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With the prices of airlines flying to the ceiling, more people than ever are turning to the car rental industry to meet their transportation needs. That means it could be a very lucrative activity for an aspiring entrepreneur. However, you can not only wake up one morning and open a business. You need to do careful planning and preparation. The best part of a business is that you don’t need a lot of capital to get started. With just a couple of cars, a website and a phone number, you can lift your business from the land, especially if you follow these steps.
Starting a car rental Business
Decide on the type of car rental business you want. While it may seem like a silly first step, there are several options to choose from. You might be very interested in the travel market where cars are rented to travelers who do not want to add kilometers to their own vehicles. Another option is to have a car rental business for events, which means you could rent your fleet for weddings, dance nights and other special events. A more recent entry is the exotic car business. As the name suggests, you rent cars that most other people would never be able to afford.
Create your fleet As mentioned earlier, you don’t need a lot of vehicles to get started. Just remember that the more you have, the more potential earnings you will have. In addition, it is necessary to select the cars that are appropriate for your type of rental business. Hummer vans are very popular in event rentals, while vans and sedans would be better options for travel rentals. Because your customers are going to expect a good vehicle for their money, you should always buy new vehicles and keep them in good condition.
Acquire insurance. All cars must be covered by insurance. You can talk to your agent about the specific aspects of the policy, but you want to have sufficient coverage to pay for damage to vehicles and drivers if the cause of an accident is mechanical. In general, you will also want to be able to offer drivers optional insurance coverage. Remember that this is going to be one of the primary expenses, it is not something you want to spare.
Make a budget for maintenance. Another important part of the operation of a rental company is to keep the cars running and running. When you are out of service, you will lose money. If you cannot afford to have your own maintenance staff, however, consider developing an agreement with a mechanical workshop you trust. Because you can attract many businesses in the future, they may be willing to reduce their labor costs in repair work. Anyway, you should allocate a decent amount of money so you can cover maintenance costs, including oil changes, tire replacement and optimizations.
Choose a safe parking area. If your business is starting from your home or a small office, cars in your fleet need a secure parking area. Consider renting a space in a guarded parking lot, if you don’t have your own area. You should also consider investing in cameras and alarm systems to protect your investments in vehicles.
Warnings
Security is important in this business. Hire guards or get security systems for all commercial lots so that if something happens, you will be notified immediately.