How to Start a Gas Station Business

Monday, April 15, 2013

How to Start a Gas Station Business

Gas station businesses are always a profitable endeavor because of society's unwillingness to give up the privilege of driving. Even the rising cost of gasoline hasn't harmed the profit index of gas station businesses. The guide below is designed to help you through the process of starting a gas station business.

Instructions

1.Make a choice to either buy an existing gas station or build one from the ground up. Your decision should be based on several things. Location should be considered. Is there a gas station for sale in a high-traffic area at a price you can handle? Perhaps you have the perfect location in mind but it is currently a vacant lot. Call a Realtor or business broker to inquire about available gas stations or vacant property. Tour each property, and ask questions about why the property is vacant and ask to see any available financial records.

2.Write a detailed business plan for starting a gas station. Include financing options, marketing plans, futuregoals and how you will manage employees. You should also include ways to deal with theft as well as natural disasters and how you will deal with competitors. You can hire a professional business plan writer for this task.

3.Gather funds to buy a gas station. You can begin by talking with financial institutions. Take your business plan, and talk with loan officers about business loans. Consider taking on investors. A business broker can help you with additional options in your state.

4.Talk with the company whose gas you plan to sell about franchising options. You will be selling another company's gas and thereby be required to negotiate a franchise contract and pay a franchise fee. Contact several gas companies to find the best options for your particular situation.

5.Obtain all necessary licenses and permits. Contact your local city hall to inquire about fees for the permits you will need. You will need a business license, and if you plan to sell cigarettes, lottery tickets or beer you will need additional permits. You are also required to register with the local fire department.

6.Plan a spectacular grand-opening. Decorate in engaging colors using banners and balloons. Advertise opening specials, give-a ways and other tactics to invite customers. Hand out flyers, and advertise in local papers.

Tips and Warnings

Be very thorough with your business plan. It can ensure success.

Don't expect the first gas company you choose to accept your request.

Reference:click here

Photo Credits

No comments:

Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

Pages

Monday, April 15, 2013

How to Start a Gas Station Business

No comments:

Post a Comment

Small Business Ideas | List Of Small Business Ideas