Aside from patios and porches, concrete is also utilized for roads and walkways. Numerous little concrete companies make up the nearly $65 billion U.S. concrete contractors sector. A concrete business might be a good method to earn money if you love working as a tradesperson. It is clear how successful the concrete industry can be when considering the typical client payment for a 400 square foot driveway, which is around $2,000 for labor just.
However, creating a tangible business is not an easy undertaking. Starting with a solid knowledge base will help you be ready. Fortunately, you’ve come to the right spot, as this step-by-step manual will inform you of all you require to prepare for your entrepreneurial adventure.
Step 1: Find Out if this is the Right Business for You?
Positives Vs Negatives
| Outstanding Profit Potential – Customers are willing to pay a premium price for certain services Services in Demand – Concrete is used extensively, although it must occasionally be replaced. Good Hours – Typically, you won’t work late into the night. . | Work will require workers because it will be labor-intensive. A lot of equipment is required, and specialized tools are not inexpensive. |
Industry Trends
- Industry size and past growth – The US concrete contractors market is estimated to be worth $67 billion, up more than 3% in 2021. Except for a drop in 2020 brought on by the epidemic, it has had consistent growth.
- Growth forecast – Pent-up demand in both residential and nonresidential development offers prospects for growth for the concrete contractors business over the five years to 2026.
- Number of companies – In the US, there are around 57,000 concrete contractors.
- Number of people employed – The industry has more than 290,000 employees.
Cost of Starting Concrete Business
A concrete firm might start off with startup expenditures between $11,000 and $20,000, on average. A van or vehicle, as well as tools like a portable concrete mixer, represent the biggest expenditures. You may enroll in courses via the American Concrete Institute or other educational institutions for roughly $300 if you need to learn how to conduct concrete work.
You may shell out anything from $25,000 to as much as $100,000 if you subsequently decide you want your own concrete mixer truck.
Investment items:
- Screeds
- Safety equipment
- Wheelbarrows
- Buckets and spades
- Both floats and a laser level
- Edging and groove-cutting tools
- Saws
- Compaction of plates
- Vibrators
- A water pump
- Drills and hammers with motors
Is Concrete Business Profitable?
The chores you’ll probably do the most frequently as a small company owner include driveways, sidewalks, porches, and patios. It should cost at least $1,500 on average for each job. If you operate a home-based business, your profit margin after paying workers should be around 50%.
Your first year or two of employment would allow you to work from home five days a week and earn close to $400,000 a year. If the 50% margin is used, this would result in a profit of over $200,000. Sales may reach 20 jobs weekly as your brand becomes more well-known. To reduce your profit margin to roughly 20% at this point, you would rent a commercial location and recruit more workers. You would make more than $300,000 with anticipated yearly income of nearly $1.5 million.
Entry Barriers
- It is necessary for you to be knowledgeable about mixing and pouring concrete.
- It costs a lot of money to get a vehicle or van plus tools.
Step 2: Create a Strategy
Identify a Gap
To evaluate their offerings, costs, and client feedback, research local concrete firms. Finding a market gap to fill is what you’re after. Maybe there isn’t a decorative concrete mason in the neighborhood market.
Your word-of-mouth advertising may gain momentum as a result, drawing customers in right immediately.
Solutions
- Driveways
- Slabs for homes
- Floor of a garage
- Patios
- Sidewalks
- Porches
- Fixes for concrete
- The concrete is artistic
Pricing
The cost of labor to pour concrete is around $5 per square foot. You will include labor in addition to concrete and other supplies in your pricing quotes. As long as you don’t rent a physical facility, your expenses will be for labor, marketing, and petrol. You should start off with a profit margin of roughly 50%. It will be more like 20% after you hire a place.
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 launch price may need to be adjusted if the market justifies it.
Target Market
The homeowners that make up your target market are often more affluent, successful professionals with families. Additionally, you can collaborate with other remodelers or contractors to find work as a subcontractor.
Location
You can want to operate your company from home in the beginning to save money. But if your company expands, you could need to rent an office and you’ll probably need to recruit people for a variety of jobs. Utilize websites like Instant Offices, Crexi, and Craigslist to find rental opportunities for commercial space in your neighborhood.
You might wish to abide by these general guidelines while selecting a commercial space:
- Accessible by public transportation in a central location
- With plenty of natural light and ventilation
- As your firm expands, your lease might be made more accommodating.
- A facility that is ready to use and doesn’t require any substantial upgrades or repairs
Step 3: Write a Business Plan
A strategy is necessary for any firm. This will serve as a manual to help your business go through the launch process while staying focused on your primary objectives. A business plan also helps potential investors and partners comprehend your firm and its mission:
- A strategy is necessary for any firm. This will serve as a manual to help your business go through the launch process while staying focused on your primary objectives. A business plan also helps potential investors and partners comprehend your firm and its mission:
- Executive Summary: Brief summary of the full business plan; should be prepared when the plan is finished
- Business overview: A description of the company’s vision, mission, ownership, and goals.
- Product and Services: Clearly describe what you have to offer.
- Market Analysis: SWOT analysis and market analysis are two ways to analyze market trends, including differences in demand and development potential.
- Competitive Analysis: Examine your top rivals, identifying their strong points and areas for improvement. Then, outline the benefits of your offerings.
- Sales and marketing: Consider your firms’ USPs when you create sales, marketing, and promotional plans.
- Management Team: Overview of the management team, including a description of each member’s responsibilities and history in the business.
- Operations Plan: Your company’s operational plan covers logistics, office location, essential assets, and other information like purchasing.
- Financial Plan: A three-year financial plan that includes initial expenses, break-even calculations, projected profits and losses, cash flow, and a balance sheet.
- Appendix: Add any extra financial or business-related papers.
Step 3: Create a Marketing Plan
Even if some of your clients will be infrequent web users, you should nonetheless spend money on digital marketing! For new firms, spreading the word is crucial since it will increase brand and client recognition.
Establish links between your social media accounts and your website once it is up. The ability to generate interesting posts that promote your items on social media makes it an excellent tool for company promotion:
- Facebook is a fantastic paid advertising tool since it lets you target particular demographics, such as males under 50 in the Cleveland region.
- Instagram: Offers the same advantages as Facebook, but with distinct target markets.
- Website: SEO will make your website more visible at the top of relevant search results, which is essential for boosting sales. Make sure to optimize your website’s calls to action. Play around with the text, color, size, and placement of calls to action like “Schedule Now.” This may significantly enhance sales.
- Google and Yelp: For companies that depend on local clients, listing on Google My Business and Yelp might be essential to attracting attention and clients.
- Flyering – Hand out fliers throughout your area and at professional gatherings.
- Publish a video — Publish a video describing your product. Try being humorous, and it could become popular!
- Email marketing/newsletter – 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.
- Find recommendations – Provide incentives to encourage existing customers to recommend new customers.
- Paid social media advertisements: Use sites that can help you contact your target audience and run focused advertising.
- Pay-per-click advertising – Use Google AdWords to appear in search results more quickly. Do some keyword research beforehand.
- Do a webinar – Create a webinar to share your knowledge online through a video presentation.
- Case studies – Share examples of how your product or service has benefited a client.