The Pros and Cons of a Mobile Business

The Pros and Cons of a Mobile Business Thanks to the huge popularity in food trucks, which have sprung up to great success in recent years, many businesses, even those not in the food industry, have started to think about the prospect of taking their businesses mobile, and many have done so successfully from mobile barbershops to dog groomers, and even mobile party buses. If you run a business, or you’re thinking of starting one, you may yourself be thinking about taking your operation mobile Before you do though, you should take some time to think about the pros and cons because although it can work well for many businesses, it certainly isn’t for everyone.To help you do that, here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of taking your business mobile: The Pros Low Startup Costs One of the biggest benefits of starting a mobile business is that it typically costs less to do so than setting up in a bricks and mortar shops. So, if you’re just starting out, or you’re looking to expand into new markets, it can be a good choice. Your average mobile more trailer or truck will set you back between $5000 and $20000  size, condition and finish and this is far more affordable in the long-term than the $10,000 per year that it would cost to rent just 1000 square feet of commercial space. That’s before you take into account other property fees and taxes that you may be liable to pay in your area. More Potential Customers If your business is based in a single location bricks and mortar unit, then you clearly have a limited number of potential customers. Only those people who live or work close by, and potentially tourists if you’re based in a popular area, will come into contact with your company and maybe pop in. If, however, your business is mobile, you potentially have an infinite number of people to entice in. You are only limited by your own efforts and how many locations you choose to take your company out to. If you don’t get much interest in one area, you can simply move and try somewhere else you can basically find your target market instead of having them find you. This could save you lots of money on marketing dollars apart from anything else. Smaller Inventory Mobile businesses can typically get away with stocking a smaller selection of products because customers are well aware that trucks and trailers have a limited amount of space. This means that you can save money by not spending so much on stock in advance. Even more importantly, it gives you the opportunity to curate a really good selection of stuff. If you do this well and appeal to a particular niche, you could have customers queuing up to get their fix every single time you’re in town. Just make sure that you ask for and listen to customer feedback so that you DO stock the things that they really want to buy or your small selection could backfire on you and make your mobile business less appealing. Payment is Easy A lot of mobile businesses deal in cash, but these days, all you need is a card swiper and you can take credit and debit card payments on the go too, which means that you will never have to turn any customers away. The Cons Local Laws One of the potential sticking points with a mobile business is the law. The laws and regulations that apply in one town or state may be very much different than those that apply in another area, which means you will have to do a lot of due diligence to ensure that you can, for example, park in a particular area or sell a certain product where you are. Marketing Since you won’t have a permanent location, you won’t be able to list your business space on Google Maps or similar tools that make it easy for customers to find you. This means that you may need to do a little more marketing to ensure that the right people can find you at the right time. This could be a headache, but with social media, it is getting much easier to market your company locally to the right audience, You will need to do this diligently to see results though, so hiring a social media manager could be a good idea. You need people to know when you will be around if you want them to pay a visit and spend some money with you. Would your business suit going mobile?