Taking the helm and establishing your own company may have crossed your mind if you’re a truck driver. There is money to be earned moving automobiles from one area to another since the US car trucking sector is worth close to $11 billion. Although purchasing a vehicle and obtaining an operating license will be necessary, the investment could yield fantastic results. You may launch your firm by working from home, and as it expands, add a vehicle fleet.
You can’t establish a business, though, no matter how much experience you have as a truck driver. Fortunately, this detailed book explains all the ins and outs of a car hauling business, preparing you to start your new business.
Step 1: Find Out if this is the Right Business for You?
Positives Vs Negatives
| Independence: Run your own business from home and work independently. High Profit Potential: Earn between $300 and $700 for each car hauled Travel – Interstate trucking offers the chance to explore new locations. | The operating authorization and CDL licenses are necessary licenses. Large vehicles are expensive to start up. |
Industry Trends
- Industry size and historical growth – The US car transportation services sector has a market value of close to $11 billion.
- Forecasted growth: In 2022, the market is predicted to expand by more than 3% as it recovers from the pandemic depression. As the economy strengthens and car demand rises, it is anticipated to continue growing until 2026.
- Vehicle shipping services are offered by more than 4,000 companies in the US.
- Approximately 48,000 people are employed in the sector.
Cost of Starting IV Hydration Business
Normally, you may charge between $300 and $700 per automobile, although this might go up significantly for lengthy distances or luxury vehicles. We’ll use a $500 per car assumption for these computations. After paying for gasoline and upkeep, your profit margin should be around 70%.
You could be able to complete one 7-car haul every week in your first year or two, earning around $180,000 per year. Assuming a 70% margin, this translates to a tidy profit of around $130,000. Your fleet sales might increase as you grow to five hauls each week. To reduce your margin to 20% at this point, you would rent a commercial location and hire drivers and personnel. You would still make a nice $180,000 even with annual revenue of nearly $900,000.
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Entry Barriers
- Experience – Truck driving experience is necessary, as is a valid license.
- Funding – To get finance, you’ll need to put down a down payment on a hauler.
Step 2: Create a Strategy
Identify a Gap
Look at the services offered and cost structures of local auto hauling companies. Finding a market gap to fill is what you’re after. For example, perhaps a long-distance automobile carrier is needed in the neighborhood.
Your word-of-mouth advertising may gain momentum as a result, drawing customers in right immediately.
Solutions
- You must choose between interstate and local trucking if you wish to do either. A decision must be made on whether you want to transport single autos for customers or merely many loads for dealers.
Pricing
Automobile transportation costs can vary from $300 to $700 per automobile, although they could be more expensive for long-distance moves or for more expensive vehicles. Your profit margin should be around 75% while working alone, after gasoline and maintenance.
To calculate your markup and final price point after knowing your costs, utilize our Step By Step Profit Margin Calculator. Keep in mind that the prices you employ at launch should be flexible and subject to adjustment as the market demands.
Target Market
Car dealers are most likely your target audience. You may contact them directly or find them through networking and LinkedIn advertising. Additionally, you may provide services to private buyers and sellers by searching for them on websites like Facebook.
Location
You could wish to start your business from home in the beginning to save money. But as your company expands, you’ll probably need to recruit personnel for a variety of positions and perhaps even rent an office. Use websites like Craigslist, Crexi, and Instant Offices to find rental opportunities for business space in your neighborhood.
These general guidelines may be helpful to remember while selecting a business space:
- Central site that is reachable via public transportation
- Large, well-ventilated, and well-lit
- As your firm expands, you may extend your flexible lease.
- Unrequired substantial repairs or upgrades, ready to utilize area
Step 3: Write a Business Plan
Every company need a plan. This will serve as a manual to help you through the launch process for your firm while staying focused on your major objectives. An investor’s and partner’s ability to comprehend your firm and its goals is also enhanced by a business plan:
- The executive summary: Produced once the plan is finished, provides a concise summary of the whole document.
- Overview of the business:Including ownership, vision, purpose, and corporate goals.
- Products and Services: Give a thorough description.
- Market Analysis: Analyze the market by doing a SWOT analysis and evaluating trends like changes in demand and development potential.
- Competitive Analysis: Construct a list of the benefits of your services after analyzing your top rivals’ strengths and flaws.
- Sales and Marketing: Develop sales, marketing, and promotional tactics by considering your firms’ USPs (unique selling propositions).
- Management Team: Overview of the management team, including a corporate structure, information on each member’s responsibilities and educational background.
- Operational Plan: The operational plan for your firm outlines logistics, office location, essential assets, and other purchasing decisions.
- Financial Plan: Three years of financial planning, which includes startup expenses, break-even analyses, profit and loss projections, cash flow, and a balance sheet.
- Appendix: Added financial or commercial documentation.
Step 3: Create a Marketing Plan
You should still spend in digital marketing even though some of your business will come from infrequent web visitors. For new firms, spreading the word is crucial since it will increase brand and client recognition.
Once it’s up and running, connect your social media accounts to your website and vice versa. Social media is a fantastic tool for company promotion since you can make interesting postings that promote your goods:
- Facebook is a great place for paid ads because it lets you target specific groups, such as guys under 50 in the Cleveland area.
- Instagram has the same perks as Facebook, but it’s for a different crowd.
- Website: Search engine optimization (SEO) will help your website show up higher in appropriate search results, which is a key part of making more sales. Make sure your website has clear calls to action. Try changing the size, color, and placement of calls to action like “Book Now” This could bring in a lot more customers.
- Google and Yelp: Getting mentioned on Yelp and Google My Business can be very important for getting people to know about your business and buying from you.
- In-Person Sales – Present vehicle dealers with your car-hauling services.
- Send consumers and prospects regular emails as part of your email marketing and newsletter strategy. Personalize them.
- Blog creation: Create a blog and publish frequently. Share on many websites and vary your material.
- Paid social media advertisements: Use sites that can help you contact your target audience and run focused advertising.
- Use Google AdWords for pay-per-click marketing to rank higher in search results. First, do some keyword research.