Mobile Mechanic Business Plan
Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their mobile mechanic companies.
If you’re unfamiliar with creating a mobile mechanic business plan, you may think creating one will be a time-consuming and frustrating process. For most entrepreneurs it is, but for you, it won’t be since we’re here to help. We have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you create a great business plan.
In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a mobile mechanic business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.
What is a Mobile Mechanic Business Plan?
A business plan provides a snapshot of your mobile mechanic business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.
Why You Need a Business Plan for a Mobile Mechanic Business
If you’re looking to start a mobile mechanic business or grow your existing mobile mechanic company, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your mobile mechanic business to improve your chances of success. Your mobile mechanic business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.
Sources of Funding for Mobile Mechanic Businesses
With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a mobile mechanic business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan (hand it to them in person or email to them as a PDF file) and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for mobile mechanic companies.
How to Write a Business Plan for a Mobile Mechanic Business
If you want to start a mobile mechanic business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide and sample below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your mobile mechanic business plan.
Executive Summary
Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.
The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of mobile mechanic business you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a mobile mechanic business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of mobile mechanic businesses?
Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan.
- Give a brief overview of the mobile mechanic industry.
- Discuss the type of mobile mechanic business you are operating.
- Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers.
- Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team.
- Offer an overview of your financial plan.
Company Overview
In your company overview, you will detail the type of mobile mechanic business you are operating.
For example, you might specialize in one of the following types of mobile mechanic businesses:
- Auto Mobile Mechanic: Probably the most popular type of mobile mechanic, a wide variety of services are available to service or repair vehicles within a geographical region. This may include assisting with emergency mechanical repairs for a car, an oil change for a car parked in a business lot, checking the tire pressure of a car in a customer’s driveway or replacing auto windshield wipers on a busy downtown street.
- Heavy Equipment Mobile Mechanic: Although not as frequently needed, a mobile mechanic service that specializes in repairing or servicing heavy equipment vehicles typically garners a higher rate-of-pay than autos and generally offers more specialized repairs.
- Motorcycle and Quad Mobile Mechanic: The focus of this type of mobile mechanic service is on street and dirt motorcycles, as well as quad vehicles of all types. Street motorcycles need regular servicing to change the oil and check parts. Because dirt motorcycles and quads are often used on farms or ranches, repairs and servicing of both are frequently needed.
- Recreational Vehicle Mobile Mechanic: Most customers of a recreational vehicle mobile mechanic company do not service or repair their own vehicles. As a result, mobile mechanics who specialize in recreational vehicle service and repair typically have a sizable customer base. Repairs of recreational vehicles often take place by a highway and 24/7 service is usually offered at an additional cost to the customer.
In addition to explaining the type of mobile mechanic business you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.
Include answers to questions such as:
- When and why did you start the business?
- What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of autos serviced or repaired, the addition of services to multiple cities, or the increase of customers who have appointments for regular oil changes.
- What is your legal business structure? Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.
Industry Analysis
In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the mobile mechanic industry.
While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.
First, researching the mobile mechanic industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.
Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.
The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.
The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your mobile mechanic business plan:
- How big is the mobile mechanic industry (in dollars)?
- Is the market declining or increasing?
- Who are the key competitors in the market?
- Who are the key suppliers in the market?
- What trends are affecting the industry?
- What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
- What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your mobile mechanic business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.
Customer Analysis
The customer analysis section of your mobile mechanic business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.
The following are examples of customer segments: individual auto owners, owners of heavy equipment vehicles, recreational vehicle owners, motorcycle and quad owners.
As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of mobile mechanic business you operate. Clearly, auto owners would respond to different marketing promotions than heavy equipment vehicle owners, for example.
Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the potential customers you seek to serve.
Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers. Ideally you can speak with a sample of your target customers before writing your plan to better understand their needs.
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Competitive Analysis
Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.
Direct competitors are other mobile mechanic businesses.
Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes auto repair shops, auto parts stores, motorcycle service centers, and recreational vehicle repair services. You need to mention direct competition, as well.
For each direct competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as
- What types of customers do they serve?
- What type of mobile mechanic business are they?
- What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
- What are they good at?
- What are their weaknesses?
With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.
The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:
- Will you provide options for 24-hour emergency services?
- Will you offer services that your competition doesn’t?
- Will you provide customer service that includes a free amenity?
- Will you offer specialized discounts for packages, such as a service plus cleaning?
Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.
Marketing Plan
Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a mobile mechanic business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:
Product: In the product section, you should reiterate the type of mobile mechanic company that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide an oil change and tire check as part of every auto service visit? Will you carry specific repair tools and supplies in your vehicle to meet the needs of heavy equipment vehicles? Will you stock recreational vehicle quick-fix parts in your vehicle for emergency use?
Price: Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.
Place: Place refers to the site of your mobile mechanic company. Document where your company is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your mobile mechanic business located in a busy used auto sales district, at your home, or in a small garage in an urban neighborhood? Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.
Promotions: The final part of your mobile mechanic marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:
- Advertise in local papers, radio stations and/or magazines
- Reach out to websites
- Distribute flyers
- Engage in email marketing
- Advertise on social media platforms
- Improve the SEO (search engine optimization) on your website for targeted keywords
Operations Plan
While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.
Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your mobile mechanic business, including answering calls, setting appointments for regular servicing, stocking supplies and equipment, and monitoring 24/7 emergency service calls, etc.
Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to service your Xth auto, or when you will reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your mobile mechanic business to a new city.
Management Team
To demonstrate your mobile mechanic business’ potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.
Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing mobile mechanic businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.
If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing a mobile mechanic business or successfully running a vehicle repair shop.
Financial Plan
Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.
Income Statement
An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.
In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you service 100 autos per month, repair 20 recreational vehicles, or provide emergency services 10 times monthly? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.
Balance Sheets
Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your mobile mechanic business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.
Cash Flow Statement
Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and ensure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.
When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a mobile mechanic business:
- Cost of your mobile mechanic vehicle, repair equipment and supplies
- Payroll or salaries paid to staff
- Business insurance
- Taxes
- Other start-up expenses (if you’re a new business) like legal expenses, permits, computer software, and equipment
Appendix
Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your home office location as a cost-saving feature and offer a list of already-established customers for monthly vehicle servicing.
Summary
Writing a business plan for your mobile mechanic business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will understand the mobile mechanic industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful mobile mechanic business.
Finish Your Mobile Mechanic Business Plan in 1 Day!
Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Mobile Mechanic business plan?
With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!
OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You
Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.
Hire someone to write a business plan for you from Growthink’s team.
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