Truck fleet businesses can include vehicles that range from the average pickup truck to semi-trucks. A major part of starting a business like this is to buy enough vehicles to make up your inventory. Once you get the business up and running, all you need to do is learn how to manage the business well to make the business profitable.
Find the Most Profitable Vehicles
Renting out some vehicles will turn out more profit than renting out others. Generally speaking, the average truck rental agency will make the most money from renting pickup trucks, rather than larger vehicles.
This is, in part, because pickup trucks are less expensive to buy than semi trucks. Because of this, it’s both easier and faster to pay off the vehicle. The faster the vehicle is paid off, the sooner you can begin turning a profit.
Offer Add-Ons
Most people who are looking to rent a truck are doing so because they need to haul something too large to fit in their regular vehicle. This can involve everything from moving boxes between houses to cleaning up construction waste. Knowing this, businesses can offer other services that can help with this.
One of the most profitable add-ons a trucking business can offer is trailer rentals. Trailers are considerably less expensive than renting a whole moving van, which is part of the reason why customers often opt for them. Sometimes a customer may want to rent just a trailer if they already have a truck of their own.
Another inexpensive service a trucking fleet business can offer is selling boxes. Cardboard boxes are super cheap for a business to buy, but they can be marked up pretty high and the average customer won’t blink an eye. UHaul is just one example of a famous truck rental agency that also offers boxes.
Consider Franchising
There are already so many truck rental businesses in the United States, and opening a new one (especially in an area that already has several truck rental businesses) could create more competition, but in a way that will be more irritating than profitable. One way to work around this is to invest in a franchise instead of opening a new business under a new name. Customers will already be familiar with a franchised business. This brand recognition may encourage customers to shop with you, when they might be wary about using a new business.
On the other hand, if your business is doing well, then it might be in your best interest to franchise your own business. Business owners can do this by splitting their truck fleet between locations or by having a whole new fleet of trucks for a new location. By having more than one location, it also gives customers the opportunity to return the vehicle at more than one location. This can be especially helpful for customers who are moving.
With franchising, it’s not necessarily, “the more locations the better,” but having more locations scattered around a state or the country can improve profits. This is both due to the business being seen by more people and it being easier for people to return vehicles.
Managing a truck fleet is hard work, but it can be made easier when you know which kinds of vehicles to buy. Picking the right location, or locations, can also improve any business’s chances of success. With both of these things, business owners still need to make sure to check price points for both buying vehicles, renting out business space, paying employees, and buying miscellaneous business supplies. After this, choose a markup that will make you money and that customers will find to be a good value!
