Entrepreneur Ideas
Opening a Shuttle Transportation Services Business
Launching a shuttle transportation services business is your ticket to owning a good, stable business if you have the creativity and tenacity necessary to be a successful entrepreneur. We offer a friendly, comprehensive guide that can make your business profitable, stable and built to last.
Thinking about opening a shuttle transportation services business? We tell you what you need to know to get started.
Business Models
A shuttle transportation company sounds like the kind of startup concept that would have high capital requirements. But in fact, starting a shuttle transportation service may not be as cost-intensive as you think, especially if convert an existing vehicle into a business asset.
The primary requirements for a shuttle transportation service are a vehicle, insurance, and a clean driving record. Depending on your location, there may also be certain licensing requirements that need to be addressed. But many shuttle owners and operators launch lucrative businesses with little or no startup capital.
Once your resources are in place, there are several different types of business models and markets that are conducive to shuttle transportation. In urban and suburban areas, late night shuttles safely bring partiers home after a night on the town. In addition to conventional marketing strategies, startup entrepreneurs can network with local drinking establishments for referrals.
Airport shuttles typically transport passengers from the airport to their hotels (and back again). Since that market is saturated with shuttle providers, you might want to think about offering a shuttle service that transports layover passengers and hotel guests to local attractions and shopping venues.
Events are another potentially profitable market niche. It's common for event planners to provide offsite parking to accommodate overflows and excess traffic. Even small events can benefit from a shuttle service that makes itself available for transporting small loads of passengers to and from event venues.
The bottom line is that startup shuttle transportation services are all about niche marketing. Unless you are prepared to invest in a fifteen to twenty passenger, dedicated shuttle vehicle, the key for startup success is to identify an under-served niche in the local market and aggressively market your services.
How to Create a Shuttle Transportation Services Company Business Plan
A good business plan is the foundation of your entrepreneurial journey. Despite the diversity that exists in business plan writing, there are several essential elements that good business plans simply must include.
Business plan software eliminates the guesswork, insulating your shuttle transportation services business from the possibility of critical omissions. The best business plan solutions can be tailored by industry, incorporating highly relevant metrics into your shuttle transportation services company's business plan.
Our list of business plan software packages offers a comprehensive guide to the best solutions on the market.
Consider the Competition
Well in advance of opening a shuttle transportation services business in your town, it's a smart move to determine how strong the competition is. Try our link below to find competitors near you. After following the link, enter your city, state and zip code to get a list of shuttle transportation services businesses in your area.
How tough is the competition in the market you are considering? If the competition is too tough, you may need to think about starting the business in a different area or even start a completely different business instead.
Studying the Market
As part of your due diligence on opening a shuttle transportation services business, the next step is to talk to somebody who is already in the business. It's very unlikely that the local competition will talk to you. Why would they want to educate a future competitor?
However, a fellow entrepreneur who has started a shuttle transportation services business outside of your community may be more than happy to give you a few tips, provided that you won't be directly competing with them. Many business owners are happy to give advice to new entrepreneurs If you are persistent, you can find a business mentor who is willing to help you out.
The key question new becomes: how to find a shuttle transportation services business manager in another community?
Easy. Find them using our link below and start calling until you are successful.
Why Buy a Shuttle Transportation Services Business?
As a rule, would-be startup owners are better off buying an existing shuttle transportation services business. But what's so great about a shuttle transportation services business acquisition?
The availability of acquisition capital should be a major factor in your decision. Commercial lenders are usually more inclined to fund acquisitions than startups.
Although there are a lot of factors to consider, the decision to buy a business to get acquisition capital almost always pays off.
Is Franchising the Right Option?
If you are risk averse, consider the startup mistakes that can be mitigated by opting to buy a franchise.
Before you consider starting a shuttle transportation services business, you should assess whether franchising might make sense for you.
The link below gives you access to our franchise directory so you can see if there's a franchise opportunity for you. You might even find something that points you in a completely different direction.
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