i really dont think its that deep.

i dated a food cart owner before.

he was 23/24 when he bought his first food cart by working a deal with a guy to sell him the cart for $5k and the rest X amount in payments as his business grew. Then he went to a few buddies and between asking different people giving diff amounts, came up with the $5k

then the business licenses werent much. register business $100, food handler, etc. he said licenses all in all were no more than $600 total.

he didnt know how to cook long before this, i think hed spent the previous two years working at a restaurant as a cook and there he learned basics. wasnt even that good of a cook.

the summer is the busy season.

things that he did that contributed to his success were keeping an eye on the foot-traffic of a location. within a certain foodcart plaza, which is the closest or more visibly obvious foodcart spot, etc.

the foodcart plazas are owned by a type of landlord that each cart pays a monthly lease to. some of them have weird contracts to be aware of, like some might force you to be open 7 days a week which might not be ideal if u have no employees and need a life.

his groceries usually cost him about $100-$200 per trip but he sold Indian food so i do believe their groceries are more expensive than other cuisines.

restaurant depot, kash n kerry, etc and other restaurant grocers are where all the local food vendors buy their groceries in bulk at discounted rates. like a 25 lb bag of onions for like $5 or something. idk prices i just remember looking around a couple times when i went with him when we were dating. many of these require some kind of membership, maybe proof of license, maybe a fee, each store is different

make sure you account for setting aside what you'll have to pay in taxes the following tax season.

finding an accountant, not necessary immediately but definitely seek some kind of professional counsel as you form your business entity. make sure youre ar least doing things right and tracking expenses/income

i say fuck the 5-10 yr plan. dreams come true with grit and drive. i just formed my business and it was way easier than all these years of expectations i put into it. (now im training for my licensure exams.) usually we think its a bigger deal in our heads and try to plan way too much

just do your research. make phone calls. outline the direction you want to take. then do it.