With the winter months upon us, the snow plowing business is witnessing a huge boom. This business is estimated at $19 billion annually.
Snow plowing is a seasonal business that can be scaled up very quickly if you have the core infrastructure in place.
If you are new to this field and want to set up a snow removal business right from scratch, then you should read through this blog to get some pointers to do it systematically.
Guide to Starting a Snow Plowing Business
Identify your business goals
- The first step while setting up any business endeavor is to figure out beforehand what are your business goals.
If you are starting this business for the first time, then you must have adequate finance to set up your business, buy specialized equipment, and hire skilled workers for the job.
The initial investment will also include the cost of the advertisements to promote your services to potential clients.
- The second thing is to figure out whether you want to create a one-man business (which you can do during the winter season and then fold it up when it is over) or want to branch out from your existing business to earn some extra profit in the winter months.
If you are looking for a one-man show, then you must focus your attention on small households on businesses that are not a great area of priority for big snow-plowing companies.
- You must register your business so that you can use the name to advertise your services amongst your target audience.
- As a one-time investment, it makes no sense to create a business that would be operational only for a few months in a year. Therefore, expand your snow removal business to other areas when the winter season is over.
You can use the existing snow removal equipment for street cleaning services or even landscaping. This will allow you to keep your equipment engaged and make sure that your business is earning revenue 365 days a year.
Compile an Equipment Checklist
- You must invest judicially in equipment that will allow you to handle the snow plowing job perfectly.
The first part is to buy a truck that will allow you to carry the plow. This truck should be custom-designed and have a very powerful suspension system and greater towing power.
- When you are trying to find out which tow will be ideal for your business, then you can choose a straight plow, a V-shaped plow, or a box plow.
Each one of these has its advantages as well as disadvantages. Therefore, you must have a combination of plows to do your job effectively.
Furthermore, you must also look at the plow size carefully. If you are focusing on small businesses or driveway jobs, you must buy smaller plows that can be easily maneuvered in tight spaces.
- If you have the money, then you should invest in snowblowers which are excellent for clearing the sidewalks and driveways efficiently. As they allow you to clear the snow very fast, you can work for more clients earning more profits.
- You should also have a salt and sand spreader to minimize the formation of ice on the roads or driveways. As they can be easily fitted onto your pickup trucks, they will be immensely helpful in keeping the road clear of any snow.
Find an Emergency Backup
- You must network with other businesses that offer snow plowing services so that in case of any emergency (equipment breakdown, sickness of the worker et cetera) they can lend a hand and remove the snow from your client’s driving.
- This will create a good impression in the mind of your client that whatever the situation may be, you will offer them the services that they desire.
Advertise your services
- After you have created a plan of how to start a snow plowing business, you must focus your attention on advertising your services to your target audience.
- There are numerous ways through which you can advertise your services, which can be both traditional as well as digital.
- You can advertise through flyers, putting ads in the newspaper or billboards, emailing your target audience, and so on.
- You can also create a highly interactive snow removal app that will allow the app user to not only look at the various packages on offer but also provide you with valuable feedback.
- As most people use smartphones and mobile apps to find new products and services available online, you must hire the best developer to create a great-looking snow removal app for your target audience.
- If you are finding it hard to do extensive advertisements in the neighborhood/city where your business is situated due to budget constraints, then focus on targeted advertisements.
In this approach, you must first find out about small businesses or homeowner associations in your area of operation connect with them, and offer, your services at highly competitive prices.
- You must always look at how your competitors are doing in the market that you are also targeting. Find out how much they are charging for their services and then match it with your charges or even less with better service.
It is important to create a good reputation in the market for offering high-quality services at competitive prices.
Create a great impression on your client through quality service
- Whatever amount of money you invest in your equipment, will not give you the desired result if you don’t back it with high-quality service.
- It is always important that you are punctual, otherwise, you will lose the goodwill of your client.
- If you are clearing the driveway or the road in front of a small company, then you must realize that the more time you spend on the job, the more money your client will lose as he/she cannot operate the business which is a huge mound of snow sitting on the driveway.
- Always offer clear rules of what you will do and how you will do it.
- You must keep your clients informed about any approaching snowstorm so that they can take precautions and also engage your services early on so that after the snowstorm is over, they can quickly resume their business operations.
You must always upgrade your equipment to ensure that you are using the best machines to clear the snow at double-quick time.
Getting insurance cover
- Insurance is very important to cover any liability that you may incur while running the snow plowing business.
Conclusion
We hope you have understood the process of starting a snow plowing business.
If you have decided to start a snow-plowing business, you can make a website, app, or both as per your budget. Firstly, you should keep an eye on the best snow-plowing apps to understand what works in the market. Further, decide on the business goals.
Later, you should reach out to a web or mobile app development company. They will create a strategic business plan and follow it thoroughly to create a suitable app or website. Ultimately, they will launch your website or app as per the business needs.
