Looking to start a mobile mechanic business? It’s probably a great idea to do so. If you have technical automotive repair skills, becoming a mobile mechanic can open doors to many potential customers.
More and more people are getting into the mobile mechanic business. They are becoming more popular because the need for mobile mechanics is becoming more evident.
Starting a mobile mechanic business to offer repair services to customers in the comfort of their homes is the best way to start your own business.
In this guide, we discuss the complete steps you need to think about and plan before you can start offering your mobile mechanic services.
Should You Start A Mobile Auto Repair Business?
If you’ve ever needed a hand, or your car broke down and there was no help in sight—your first call was probably to your local mechanic, right? A mobile mechanic that can perform an urgent car repair job or basic maintenance will always be high in demand.
But chances are, you are still sitting on the fence about starting a mobile auto repair business. Let’s discuss some of the reasons why a mobile mechanic business can actually prove to be a lucrative option for you.
The financial benefits of becoming a mobile mechanic
The most obvious reason to start a business, always, is the financial benefits that it can bring. Mobile mechanics have the potential to make money by serving customers in their desired location at the required time.
For example, many people find themselves stranded in the middle of the road because their car suddenly stopped working. Mobile mechanics can provide instant help to these customers, being just one call away.
Usually, people are willing to pay extra for the convenience that mobile mechanics offer. Mobile Mechanics is an exciting business idea that is growing at a fast pace.
It is a financially sound business. The reason is simple: It’s easy to do business. You can start your own mobile mechanic business and charge a set price per hour to customers who come to you to get their cars fixed.
The growing demand for mobile mechanics
In the last few years, mobile mechanics have been able to earn as much as thousands of dollars a year and have access to a market of more than one million potential customers.
While auto repair shops still remain popular, having a mobile mechanic that is available at a customer’s beck and call at any location for repair services is a great convenience.
Every day, there are thousands of people looking for auto repair services offered, preferably by a mobile mechanic. As mobile technology continues to improve, the need for skilled mobile mechanics will continue to increase.
In fact, the mobile mechanic industry is expected to grow at a double digital rate annually. The complete automotive industry, in fact, has seen a surge in demand in the past years. This means the need for car repair services is also growing.
The ability to start your own business with minimal investment
If you are a skilled mobile mechanic, you don’t need significant investment to start your own business on a budget. Being a mobile mechanic, you will be able to easily save up on my startup costs which are required in other businesses or even while setting up an auto repair shop.
You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on equipment, inventory, or advertising. You can simply open an account with a local bank and begin accepting credit cards. This makes your business affordable for everyone. We will cover more steps on setting up your mobile maintenance services later.
Conclusively, you can easily opt for a mobile mechanic business as it can be easier to start than an auto repair shop owing to fewer startup costs and less equipment required.
An auto repair shop may require a heavier investment. So if you want to offer auto repair services without an auto repair shop, this is the best route.
Top Steps On How To Start A Mobile Mechanic Business
In theory, becoming a shop owner or managing a business doesn’t sound too difficult. But there is a lot that goes into becoming shop owners, or an owner of a business for that matter.
So how do you make a business model for car owners that will help you in running your mobile mechanic services profitably? Today, we discuss the step-by-step process that you need to follow for setting up your mobile mechanic business.
Start with acquiring all necessary licenses
The first thing you need to think about is getting yourself a business license. Getting business licenses is always the first step in starting any business. Here’s what you can do:
- Contact a local county clerk to get your business license
- Contact the internal revenue service to get your employer identification number – this number given by the internal revenue service will help you in filing tax returns.
- Determine your company’s legal structure, is it a limited liability company? A partnership? A sole proprietorship?
Check out the benefits and disadvantages of setting up a limited liability company or the other legal structures to make a decision.
- Apply for a state reseller’s license. The state reseller’s license will help you in purchasing auto repair parts at a wholesale price and receiving your sales tax identification number.
You will use your sales tax identification number when filing your sales tax returns or collecting sales tax from customers on your auto repair parts
- Make sure you check the state government office to verify any mechanic licenses that you will need as per local laws.
Sometimes you need additional licensing to perform tasks like smog checks.
Perform an equipment assessment and make necessary preparations
Luckily, you don’t need a lot of investment for setting up a mobile mechanic business.
But while finalizing your business plan you need to do an equipment assessment and identify equipment and parts that you will need to perform repair work on a customer’s vehicle.
But before you perform an equipment analysis, you need to identify the services that you will be offering to your customers.
More often than not, mechanics offer certain services that can be provided through a mobile business setup.
We would recommend that initially, you limit your services to basic diagnostics and maintenance to avoid any major challenges.
Then purchase good quality, mechanic’s hand tools like a diagnostic scanner, a flat rate manual, and a calculator to determine job charges.
You will also need to get yourself a van that can house your repair equipment.
Finalize your business plan and how you will offer your services
Setting up a repair business always requires a concrete business plan that covers all business opportunities.
You also need to account for how you plan on acquiring customers and turning them into repeat customers.
You need to be very clear on the business plan for your repair business. Figuring out how you want to sell your services is the first thing you must do.
Are you only going to offer your services once in a while? Will you do it more than one time a week?
The more often you do this, the more people you can attract. If you own a pickup truck, you could use it to offer mobile auto repair services to people in your neighborhood.
You could park your truck in front of your house if you wanted to offer your services.
If you use this method, you will make more money because you will be able to attract many people with your car.
You should think about doing either of the options. The more often you sell your maintenance work and services, the more people you will attract.
You could end up not being successful if you don’t plan your service.
Hence, it’s important to plan how you will offer your services in terms of frequency, location, and target audience.
Advertise and Market Your Business
Whether you are a sole proprietor or set up an auto repair company, it is important to put the word out in the market. You need to advertise and market your services so you are able to build your customer base.
There are many ways to advertise your mobile mechanic business. You can put advertisements in newspapers, magazines, and other types of print media. You can drop your business cards in RV Parks, campgrounds, and hotels to target out-of-town guests.
However, there has been a decline in the use of traditional platforms for marketing.
The better way for you to advertise is by using social media. Social media campaigns are an excellent way to advertise your mobile mechanic business.
But before you set up a campaign on social media, make sure you have a proper website or page that showcases the services of your business along with contact details.
You can advertise your business on search engine websites such as Google.com. You can also place ads on Facebook.com and YouTube.com. You can also use social networks such as LinkedIn.com and Twitter.com.
The best way to utilize these platforms is to run sponsored advertisements or set up a search engine optimization campaign that promotes your business on Google.
Local SEO for auto repair shops works by ranking your page or website on the top of search engine results if done properly.
Set Up Your Own Back Office
To run your repair business, you will need to set up a back office that can store the equipment that you will need for your repair business.
This back office will house all your back-end business processes including bookkeeping, record keeping, strategy deployment, and all other business functions.
You can also deploy an auto repair shop software that will manage your customer invoicing, billing, and tracking of expenses. The software can be very helpful for small businesses.
It can automate business functions and help you free up time to perform other functions, like repair functions for your customers. The back office can also be the place you would like to store any documentation regarding your business.
For example, you will need to purchase liability insurance to protect your business in the case of an accident.
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, it takes a lot of hard work to launch a business in the automotive repair industry and it is not an easy money maker. However, when it is done right, it can be a very profitable business.
The mobile mechanic industry is still very new and the demand seems to be growing every day. The potential is huge. However, it can be a very competitive field because of the large pool of unemployed people in the country.
But if you are a skilled mechanic, you can easily start and grow into a thriving business in this space. So if you are ready to take the plunge and put your skills to use, go through our easy guide on starting your business as a mobile mechanic today.
It covers everything you need to know to kickstart your mobile mechanic business.
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