Are you thinking of starting your own parking lot business?
People will always need parking, so it’s a safe bet for a steady cash flow. However, that’s only if you do it right.
In this post, we’ll give you our top tips for building a parking lot that makes money for you. Read on to find out what you should consider before you get started.
5 Steps for Starting a Parking Lot Business
Check these 5 items off your list, and then you can start making money.
1. Find the Right Location
The profitability of your lot will depend on where you put it, so you’ll have to think long and hard about this crucial step.
Ideally, it should be placed in or near an area with lots of traffic. This should be in the vicinity of shopping malls, restaurants, tourist attractions, industrial estates, parks, hotels or entertainment venue.
2. Buy Your Equipment
A parking lot doesn’t require a huge amount of equipment, but there are a few key things you’ll need to purchase.
The first is a parking kiosk with a ticketing system. There’s much more than just the standard old pay-and-display system out there these days. Now, you can give customers lots of different ways to pay for their parking.
You can now by smart parking meters, which allow customers to pay by phone, pay using their license plate number, or pay using a parking space number. This means that parking officers don’t need to walk around and check the tickets on every car. Instead, they can view everything via parking management software, which automates the entire process.
You may also need to buy gates and barriers and signage.
3. Determine Your Pricing
How much are you going to charge people to use your parking lot? Will it be based on an hourly rate or a daily rate?
If your lot is in an area of high demand, you’ll be able to push your rates up. However, if it’s somewhere quiet, or with free parking available nearby, you may have to be more generous in order to encourage customers to use it.
4. Research Your Tax Requirements
Find out how much tax you’ll need to pay on your parking rates.
This will depend on where you’re operating. Tax laws differ from state to state and country to country, so make sure you know how much you can expect to be paying.
5. Hire Your Staff
Even if your parking lot is fully-automated, you may still need to hire some staff to keep it running.
This can include officers to give out tickets and monitor the system, security guards to keep it safe, and cleaning personnel to pick up any garbage.
Fund Your New Business
Before you can start your parking lot business, you’ll need to get your finances in order.
If you’re struggling to raise the capital to get started, there are a number of things you can do. You can get a small business loan, team up with a partner, or even use crowdfunding.
To find out more, read our post on business financing options.