And if we think about the potential of the business, simply bicycles are the transport of the future.
Among so much pollution, fuel costs, traffic and other complications related to public transport, bicycles are presented as the favorite ecological solution promoted by many local governments, especially in the large cities of the planet.
Bicycle paths are built in many places that allow cyclists to traverse entire cities or large stretches of them safely and conveniently. And if it was not enough, a business with bicycles It will also allow you to meet a lot of nice people, whether for work or fun.
1. Bicycle Shop
The first bicycle business that surely comes to mind is to set up your own store, which of course is not limited to the sale of two-wheeled units because an even more interesting business is usually the sale of spare parts and accessories that often have a margin of much greater utility than the bicycle itself.
Additionally, another very interesting line of highly attractive accessories such as helmets, baskets, security locks, lights and others should be integrated that will add value to your store.
The investment for your Bicycle shop It will depend of course on the inventory you want to have as this directly affects the size of the premises that you will have to rent and condition even though these stores usually do not require a large amount of furniture other than the space itself to be able to show the different models that you sell.
An estimate for set-up, room conditioning, and inventory for a midsize store could be about $ 15,000 to $ 20,000.
The success of this bike shop business It resides in selecting a commercial premises with a good location close to places of high traffic of people where your product can be easily viewed from the outside.
2. Bicycle Rental
In its simplest form, a bike rental business it may be a handful of them parked under a sign that says “Bike rental“Which works very well in a tourist place, but which has increasing possibilities anywhere.
If you have little capital and want to start a business of this kind, you should start by visiting thrift stores or garage sales to start building your fleet. About four to six bikes would be enough to start your business.
The second thing you will need is a place to settle down. If you live outside of the city or near some tourist area or busy highway, then you are very lucky. However, even in the busiest cities there is also the possibility of exploiting this business.
In some cases there are even those who are willing to invest in bicycles in exchange for someone to take care of operate the business and get a share of the profits, which is another not inconsiderable option.
Regarding prices, you can regularly estimate a charge to your clients of about $ 2 dollars per hour or about $ 15 dollars per day.
You can increase your income by charging a small difference to rent helmets, locks, or even accessories like backpacks. Although these could actually be free as an added value.
Even so, you could expand your services by renting cameras, offering organic food or drinks, and other ideas that arise and that are of interest to your customers. Nothing even prevents you from occasionally selling some bikes, thus making higher profits.
A variant of this entrepreneurship with bicycles consists of renting mountain bikes. Since these are very popular, many people prefer them over regular bikes and they charge better.
Some safety tips related to bike rental:
- Make sure to request personal information from your client, such as identification, driver’s license and / or credit card number.
- Make sure your clients understand the cost, schedules and limitations of your service very well.
- Mark your bikes and their main parts conspicuously with colored spray paint to reduce the chance that parts of your bikes could be stolen.
- Make sure clients have your address and contact telephone number at all times.
- Keep your bike fleet in good working order. Nobody will like to experience mechanical problems during the tour, with the consequent bad reputation of your business.
- Evaluate your client, you have every right not to rent a bicycle to unsupervised children, drunk, suspicious clients or who raise doubts about their behavior.
3. Construction of Special Bicycles
There are many aspiring cyclists who, due to different life circumstances, need bicycles with special features or custom built. Usually they are people who due to some disability cannot use conventional bicycles since they can only operate with one hand, or pedal with one foot, for example.
Some others might need tandem bike variants because they cannot see but require as much freedom as possible. It is certainly not an easy task but if a business with great potential You can start by developing some prototypes to satisfy these particular customers.
4. Bicycle Repair Shop
With the same pace that the number of cycling fans is growing, it is also essential to have technical services for the repair and conditioning of bicycles.
Hence, another business alternative is the assembly of a bicycle workshop in its own premises or an itinerant technical assistance service that can provide the service during special cycling events, sports afternoons or pre-eminently ecological spaces.
It is totally advisable to set up your premises in a striking and fun way that invites people to come closer and request any support. Exposing some bikes outside is always the best strategy.
The main investment in infrastructure for this business will be the premises that should not have less than 50m2, a small warehouse of spare parts, showcases and of course the basic and necessary tool to provide the service.
Related: Advertising Bicycle Business
5. Event organizer for groups of cyclists
Amateur cyclists like to participate in group events where they can travel different routes in the city accompanied by other people with the same taste for cycling but in a guided, controlled, safe environment and with technical assistance.
This not only gives them peace of mind on the journey but also allows them to enjoy it to the fullest, meet other people and have a very pleasant experience. Hence another pretty entrepreneurship with bicycles It then consists of organizing tours for people from a certain area who will gladly pay to participate in the tour.
Of course there are different kinds of tours that can be organized and that have to do with the distance, difficulty and type of activity itself, as there are more demanding tours and others more relaxed, with the aim of satisfying all tastes and demands.
As in any business, do not forget to do a market study and one of your competition to determine what your clients prefer in order to design the best options that also guarantee greater profitability.
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