Food Truck

How To Finance A Food Truck? [2024]

Pat Walls

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Updated: January 18th, 2023

If you're interested in starting a food truck or you already have one, you know that financing is one of the primary concerns you need to deal with. Like all other businesses, the food truck needs financing to run. So, one of the things you may wonder is how to finance a food truck.

You have three main financing options if you are a small food truck owner or a startup. It can be from your savings, investors, or a business loan.

Now, if you have a small business, chances are you don't have sufficient savings to serve as the initial investment of your food truck. Further, you may not be interested in attracting an investor (at least not yet). For this reason, your best bet would be a business loan from a bank or another financial institution.

In this article, we'll show you how to finance a food truck. This way, if you want to start this type of business and don't have an initial investment, you can work on a small business loan option.

Without further ado, let's get into it!

Who offers financing for a food truck?

As I mentioned, business financing can come from you, an investor, or a small business loan. Since we already ruled out the first two options, we will tackle the third, the business loan.

There are different types of loans for a food truck, and you have many options to choose from when you're looking for financing. Below are some examples of lenders you might consider:

Private lenders

Private lenders refer to banks, credit unions, and other privately owned financial institutions.

Hard money lenders

Hard money lenders refer to the loan issuers who will ask you for security, such as real property or equity, as collateral for your loan.

Fintech services

Fintech services refer to lenders who process loan applications online or through an app as financial technology.

Crowdfunding sites

Crowdfunding sites are services you can find in the cloud (online) that let you gather funds from a group of investors.

Now, each of these lenders caters to a specific type of business. For instance, e-commerce and dropshipping businesses would benefit from online lenders like Fintech services and Crowdfunding sites. However, businesses with physical locations and deals with hands-on services would benefit more from private lenders and hard money lenders.

Learn more about starting a food truck:

Where to start?

-> Food truck plan
-> How much does it cost to start a food truck?
-> Pros and cons of a food truck

Need inspiration?

-> Other food truck success stories
-> Marketing ideas for a food truck
-> Food truck names
-> Food truck Instagram bios

Other resources

-> Profitability of a food truck
-> Food truck tips

Types of loans for a food truck

There are several types of loans that you can apply for to fund your small food truck. If you're wondering what type of loan suits you, here are the options you may consider:

Hard money loans

Hard money loans require collateral such as real estate or equity to secure. Rather than banks or credit unions, private lenders and investor groups usually offer these loans. Since this loan is a short-term one, you may find better options if your target ROI or return of an investment will take more time.

Home equity lines of credit

A home equity line of credit lets you borrow money against the equity you've built up in your current home and then access that money through a line of credit. It's a loan you can use to fund your business, although better options are available.

Cash-out refinance

A cash-out refinance lets you take advantage of the equity you've built in your food truck for cash in hand now instead of taking on more expenses. You can use this loan to borrow more than you currently owe on your business and keep the difference.

Loans from your network

Loans from your network allow you to get money from friends, family, or acquaintances willing to back your food truck. In most cases, this loan gets repaid through a share of your profits or interest on installment terms. However, since they belong to your network, you can negotiate the terms, which makes it more flexible.

Pros and cons of taking a loan for a food truck

House-flipping loans, like any type of loan, come with upsides and downsides attached. Some benefits and drawbacks include:

Pros

Smaller Financial Necessity

Since business loans can shoulder your expenses, starting your food truck will take less (or even none) of your funds or savings.

Lesser expenditures from your own money

If you applied for a business loan and got approved, you don’t have to worry about your initial investments for a food truck).

Flexibility in options

A business loan allows you the burden of more significant expenses. As such, you can manage your expenditures and profit while you pay your loan in installments.

Higher spending power

If you would only run a business with your savings, you may not be able to buy many things you need for your food truck. As such, a loan can back you up with this concern.

Cons

Equity or collateral is required.

Some business loans may require you to put any property you own as equity or collateral.

High-interest rates may apply.

Since lenders only earn through interest, they may add higher interest rates to their gain. Thus, you should also watch out for such terms, so you don’t suffer from these rates.

Loans may come with fees.

Every loan application comes with recurring fees, from application to payment. So you should also consider these things when applying for a loan to fund your food truck.

Effects of late payments

While paying on time gives you a higher credit score, paying late induces penalties and even affects your credit score.

How to get a loan for a food truck

To get approved for a loan for your food truck, you must meet specific lending requirements and provide certain financial information.

In many cases, this involves meeting credit score requirements, making a down payment of a certain amount, and providing lenders with information about your food truck. This is where your food truck plan comes in handy.

In general, many lenders offer loans specifically for business. As long as you have a robust and precise business plan, your chances of getting approved are high.

The key is to create an excellent business plan that can convince lenders that your food truck' growth is expected.

It's important to remember that lenders who issue loans care more about the food truck profitability. Therefore, a solid business plan will help you convince lenders that your business is worth their time and money.

Is it a good idea to take a loan for a food truck?

It's always a good idea to take a loan for a food truck. While it may seem better to shoulder your expenses with your fund to save yourself from interest, it's still better with a business loan.

The idea with a loan is that you let the money roll and earn more for you. Thus, the profit might be less, but you also enjoy a higher spending power to expand your food truck. Or, the loan can help you start when you don't have enough funds to start on your own feet.

In short, business loans cover expansion costs so that you can focus on profitable growth and how to get clients for your food truck. But, of course, the advantages of a loan will still depend on how you use the money.

For instance, you may be paying interest for a loan when you don't even use it. Or, if you earn less than your potential revenue, the interest may even drag you down.

Since most loans have collateral, such as your properties, you may even affect them. Overall, a business loan is a good idea for your food truck, but only as long as you make good use of it.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, you have several options when financing a food truck. Of course, the most efficient way is to do so with your funds. However, a business loan may suit your needs since you may not have enough to cover every expense.

Whenever you can skip traditional financing, it's usually better for your business. However, without family or friends who can help, debt financing may be the best option for small businesses. Overall, any business loan put to good use and run under proper management will always be worthwhile, and it will always be an excellent action to run your food truck.

Part of

Starting A Food Truck: Everything You Need To Know

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