ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE BUSINESS PLAN GUIDE
Vehicle breakdowns are a daily occurrence. Whenever such happens, the services of roadside assistance are vital.
Have you ever considered starting one?
If you have, this roadside assistance business plan sample can be of immense help.
A roadside assistance startup focuses primarily on rendering services to motorists, tricyclists, or bicyclists, whose vehicles have suffered a mechanical fault, that leaves the owner in dire straits.
This situation becomes more telling if it occurs at night or on a deserted stretch of highway.
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES
Roadside assistance franchises and businesses bear their roots from the activities of some motoring clubs established in the early 1900s. These clubs supported their members by engendering a spirit of camaraderie, in assisting members who suffered vehicular problems.
To this end, a list of members who could be reached for help was kept, in some instances, members paid dues to facilitate the hiring of towing trucks, when needed. From 1897 to 1927, more formal associations sprang up, to render quasi roadside assistance to their members, while later extending such help to non-members of the public.
They included the Royal Automobile Club (RAC, established in 1897), The Automobile Association(AA; established in1905 ), the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobile-Club( founded n 1927) as well as the American Automobile Association(AAA), formed in 1902.
The continued rise in car ownership over the years makes starting a roadside assistance business, a viable venture. A roadside service business will, first and foremost, require the owner/operator to put in place structures and means, to ensure all-day availability of service.
Customer demands will range from unlocking their cars to procuring gasoline, to kick-starting dead batteries, to changing flat tires or towing vehicles to repair facilities.
Here is a sample business plan for starting a roadside company.
- Obtain relevant training and secure attachment to an existing roadside business
Do I need a business license for roadside assistance? Yes. Starting a roadside assistance business behooves the owner/operator to have adequate technical expertise with the operation of vehicles.
Apart from the possibility of rendering repair work on faulty vehicles, the owner of a roadside assistance business may also be solicited in giving advice and tips to vehicle owners as to what further help is required for fixing a broken car and maintenance tips for vehicles.
From a business end, the startup roadside assistance business owner will require a period of training at an established roadside business to acquire adequate knowledge from experiencing first hand the nitty-gritty of operations of roadside assistance business. The reason behind this effort is to learn the rudiments of the investments before having to launch the roadside assistance startup.
- Develop a roadside assistance business plan
There is a need for a business plan to achieve success in the roadside assistance business as it exposes the dynamics and strategies behind income projected and expenditure, the available techniques to survive a competitive market, as well as expanding into other states or regions, and other necessary information and facts.
A robust business plan format eliminates the propensity for guesswork while shielding one’s roadside assistance opportunity from omitting critical inputs, to project the roadside assistance business commitment to quality.
- Get all relevant tools and equipment and stock up on essential consumables
There are many tools needed for roadside assistance.
A newly established commercial fleet roadside assistance business will need to have the following tools and equipment in its inventory, for starters: A reliable tow truck, gas cans, locksmith tools, flat tire change tools, and starter cables.
The business owner should know how to use these tools, especially at the infant stages of the business.
Later on, expansionary drives may warrant the hiring of more hands to operate some specialty tools, like the locksmith. As much as capital permits, the roadside assistance could also procure a flat-bed tow van, to expand the range of services.
This is one of the vital roadside assistance commercial vehicles.
- Develop robust marketing, sales, and advertisement plan.
A roadside business can choose to market directly to end-users. Or it can decide to market its services to larger road assistance programs like AA Rescue, Insurance firms, and auto dealerships. The road assistance business will have to prove that its services are up to standard and that it can deliver on a timely and consistent basis.
GUIDE: Roadside Assistance Names For Branding
The road assistance service business must seek ingenious ways of publicizing its services. Business directories and automobile magazines and newsletters are veritable start points. Also, leaflets and flyers can be used, especially for service customers, who may, in turn, engender repeat business and referrals.
It may also be necessary to register with local authorities and the police, who may then make referrals for the services of the roadside assistance business. Especially in the advent of emergencies and road accidents. These promotion strategies are important to obtain roadside assistance contracts.
- Define the coverage area of the road assistance business
The road assistance business must decide how far it can go, in rendering its services to the public. If it is 25 kilometers, then the roadside assistance business needs to be adequately prepared to respond to issues and requests under this radius. Appropriate changes should be instituted and service quality must not be compromised in this regard.
You will also need robust roadside assistance business insurance.
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE BUSINESS PLAN EXAMPLE
We have written this for people struggling with putting together a good plan for their roadside assistance business. This enables you to have a defined path of growth to take.
A good thing with having a plan is that this can be occasionally modified or adjusted to fit new realities. With this sample, you have something to work on, putting together a great plan.
- Executive Summary
Guardian Angels is a roadside assistance business that will be providing a variety of rescue services to road users and travelers who are stranded. There are lots of issues that may result, bringing vehicles to an abrupt halt.
Some of these may have shown signs for a long, while others happen instantly. We are professional roadside assistance service providers who are well skilled in handling all automobile problems.
These range from fixing flat tires, jump-starting dead batteries, towing vehicles of all sizes for proper repairs at our mechanic workshop, and helping to unlock jammed doors. There are several more services we offer. We realize that vehicles are likely to breakdown due to as many reasons one can think of.
Our experience in all areas of vehicle repair will be used to fix as many issues as may arise.
- Our Services
We offer all sorts of roadside vehicle assistance services. Some of the most common include fixing flat tires, service garage, car towing services, light-duty truck towing, and quick vehicle maintenance.
Others include helping to unlock jammed doors, fuelling cars that have run out of fuel, jump-starting dead batteries, and more.
- Our Vision
At Guardian Angels, our vision is to establish a business that will be known for efficiency.
We are determined to establish a roadside assistance business that will not only be the best in Des Moines, Iowa but will break into the top 10 roadside assistance brands in America.
- Our Mission
We are driven by the desire to serve. This is our mission and we seek to even exceed the expectations of our clients.
We are determined to go the extra mile by helping road users have an unforgettable and cheerful experience. This is a strategy we will use to win over our clients who will ultimately refer to friends and family.
- Financing
Our roadside assistance business will be financed through loans. The sum of $400,000.00 is required. This will be used for the purchase of equipment while 30% of this amount will be set aside as running costs.
We have already set the loan application process in motion. The interests are currently being discussed with the lender.
- SWOT Analysis
How better to run an effective roadside assistance business than having an understanding of our potentials and weaknesses? We have done a SWOT analysis that has shown where our strengths lie as well as where we need to increase our efforts.
This has been briefly stated below;
- Strengths
We have been in the business of roadside assistance for over a decade. This gives us an advantage of experience and skill. Setting up our own roadside assistance business will enable us to commit our expertise and experience to serve vehicle owners.
Our understanding of the most common problems encountered by motorists gives us a better shot at satisfying our clients.
- Weakness
Our weakness is the size of our start-up. It limits our ability to provide quality roadside assistance to all every motorist faced with a vehicle breakdown. The good news is that this will not be a permanent feature.
We will be expanding our roadside assistance services to cover more strategic locations. This will be in addition to improved service delivery.
- Opportunities
There is an increasing demand for roadside assistance services in America. This increased demand means more business opportunities for us.
This is why we will be expanding our services to new and strategic locations in the coming years.
- Threats
There is growing competition within this industry. Although we see this as an opportunity to develop innovative services, some major players have established themselves as reputable roadside assistance brands.
These businesses can easily leverage their size through the economy of scale to lower their pricing considerably. While they still are profitable while doing this, we will not be able to do the same due to our small size.
- Sales Projection
At Guardian Angels, the demand for roadside assistance services has been used as a major index for drawing up our three-year sales projection. The results have come up as expected with steady growth over this period. Sudden threats such as a global financial crisis have been discounted.
The chart below summarizes our findings.
- First Financial Year $300,000.00
- Second Financial Year $590,000.00
- Third Financial Year $850,000.00
- Competitive Advantage
Lots of roadside assistance businesses are innovating better ways to satisfy their clients. An advantage we have over most of these new businesses is that we have the experience and expertise edge.
Our experts have been carefully selected. These are professionals who each have over a decade of experience working with some of the best roadside assistance businesses.
These bring their experience and expertise to bear on the job. Among our team are persons who have steered small start-ups to prominence and profitability. Because of this, we consider our humble beginnings as a good platform to launch an excellent brand.
- Marketing Strategies
We are choosing the best marketing strategies that give us the most impact in the market.
Our marketing department will coordinate all marketing activities. We will have a referral program in place. This encourages the word of mouth marketing.
In addition to this, we will place ads in auto magazines as well as attend auto shows and fairs where we will network with people within the industry.
- Target Market
Our target market will mainly consist of vehicle owners. We will also agree with auto-related businesses to form a community of businesses that will promote our businesses through referrals. Wherever there is a vehicle breakdown, whether major or minor problems, we will be right there to fix it.
This is our roadside assistance business plan sample. This is written to help new roadside assistance business owners struggling to write their plans to be able to so.
We focused on an imaginary business to bring to light the most vital contents of a business plan. You can follow the structure contained within this plan to write your unique plan without complicating things.
