How to Start a Breakdown and Recovery Service

Are you considering starting your own breakdown and recovery service? As with many motor trade businesses, there’s a lot of demand for breakdown services – but also a lot of competition. You may have concerns that a breakdown and recovery service may not make much profit, but both small and large businesses can turn a decent profit if they are run well.

The key to success with this kind of business is creating a good business plan before you start, which can be used to identify who you will serve, how you will serve them and how you will market to them.

Where Do I Start?

It is a good idea to start by drawing up a draft business plan for your breakdown and recovery service. You will need to include things like start-up costs, any expenses you think you will incur, permits, assets, licences and any insurance needs you may have. 

If you are looking for motor trade insurance, then a good place to start would be Quotezone. Not only do they compare motor insurance quotes from UK based providers, they also take into account everything the insurers offer and any add-ons that are available to you. They also search the market for other types of insurance including business insurance.

After Drawing Up a Business Plan, What Should I Do Next?

Once your business plan is complete and you know roughly how much it is going to cost to undertake, you can begin looking for the equipment you will require to run your business. This will include searching for a recovery and towing truck that suits the needs of your business. You will also need to buy other equipment such as floodlights, cones and strobe lighting. Before purchasing the equipment, you should consider where you are going to store it. You could consider hiring a storage unit to store both your towing truck and any vehicles you recover. Search around for somewhere that suits both your needs and your budget. 

Employing Staff

Before employing staff, you need to decide how many members of staff you will need and what their job roles will be. For example, you may hire highly trained mechanics that can fix basic problems on the roadside without having to tow the vehicle back to the garage, or you may hire less well-trained members of staff to save money and therefore not offer this option.

Your breakdown business may also benefit from hiring staff who have completed a course like this one that deals with keeping records of financial affairs to help you make informed decisions on expenditures, investments, and controlling cash flow.

It is a good idea to begin with only a small number of employees and then increase this over time once you start making a profit. You will need to hold interviews to make sure that you find the most suitable employees. It is a good idea to check their past employment history, any experience they may have had, if they’ve had any car accidents in the past few years, and whether they have any points on their licence.  

Register Your Business

Once you have your plans in place, it is imperative that you register your business. You will need to apply for any permits and business licenses that may be required. Once you have registered your business, you will need to apply for a driver’s and towing license. They will ask to see proof of the insurance that you have in place.

Advertise

Once your business has been registered, you can begin advertising your business. It has been shown that handing out flyers and business cards around your local area can bring in a lot of business and help you get your business off the ground. You could also visit local garages and body shop places that may need a recovery company for their customers. If you build up a good relationship with them and offer them small discounts to begin with, they may recommend your company to other people.

Another good place to advertise is on social media. Set up a site online and advertise it to your friends and family. Ask them to share posts with their friends too so that it reaches a wider audience. You could also choose to offer small discounts when you first set up. People are more likely to use your service again if they have established a good relationship with you in the past. It is important that you tell people what time your business is open from and to. If you advertise that your business is open both day and night, you may stand out from your competition.

Starting a breakdown and recovery service can seem daunting, but by starting off with a business plan and then slowly building up your business, you will start turning a profit in no time.