| DRIVING FOR PROFIT This is a well conveived plan for setting up an advertising business based on a car continuously towing a trailer around any highly populated area. The trailer is specially fitted with a series of advertising boards. The overall objective is to clear œ100 profit per DAY. This could probably be achieved in one stage although it is best to plan to achieve it in two stages. THE CAR: Any reliable car will do so long as it is fitted with a tow bar and working electrics. It doesn't need much in the way of performance as it will be going slow at any time. THE BASIC TRAILER: Ideally, an old caravan chassis or car transporter trailer would be ideal. These can be aquire at very reasonable prices from a wide range of sources. It is obviously essential that it has lights, signs etc and fully complies eith the relevant Road Traffic Regulations. The longer it is, the better it is as it will be able to carry more advertising. Such trailers can vary in length between ten feet and twenty feet akthough for the purpose of this exercise, the figures have been based on the popular length of sixteen feet. ADVERTISING BOARDS: These are best made from strong plywood. As standard plywood boards are 8' long by 4' wide, they will be ideal for this purpose. Two boards fitted end to end run along one side of the trailer and two more boards fitted end to end run along the other side. The top edges of both sides are angled inwards until they join at the top. Between the two angled-in sides, there will have to be a framework of some kind to give strength, stability and support to the side display boards. Both ends will have to panelled in so that the final structure will resemble a giant Toblerone packet on wheels. Once the plywood structure has been securely fitted to the trailer, the whole assembly is then brightly painted to make it look better as well as to protect it from weather damage. Thought should then be given to what will be used to cover the display adverts. Whilst glass or Perspex would be ideal, it may well be that each advert is indervidually painted or Page 1 pasted directly onto the plywood. This is very much a matter for the individual. THE ASSEMBLED TRAILER: Once the boards have been fitted, the trailer should be tested to ensure that it can withstand any sudden bursts of wind - particularly from either side. If there is a problem then it can easily be solved by weighting the base of the trailer down with concrete blocks or any other suitable material. Of course, due consideration should be given to the towing vehicle. Even a small eight foot trailer can carry ten good sized display adverts. THE DISPLAY ADVERTS: Whilst many firms will have their own sources for poster type displays, you would be well advised to make arrangement with a local poster-maker/sign-writer to meet your prospective customers needs. If they can be reproduced onto Vynal, this will save the need to weather proof them. Again, this is something for the indervidual to decide upon. SET-UP COSTINGS: (excluding the towing vehicle). As it is expected that a second hand trailer is used together with plywood, paint and any other materials bought from the cheapest possible sources, it is impossible to say how much it will cost to set up the business. Also, the decision of what to cover the actual displays with will vary enormously. However, a conservative guesstimate would be that between œ100 and œ300 would be sufficient to get started. INSURANCE: Most motor Insurance Policies allow trailers to be towed but you should, nevertheless, check your insurers to ensure that you are fully covered for the venture - particularly for liability to Third Parties. STAGE ONE RUNNING COSTS: Average sped at 20mph at 40 mpg urban driving at œ2 per gallon = œ1 for one hours continual driving. This of course will vary from vehicle to vehicle. Consideration must be given for the effects that towing the trailer will have on fuel consumption. Page 2 Driving for eight hours a day and allowing for long stop-overs in busy carparks and suitable road sides etc, petrol should be kept down to about œ5 per day. However, allow for œ10 per day to be on the safe side. Each trailer will have eight 2' x 4' display boards on either side plus one large sized one at the back making a total of say eighteen boards to hire out. They can be hired out indervidually or in combinations - whatever the customer wants so long as space is available. To earn œ50 per day plus the œ10 for petrol, it means that each board has to be hired out at approximately œ3.30 per day. Additionally, some revenue may be able to be achieved by renting out the front end of the trailer's boards so long as it can clearly be seen past the towing vehicle. Charging œ15 per week for such high profile advertising will be seen by many businesses as very good value for money - far better than the local newspaper or sales boards. All sorts ofbusinesses would want a 2' wide by 4' high advertising display that is continually being seen by the local community. As every geographical area differs very considerably, you will have to decide your own route around the town in which you intend to operate. Whatever route is decided, it must be the one that will pass the largest number of people as possible The displays can be changed as often as the customers are willing to pay for them. Some customers may want , say, Saturday only in which case a higher charge is made. Other customers may want to have a one-off whilst others will want a semi- permanent arrangement. The secret is being able to competently meet the customers requirements at all times whilst ensuring that you don't have any empty spaces. You would be well advised to only accept professionally produced adverts as if they are not so, it could have an adverse effect on potential advertisers. OVERNIGHT PARKING: Wherever possible, the trailer should be parked so that as many people as possible can clearly see it as this will be a bonus advertising exposure for your customers. STAGE TWO By substituting the towing car with a 'Jap Van' such as a Nissan Urvan, Bedford or Isuzu Midi, Mazda, Toyota or similar, it will enable five boards to be fitted either side of the van without any difficulty as the bodies are all about ten feet long. Such vehicles are very economical and reasonably cheap to buy second hand. It is very important to ensure that the van is clean and tidy at all times although age doesn't matter too much. By changing the towing car to a van, it will be seen that the total number of boards increases to 28 which by then should have allowed your charges to have risen to œ5 per day per board. This will gros œ140 per day which after deducting the petrol and the running costs of the specially purchased van, will leave you with at least œ100 profit per day. For general information, many organisations calculate the full cost of running a vehicle at about 25p per mile. This includes fuel, Road Tax, insurance, M.O.T., maintenance as well as depreciation. On this basis, as you will be driving no more than 100 miles per day, your costs equate out at about œ25 per day. MARKETING: This is going to be the most difficult part.Setting up the physical side of the business is well within the abilities of most people but marketing takes a lot of trail and error to get it right. The cheapest and easiest way of attracting new customers is simply to have one of your display boards carrying your own advertisments, i.e. To rent this space, telephone 0123 456789.To get the business going, you may well have to offer special deals, even to the point of offering spaces free as you really do not want to be seen driving around with a trailer full of empty spaces. Other methods of getting customers include sending carefully worded sales-letters/brochures/flyers to as many local businesses as you possibly can either by hand delivery or post. The process should be an on-going procedure until such times as you are totally satisfied that you have all the customers that you need. Alternatively, telephoning can have the desired results although in truth, telesales can be very disheartening, certainly not for those with a sensitive disposition. On the assumption that you have built up a good enough amount of working capital, it wouldbe a very good idea to contact as many Advertising Agencies as you possibly can. However, it must be remembered that if you send such firms anything less than first class pristine literature then you will be highly unlikely to get any response. From these firms, you may well be able to enter into some kind of commission arrangement for them to sell your spaces for you. Other customers may well come from very surprising places. Politicians for example may feel that it is occasionally worth keeping their faces in the public eye. Theatres may want to draw attention to a special production. Fates, shows and sporting events always need publicity. Insurance Brokers, Accountants and Solicitors may be interested. Out-of-town shops, secondary position shops as well as car showrooms all need to advertise to get customers. With just a little imagination, a whole host of prospective customers will come flooding to the mind - everyone of them in search of cost effective advertising. The more you are seen continually driving around town, the more customers will seek you out. EXTRAS: Just about anything that can be done to make the trailer and towing vehicle as eye-catching as possible should be considered. This may include having display lights fitted, installing an on-board music system, decoratively painting the wheels plus any other gimmicks. However, great care should be taken to make sure that the overall effect is nit gaudy or cheap-looking in any way as this may deter potential customers. SPIN OFFS: With the advent of modern computerised sign-making, it may well be worth finding out the most competitive prices and setting up some kind of commission arrangement for any sign-making/writing orders that you attract. For example, to have a transit van sign written in one colour with simple wording, the prices will vary anywhere between œ100 and œ400. Knowing where to go for the best prices could well prove to be a highly lucrative spin-off. THE COMPETITION: Your main competitor will probably be the local Bus Company as they are likely to already be carrying a hugh amount of advertising both inside and outside of their vehicles. However, if you check out their advertising rates, you will soon discover that you can easily compete with them on a local basis. CONCLUSION: The size, number and price of the sales boards is very much up to the indervidual. It may well be that fivr 8' high x 4' wide boards on each side of a 20' trailer will command an even higher price per square foot, subject to them being able to be properly secured to a suitable trailer. There are many permutations of trailer and towing vehicle, all of which should be considered very carefully. The more eye-catching the trailer is, the greater the number of customers it will attract. As with any new business venture, it is always wise to consult your legal and financial advisers before commencing. |
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