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 individually painted or
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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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