Are you ready to create the next great car startup?
Building a new business is no easy task, but there is a lot of upside to starting a business in the automotive industry.
That doesn’t mean that the only thing you can do is sell cars. The automotive aftermarket is set to boom over the next few years, with sales projected to be $722.8 billion by 2020.
That’s because cars a built better today than in the past. They’ve become more reliable and people are hanging on to their cars longer.
If you’d like to start a new business in the auto industry, keep reading for 5 great business ideas.
1. Auto Retailer
As we just noted, the aftermarket is predicted to be huge.
You’ll have to decide your what your niche will be, such as batteries, used parts or accessories.
With accessories, you have a chance to make your business profitable from the start because many car owners are looking for items like a jump starter kit.
You can even specialize in technology and sell GPS trackers, car chargers, and smart car adapters.
2. Used Car Sales
The opportunity with used car sales lies in lease returns. If you’re looking to sell older, used cars, you’ll have trouble getting started.
Another model you can use is to sell cars on demand. If a customer has a specific model they’re looking for, you can buy the car at auction and then sell it to them for a decent profit.
3. Detail & Body Work
There are a couple of ways to structure this business. You can start small with a mobile business, or you can have a fixed location.
There are advantages to each. Mobile services are more convenient for customers and have fewer startup costs.
Fixed locations can have more tools to take care of complex jobs, but they will have much higher startup costs.
4. Airport Shuttle
This may be an odd business for a car startup, but that’s not a reason to overlook an airport shuttle business.
If you have a family minivan and can create partnerships with hotels and businesses in your area, you have a great chance to be profitable right away.
The biggest challenge to start is to get the proper licensing.
5. Restoration Business
People love older cars and are willing to spend a lot of money to fix them up the right way.
The good news for you is that there is a shortage of people who are skilled enough to work on them.
Plus, with the average restoration costs being around $60,000, you have a great opportunity to build a profitable business.
How to Pick the Right Car Startup for You
With so many business opportunities, how can you evaluate them and know which one is right for you? These are a few steps you can take to make sure that your car startup is not only something you’ll enjoy but will be profitable.
Ask Yourself if You’re Passionate About the Business
You’re going to be spending a lot of time in your business. About 84% of small business owners work more than 40 hours a week.
You better be sure that you love what you do, otherwise, you’ll burn out quickly.
Do You Have the Right Relationships to be Successful?
You’ll need to know if you have existing relationships with potential customers, investors, vendors, employees, and partners.
Having these relationships isn’t critical to starting a business, but they will help get started quickly.
Do You Have the Right Skillset and Temperament?
Be honest with yourself and assess if you have the temperament to handle the stress of having a business. Also, assess what your strengths and weaknesses are.
If you have some glaring weaknesses that would prevent success, you might want to partner with someone who compliments you.
What Kind of Market Opportunity is There?
This comes down to how big you want the business to be. If you want a big business, there needs to be a large enough market to support it.
How to Get Your Car Startup Going
Once you decide which business you’re going to start, it’s time to lay your foundation. That starts with a business plan.
A business plan is necessary whether you’re going to get funding or not. If you do plan to get your business funded, you will need a formal business plan. Otherwise, a basic business plan that’s a few pages long should suffice.
Your business plan should include:
- Business description
- Competitive analysis
- Operations management
- Funding requirements
- Sales & Expense projections
- Profit and loss projections
Your business plan will be the blueprint from which you will make your big business decisions. You’ll want to revisit your plan every six months or so and revise it.
In your business plan, you may have discovered what types of business licenses you’ll need to operate. There may be local ordinances, state and federal regulations to consider.
If you’re not sure, then check with your local chamber of commerce or with the SBA.
Finally, you’ll need to know how you plan to get customers. Ideally, you’ll want to have some key relationships in place that will drive sales.
Online marketing is another area you’ll want to focus on. That’s the main tool your customers will use to find your products and services. That’s what’s driving sales, especially in the automotive industry.
Let’s say a customer searches for paint and body shops near me.
If you’re not there, they’ll go to your competitors instead.
In order to get found online, you’ll need to be a master at search engine optimization. If that doesn’t match your skill set, then outsource to a company that specializes in that type of work.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
A car startup can be a great business opportunity for anyone who knows and loves cars.
You do need to pick the right type of business that has a great chance of being profitable and know how to market your business to get customers in the door right away.
If you want to know how you can get your business idea off the ground, take a look at our startup blog.
The post 5 Ingenious Ideas for Your Next Car Startup appeared first on Cloud Media News.