If you are a motorcycle aficionado, and you love to customize motorcycles, you should start a business. Remember you will need to invest time and money into this business venture, so you should know where to start. Here are 7 tips for starting a customized bike business.
Have A Business Plan
Before you set out and start your business, it always pays to have a business plan. This includes checking out your competition, and identifying your target market. You should also check out the possible risks and rewards of running a motorcycle customization business.
Have A Set Budget
Before you start investing in any equipment or materials, it is important that you set a budget for yourself. Remember that you will need to shell out money for this venture, however, this does not mean that you should put all your funds into this one venture.
As a rule, it is best if you separate your company money, and your personal money. Your company money should be money that is slated for your company’s use. Your Personal money on the other hand, should be for your own use or that of your household’s.
Find A Great Location For Your Garage
Once you set a budget for yourself, now is the time to find a location for your garage. It will act as your base of operations. In this garage, you will store your client’s motorcycles, and conduct motorcycle repairs, and customization.
When you search for a location for your garage, it is a good idea to build it somewhere far from other communities, because the customization process could also be quite loud, and disturb your neighbors.
Invest In Quality Equipment For Your Garage
If you are going to start a motorcycle customization business, it is very important that you have the right tools and equipment. Remember that customization means you create certain parts out of scratch, or install them through welding and other more advanced methods.
First things first, you should have a set of hand tools such as screwdrivers, wrenches, and pliers. You Will use these tools to tighten bolts, screws and cut wiring. These tools might be the most common, however, they are also quite versatile. There are also many versions of these hand tools, and you will need to buy sets of them for you and your mechanics.
If you have some extra funds to spend, you could also invest in a specialized robot arm for motorcycle maintenance. The best thing about this piece of equipment is the speed and efficiency that it moves with. This type of robot moves with unerring speed, and could be controlled via programming or handheld controls. Aside from the equipment, you should install hand sanitizers all over the area. While grease stains might be the norm in the workplace, they are certainly not hygienic, so having hand sanitizers all over the place will be a huge help to keeping the workplace sanitary.
Hire Skilled Mechanics
While you are a skilled mechanic yourself, you will still need a great deal of help. Remember that you are not a one man pit crew. The more business you have, the more work you will have. If you don’t have any help, you might stretch yourself too thin. As a rule, it is best to hire skilled and experienced mechanics for your shop.
Aside from spreading the workload, having experienced mechanics on hand, will give you a wealth of customization knowledge to draw from. When you hire your mechanics, it is important that you do a thorough background check on them.
Make sure that they know how to customize motorcycles properly. It is also a good idea to check on their personalities as well. When you work on a customization job, there will be times where you will go through high pressure situations as a team. It is imperative that you choose mechanics that could be depended on.
Reach Out To Material Suppliers
Aside from the equipment and the manpower, yet another important aspect of running a customized motorcycle business is the materials. While you could have a stock of motorcycle parts, you should still have connections to well known motorcycle part suppliers.
If there are motorcycle parts shops or junkyards around your area, it always helps to be on good terms with them. You never know if a client will ask you to add a vintage engine or handlebars to their ride. As a rule, it always pays to be prepared.
There will be times where your clients could ask for specialized seats or windshield designs. This is where companies such as Immould shine. Just give them the specific designs, and they could have these plastic components manufactured according to your client’s specification. Immould is one of the top plastic mold makers in the world, and they are capable of reaching your client’s expectation.
Marketing Is Key
Aside from the actual work of building a customized motorcycle, you will also need to market your business effectively.
As a rule, it is very important that you set up a company website, and make it as easy to discover as possible. When you design the website, it should be both attractive and easy to use. It should be easy to navigate through, and have all the instructions your clients may need.
This includes pictures of your past works, and all the services you offer to your clients. It is also a good idea to use social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, or YouTube to spread word of your business and services.
Conclusion
If you are going to start a customized bike business, it is important that you have a set plan. Remember that you will need to invest time and money on the business, so you will need to know what you are doing. With these tips, you’ll be able to start a great customized bike business.