What do you guys think?

[Tubingluvr]

I am tossing around the idea of buying a pontoon trailer in the spring and doing in / out service and local and long distance hauling.
I live on what a lot of you would call a small lake (725 acres) but it is the largest lake in the area.
There are also a ton of smaller lakes in the area.
There is already a couple guys in the area that offer this but my prices would be much cheaper.
This is a very small community.
Do you think I can make any money at this?

 

[j_martin]

Re: What do you guys think?

I am tossing around the idea of buying a pontoon trailer in the spring and doing in / out service and local and long distance hauling.
I live on what a lot of you would call a small lake (725 acres) but it is the largest lake in the area.
There are also a ton of smaller lakes in the area.
There is already a couple guys in the area that offer this but my prices would be much cheaper.
This is a very small community.
Do you think I can make any money at this?

Until the first incident where you find out that insurance is a necessity. Then you lose the house.

Count the costs. Investigate until you find all the costs. There's a reason why the fee is charged.

hope it helps
John

 

[redone4x4]

Re: What do you guys think?

exactly. I would think the commercial insurance would be the killer. And, you would have to cover your butt and run it as a true business in case anything ever happened. Seems like alot of liability, but not out of the question. Look at all those guys with diesel duallys towing flatbeds with 3-5 cars across the country. its possible, you would just have to check out all the little loopholes and such on it first.

 

[Rickairmedic]

Re: What do you guys think?

The only drawback to starting a service business is you are stuck with insurance till the day you die so I would say unless you think you can make some real money at it and go fulltime enjoy your boat and let the others worry about getting theirs to and fro.


Rick

 

[Kiwi Phil]

Re: What do you guys think?

If you have the initative and see a demand, then go do your homework...that is one of the secrets to succeeding.
If you don't know where to turn, maybe there is a small business advisory service in your area to assist you, and if you need professional advice, then find a conservative accountant and ask him his charge rate for advice.
Just get all your ducks in a row....then make an informed decision.

Cheers
Phillip

Price: yes it is important, but the lesson I have learnt over 30 years is, the people at the bottom of the scale looking for as much as possible for nothing, are usually the biggest PITA you will ever experience.
Price your services or product fairly, and know when to walk away.....you want good customers!!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: What do you guys think?

i agree 100% with Phil.

 

[Shizzy]

Re: What do you guys think?

The only drawback to starting a service business is you are stuck with insurance till the day you die so I would say unless you think you can make some real money at it and go fulltime enjoy your boat and let the others worry about getting theirs to and fro.


Rick

true, true. I have a freind who recently sold his trailer and truck because the cost of insurance was killing him. he finally did the math and realized he was going to have to be pulling that trailer 7 days a week to break even.

 

[indy440]

Re: What do you guys think?

slightly off-topic: 725 acres is more like a pond, how long do you have to drive to go to a "decent" sized lake? like 15,000 - 20,000+ acres?

 

[Tubingluvr]

Re: What do you guys think?

slightly off-topic: 725 acres is more like a pond, how long do you have to drive to go to a "decent" sized lake? like 15,000 - 20,000+ acres?

It is at least an hour drive to find a bigger lake than mine, about 2.5 hours to find an inland lake over 10,000 acres, and also about 2 hours to Lake Michigan or Lake Huron.
Most lakes in the area (tons of them) are under 400 acres.

 

[indy440]

Re: What do you guys think?

wow, that is a drive. Maybe Im just spoiled living where I do. 40 minutes to a 25k acre lake. 20 minutes to the Mohawk river, which is part of "The Great Loop"...

 

[Tubingluvr]

Re: What do you guys think?

in michigan water is everywhere but most are not very big, there are some areas with big water but takes some planning

 

[indy440]

Re: What do you guys think?

We have a few smaller lakes close by we use for riding jetskis, tubing, etc. Probably similar to the ones you go to.

I like the thought of being 20 minutes from 'the great loop'... however it would probably be 30 years before I could make a trip like that...