, when you sell in March, you would likely sell your item faster than when you have it listed first in the month of December.  

Again, when you are ready, better be prepared for a good listing. All you need are the following: a comprehensive write-up that fully describes your food truck, vivid and clear photos of the truck from the inside and out including all the corners, video footage (although optional but still an advantage), and full documentation.

The Write Up


Part of your description should make mention of the following information: original brand and build, the year the vehicle was converted into a food truck, the company responsible for the conversion, what items have been sold, the frequency of the truck maintenance, along with all other pertinent information.

Why does your description have to be that comprehensive? Bear in mind that your prospective buyers could not be physically present for an ocular inspection although they can always contact you by phone or through video call. But seeing the item personally is much more satisfying for your clients, that’s why you need to describe it as if they were there seeing your truck with their own eyes.

Besides, you are not only writing for your target audience. There are the search engines for the websites you’re putting up your truck-for-sale listing on and also Google. Incorporate the necessary keywords if you know how in order to make searching by customers faster and easier. Your heading should be catchy enough so people will be paying special attention to it.

The Photos


Other than your brilliantly-composed description, your captivating photos, especially the first image called the opening photos, should be clear and of the highest quality. You think filtered posts work? Partly yes, but it’s effective to show the true details like the engine with the hood open, window and door corners, the paint job, underside coating, and a lot more.

The Documentation


By documentation, we refer to the official papers to support your legal ownership of the vehicle – the original invoice, proof of registration, records of maintenance history, insurance payments including books related to the business, and so on. It’s wise to keep them handy.

Where to sell your food truck? There could be a lot of major listing sites but you must check out first the sellers’ reputation and background. Nonetheless, your listing is safe and secured with a platform like usedvending.com

To get more information on how to sell food trucks, click on this link. You can also check out samples of listings here.