help with trying to start a small business.

[kickinindian]

so i know alot of you have started small businesses on here and i was looking for a little advice.

i plan on starting a shuttle service for my area where one does not exist yet, mostly involving tourists to a national park. all the other services in the area are guided tours without freedom to go where you like. so i was thinking of pretty much being a taxi back and forth from the hotels in the outside of the park to the center, where their are busses to the venues etc. which is about an hour and a half drive in the morning and picking them up in the evening at a planned location. i was going to try and raise some capital to get a transport van and charge a flat fee per person.

i have not gone to business school and dont plan on being able to go to college any time soon so figure i would try and learn by doing but help and some tips would be greatly appreciated!:D

reason for this idea is a work in one of these said hotels and every day we have about 10-20 people asking for a shuttle to the park and we sadly have to say no and i want to fill that gap without being paid shit like i am now.

[smooth]

might want to wait it out a bit because the state regulators are thinking of coming down harder on private taxi services like uber, etc. in response to entrenched taxi services whining about loss of business

[mrsleeve]

your prolly going to have to get some kind of permission slip from the feds to operate a business that goes into the park. As there is heavy competition and BIG money paid out to the feds by contractors to have exclusive deals to do such things in the parks them selves. Going to the front gate is one thing, but touring around in the park is another. We had a local compo any that had the contracts for shuttle and vending in Glacier for 25+ years get undercut and booted by a huge national out fit this last winter.

Surrounding areas would be subject to your local regulations I would think.

[kickinindian]

I was looking at permits and I was thinking of using the permit for specialty guided tours etc. as my way in not as a huge group of people it would be like 10 people per day roughly I'm at work so I can't link the page but I'm thinking that's my way into the park.

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[smooth]

ok but remember you're going to have to carry something like $100K liability insurance.

I can't remember the exact figure but private taxi services were just talked about in the LATimes because of the issues I posted earlier. Do a search on LA coming down on Uber and that might pull the article up. In that article it'll talk about insurance policies and how much is the minimum required by state law.

[G-Man the Visionary]

In the process of starting my bus line now... DOT can be a pain in the @$$ and all the other permits/ registration/ apportion, etc included... I know my insurance needed is $5 million... The coach I have though is a 40 passenger. Also, you may need a driver with 2+ years of experience just to get insurance. Not sure how much of that really applies to your application.

[G-Man the Visionary]

bargainbusnews.com is where I found my coach. Many good bus/ shuttle sites out there.

[ST1G]

so i know alot of you have started small businesses on here and i was looking for a little advice.

i have not gone to business school and dont plan on being able to go to college any time soon so figure i would try and learn by doing but help and some tips would be greatly appreciated!:D

I know this is just a forum and it doesn't seem very necessary to follow the basic rules of English, but it's actually very important. Communication is one very important thing what keeps small businesses in business, and destroys small businesses. It's important that your grammar (spelling, punctuation, capitalization... etc) is perfect. There are a few reasons for this.


When looking at your business customers want to know it's legitimate, and up to par. When people see grammar and spelling mistakes they automatically brand the author as unintelligent, or not put together. Not something you want as a business owner. It's also very hard to read something that's poorly written, the reader tends to read less thoroughly with less comprehension and retention.

All it takes is one miscommunication with a customer to leave a bad taste in their mouth. Not only will that customer not come back, but he or she will give you a poor review on Yelp, Facebook, Google, ect. and your reputation is hurt from a small miscommunication.

This forum is a great place for you to practice your communication skills and you shouldn't pass that up. I've struggled at spelling and grammar my entire life, I know it doesn't come easy for everyone, but it's extremely important. I have to proof read everything a few times, and still miss things, but I'm improving.

I would also suggest that school is very important and you will learn a great deal, especially when it comes to business. I'm not one to say that you need a college degree to run a business, but it's extremely helpful. I would recommend ding everything in your power to go to college, even if it's a community college.

i plan on starting a shuttle service for my area where one does not exist yet, mostly involving tourists to a national park. all the other services in the area are guided tours without freedom to go where you like. so i was thinking of pretty much being a taxi back and forth from the hotels in the outside of the park to the center, where their are busses to the venues etc. which is about an hour and a half drive in the morning and picking them up in the evening at a planned location. i was going to try and raise some capital to get a transport van and charge a flat fee per person.

To clarify: You want to shuttle people to and from the front gate of the park, as well as around the interior of the park from one 'amusement' to another?

Here are some questions I'm interested in knowing the answers to, or would ask myself if I were looking into it.

1.) Where/how do you plan on raising capital?
2.) What are my fixed costs? (van(s), insurance, licenses...ect.)
3.) What are my variable costs? (petrol, van maintenance costs..ect.)
3.) How much capital do I need?
4.) Will this require more then one driver of the van(s)?
5.) What rate do I need to charge to cover cost and make a profit?
6.) Is this rate reasonable?


It seems overwhelming at first, but really all of the above questions will have to be answered before you're going to get any capital from someone who doesn't love you, and/or earned their money.

TL; DR: Fix your spelling/grammar, make sure it's rock solid. What are your costs?

[kickinindian]

thank you everyone for the responses!
stig thank you for the detailed answer I know my Grammer is something to polish up on I was just trying to get this out before work and didn't get a chance to proof read.
the service I am thinking is from a hotel outside the park through the gate to the center village of the park and they can catch the park bus, bike, or hike wherever they want and they would meet me back at the village in the evening and I would bring them back out.
my big costs are going to be gas which will probably be Daily and variable plus I will need to factor in I will probably have to get a loan for a vehicle and insurance and taxes but otherwise thats all my overhead costs for now

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[phreshkid]

And don't forget a really big insurance policy.

[Jaxx_]

The other part of the "business plan" that others forgot to mention is the marketing and growth aspect.

How do you expect to get customers?
How many customers do you expect per day? per week? per year?
At what point will you need extra help?
How do you plan to grow beyond one route?
What happens when gasoline costs rise? Do you have an exit plan?


edit: also, come up with at least 3 sources of revenue. fare/advertizing/snack sales etc is probably enough, but you might have better ideas.



Once you're done with all that, go to the park and ask at least 100 people (who meet your target market, ie: staying at a hotel, in a car/transport/etc) if they would be willing to pay for this service, and give them a concise statement of what you would provide(like... "Our service would transport you and your loved ones from your hotel to the park in the morning, drop you off, and return you to your hotel at a set time in the afternoon"). Then ask them how much they would be willing to pay. You then can figure out if you can realistically cover your costs and even run the business in the first place.

[Mlarsen]

I know this is just a forum and it doesn't seem very necessary to follow the basic rules of English, but it's actually very important. Communication is one very important thing what keeps small businesses in business, and destroys small businesses. It's important that your grammar (spelling, punctuation, capitalization... etc) is perfect. There are a few reasons for this.

LOL Wat? You'd be surprised how many small business owners I've dealt with that have poor grammar. I started running a business when I was 21. No school, no prior knowledge of running a business. The best advice I could give you, hire an accountant. It sounds like you're going to be running a fairly simple business but, when it come's down to it they're worth every penny. Good luck, don't be surprised when you have a lot more gray hair.

[kickinindian]

SMALL UPDATE:
another one of the local companies in my area just got a pickup location with the hotel i wanted to work with. this just made my plan a little more difficult as im going to have drop my prices to get under them and also give the concierge a small compensation to book me instead of them, only reason im thinking of going for it is because the company is unreliable...or just figure out something else to do.

[AdironRider]

First things first you need to make a phone call to the DOT.

[Jaxx_]

SMALL UPDATE:
another one of the local companies in my area just got a pickup location with the hotel i wanted to work with. this just made my plan a little more difficult as im going to have drop my prices to get under them and also give the concierge a small compensation to book me instead of them, only reason im thinking of going for it is because the company is unreliable...or just figure out something else to do.

You need to think about your options here. I'm also assuming that this type of thing is not a repeat business. Which means that the company will probably get away with treating customers pretty shitty until enough complaints happen to the hotel to stop referring them.

Having lower prices is generally not sustainable when you're going up against someone who is bigger than you.