How to start a small catering business

Why catering works as a first business

Private events pay real money per evening, and a single great party generates three referrals. Margins are honest but not huge (around 48%) because food and labor are real costs — the business rewards tight quoting and disciplined kitchens more than cooking flair alone.

What you need to get started (about $15,000)

• Commercial kitchen access — licensed home kitchen or a commissary rental.
• Transport-grade equipment: warming boxes, chafing dishes, serving gear.
• Food-safety certification, liability insurance and event contracts.
• A deposit-and-invoice flow — events book weeks or months ahead.

Finding your first events

Cater small dinners for your network at real prices, and photograph everything. Venue managers, wedding planners and corporate office managers are the three referral engines — one good relationship with an event venue can anchor a season. Bookings typically make the business profitable within 3–6 months.

What the week actually looks like

Full-time and front-loaded toward weekends: menu development and quoting on weekdays, prep on event-eve, and Saturdays as the business itself. Per-event fresh stock means precise shopping lists — waste on a big event can erase its margin.

Competition and how to stand out

Competition is medium-high in cities, but reliability under pressure is rare. Quote accurately, arrive early, and be the caterer the venue manager never has to worry about — that reputation, not Instagram, is what books the next quarter.

When to hire

Plan for 2–4 staff per event from early on — servers and a kitchen assistant per booking. Because each event is quoted with labor built in, the hiring model is per-event rather than permanent, which keeps fixed costs low while you scale.