How to Open a Car-Hire Business

A car-hire business can be the perfect start-up opportunity. The great thing about this business is you need little experience and relatively little capital to start. All you need is a car, a driver and a little publicity. If you live in a metropolitan area where there is a high-volume of businesspeople commuting to one location or if you have a hybrid or alternative-energy car, this kind of business should make you a good penny.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Car/van
• Driver
• Secretary

1. Buy or use a car that seats as many people as possible. It may be to your advantage to buy a hybrid or something that runs on alternative energy like biodiesel, as this will provide incentive for customers to use your service.

2. Hire or be the driver for your car-hire service. This kind of business takes just one person to run the whole thing. Rush hour (6-10 a.m.; 3-7 p.m.) will be the prime time for servicing clients.

3. Plan your route during off-peak hours. The best time to return calls and schedule pick-ups is between 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., or in the evenings up to 10 p.m. Your route should be easy and manageable. Don’t try to be overly ambitious and plan too many stops within a short amount of time.

4. Hire a secretary/publicist when things get too busy for you to manage on your own. Your secretary will be responsible for scheduling as well as advertising your service. Once your business is up and running, you will need help to allow room for it to grow.

5. Keep a record of your expenses and your profits, and always feed some of your earnings back to your company to keep it running smoothly. In many states, your business can receive tax breaks because you are essentially helping the environment. It’s important to understand the financial aspects of your business and be vigilant about where your money comes from and where it goes.

Tips & Warnings

• Now, in every major city, companies are taking advantage of tax breaks by encouraging employees to commute, carpool, or hire a transportation service to get to work. With gasoline reaching all-time highs all over the world, it’s time someone capitalized on the blooming energy industry.

Resources

• Portland's EcoShuttle Service

[monamodi]

on 10/31/2008 i want to rent out cars..like 16 of them..how do i start,,wht do i need..how many employs do i need..land,security..as few as possible..advice please