When it comes to starting a new business endeavor, you need to make sure that you have a firm foundation to build upon. An event rental business plan is an essential document that you can refer back to as the company grows or shifts over time.

However, it is also a key piece of the puzzle if you are attempting to get a small business loan from the bank. You need to prove that your party and events rental business can turn a profit so that the lender can rest easy about their investment in you. With a party rental business plan in hand, you can make a great first impression.

Let’s look at the different sections your business plan should include:

Industry Overview

The foundation of your business plan begins with the industry overview. This overview doesn’t have to be a long section of your plan, but it should be enough to give lenders an idea of why your particular business could be profitable.

In this section, you will list specific statistics about the industry as a whole, revenue expectations, and growth percentages for your particular area.

Executive Summary

In your party tent rental business plan, you will want to have a small section for an executive summary. This key component of the business plan details why you want to start this business, a short biography about why you are the best person to run the company, and a brief description of the services you plan to provide.

Keep in mind that this is meant to be just a summary and does not need to be too lengthy. You may have the best success writing this section last. Once you have a firm idea of what else is included in the business plan, summarizing it should be simple.

Service List

If you want to make a great impression with your business plan, you need to have a clear idea of what services your company will provide. Most party and event rental companies offer tents and other items that are easily rented by customers. However, you may want to consider renting out additional items such as:

• Tablecloths, napkins, and other linens
• Centerpieces
• Tables and chairs
• Audio or visual equipment
• Lighting

In a tent rental business model, you might have an extensive list of equipment that you need to purchase to get your company off the ground. Make sure to thoroughly list all of the rental services you intend to offer to potential customers in this section of your business plan.

This list also gives the lender some idea of how much initial capital you will need to get the company off the ground.

Mission Statement and Vision

While the other parts of your event rental business plan are likely to be focused on the services and bottom line, you also need a clear idea of where your business is headed. Relaying your vision and mission statement clearly is essential. This section is the area where you will set long-term goals for the company.

Keep in mind that you are here to run a business, so this section can focus on the growth you hope to see in the market and how you can become a leader in the event and party rental industries.

Structure and Roles

Who is going to help you run your business? Even if you are the sole employee, you need to be very clear on what roles you will play within the company. You might be the CEO but also be in charge of the day-to-day operations. However, if your organization isn’t limited to just you, then you will need to define the roles within your company.

SWOT Analysis

The chances are that you have heard of the SWOT analysis before, even if you haven’t done one for your event rental business plan. It stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The primary goal of this section of the party rental business plan is to demonstrate how your company will fare in the marketplace.

Where will your business shine, and where will you face more struggles? It is a good idea to be as specific as possible about the strengths of your business. However, you may want to be a little vague about the potential weaknesses of the company. For example, you might cite more competition as the major weakness for your company.

Marketing Strategies

How will your business get in front of more people? There should be a dedicated section in your tent rental business plan about your marketing strategies.

In this section, you can include print materials or advertisements in local publications. You might also include the costs of creating a website, investing in search engine optimization, and paid social media advertisements.

Under this section, you should also identify who you are marketing to. Does your event rental business cater to party-planning professionals, wedding planners, or a unique section of the local population? Narrowing down who you are marketing to helps you to spend your advertising budget wisely.

Sales Forecast

When it comes to securing a loan for your tent rental business model, the lender wants to know how you plan to make money. If you haven’t yet opened the doors to your business, predicting this can be a bit of a challenge. You may have to base your sales forecast numbers on the industry averages for your local area.

Of course, your business will hopefully grow over the first years of operation. As a result, most business owners will want to include separate sections for their first, second, and even third year in business.

This segmented approach allows you to account for the initial investment in equipment such as tents and tables so that you can demonstrate how much more profit you will make in subsequent years of operation.

Pricing Strategy

Whether you have to purchase all new equipment or already own some of the materials, it is crucial to outline how your business will make money. Compare how much you will rent out your party supplies with how much of an investment you must make in them.

This section is also the place to sort out the details regarding additional fees you might charge and how deposits for your rentals will be handled.

Business Expenses

No business plan would be complete without a closer look at how much money you will spend on your expenses. This assessment can include the initial startup costs of purchasing tents, tables, and chairs. It also includes any month-to-month expenses such as storage rentals or operational costs such as rental management software.

Once you know what you expect to spend on your business, it can be easier to justify a business loan to the bank and prove that your events rental business will start to turn a profit quickly. Take your time filling out this section making sure that everything you need is included.

When you own a dumpster rental business, it’s important to keep bringing in new customers, while also keeping old customers engaged. The best way to do this is to create successful marketing campaigns.

However, this can be challenging when you’re on a budget and don’t have much. marketing experience. Here are ten marketing tips that can help you create smart marketing strategies for your dumpster rental company.

1. Research Your Customers

Before you can market to your customers, you have to know who they are and what they need. In many cases, your dumpster rental business will target several different categories of customers. For example, you might decide to market your roll-off rental and waste removal services to:

• Homeowners doing basement cleanouts and DIY projects
• Home improvement contractors
• Warehouses and manufacturing plants
• Small office buildings and schools

Once you know who you are going to market to, you can learn as much about each customer group as possible. This can include how they will use your products, the features that will be most appealing to them, and where they will learn about your company.

2. Create a Quality Website

More rental businesses and individuals than ever are using the internet to do business. Because of this, most marketing tips are going to focus on that. This popularity is why it’s important to have a professional-looking website that is fully owned by your business. Because, no matter how you advertise your business, people are going to eventually come to your website.

Here are the characteristics of a quality website:

You Own the Domain Name

Don’t be tempted by cheap website builders that host your website for free, as long as you include their name in your URL and allow them to post ads on your site. Invest the money in a professional site that is linked to your business name.

It Works on all Devices

Your website should work just as well on a mobile device as it does on a PC or laptop.

It Has Information and Features People Need

• Your website should include:
• Contact information
• Forms to place an order or request information
• Product and pricing info
• Service area map
• Company history and business information
• Links to your social media

3. Build a Social Media Presence

When customers have questions or concerns about your dumpster rental services, they may not pick up the phone. Instead, many will come to your Facebook page or other social media sites to learn about your business and contact you.

If you want to earn their business, you’re going to need to create a social media presence and keep it active. That means posting regularly, keeping your profiles up to date, and engaging with customers when they have questions or comments.

4. Make Great Content

Content marketing may be the most powerful tool you have to reach your audience. This form of marketing includes:

• Blogging
• Social media posts
• Creating and sharing videos and images on YouTube and Instagram

Content marketing can be informational. For example, you could share a video with dumpster safety tips. It can be promotional (e.g., a Facebook post about an upcoming special you intend to run). It can even be entertaining, such as sharing a humorous cartoon you think your audience will enjoy.

The point of content marketing is to build customer relationships while also educating people about your company. Best of all, it’s free.

5. Engage in Brand Building

Brand building makes your company memorable and recognizable. Part of branding is tangible. It includes your logo, company tagline, the colors you use in your advertising, the magnetic signs on your trucks, etc.

The other part is intangible. That’s the personality that comes through in your ads and marketing. If your brand was represented as a person, what would they be like? For branding to work, it has to appeal to your audience, it must be authentic, and it must be consistent.

6. Invest in Paid Advertising Where it Makes Sense

It can be worth paying for advertising if you get a good return on your investment. Here are some quick advertising tips to consider:

• Advertise where your audience is (radio, tv, Facebook, Google)
• Don’t waste time on ads where you aren’t going to reach your target audience
• Your ads should align with your branding
• Track paid ad campaigns to see what makes the most money

Finally, include a clear call to action in your ads so that your customers know exactly what you want them to do.

7. Reach out to Other Businesses

Dumpster rental is an industry in which referrals and recommendations can truly drive your business. Some of the best dumpster rental marketing you can do will be reaching out to businesses that can recommend you to their customers and other businesses.

Focus on real estate agents, home improvement contractors, house flippers, and home builders. Each of these can be a source of new referrals.

8. Do Market Research

Market research lets you know which of your marketing efforts are paying off and which ones aren’t. You don’t need to hire an expensive agency for this. The information you need is right at your fingertips:

• Ask customers how they learned about your business.
• Pay attention to customer records to see which groups you are targeting most successfully.
• Use Google Analytics and social media tools to see how many leads you are getting from different platforms.

Once you have the data, you can determine how you want to proceed with marketing in the future.

9. Earn Great Reviews

Marketing isn’t just what you have to say about yourself. It’s what others have to say as well. Encourage your satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on your website, Google, and other consumer sites. Then, share these on your social media pages for an added boost.

10. Optimize for SEO

SEO is search engine optimization. It’s the practice of creating content and designing your website so that your pages appear in search engine results when people look for relevant keywords.

Identify the words and phrases people will use when they search for your services. Then, incorporate them naturally into your website content, ads, and social media posts.

Bolster Your Marketing with a Great eCommerce Platform

Your marketing will be most effective when it leads your customers to an eCommerce site that makes it easy to do business with you. Count on Quipli to provide you with the infrastructure and support you need for your equipment rental site.

AUTOMATE YOUR RENTAL BUSINESS WITH QUIPLI’S SOFTWARE

Every dumpster rental company does essentially the same thing. They rent out dumpsters of various sizes to clients for a specified length of time and coordinate the drop-off and pickup of the dumpsters. 

This similarity can make it difficult to get your business to stand out and attract new customers, but that’s where marketing comes in. If you take the time to learn the ins and outs of the industry, then you can learn how to diversify and market your business to stand out from competitors, including big corporations.

Recent Trends in the Dumpster Rental Industry​

Between 2014 and 2019, the dumpster rental industry saw moderate growth, with many local rental companies popping up all over the country. The client base of dumpster rental companies mostly consists of construction companies, both residential and commercial. 

However, there is also a significant demand for dumpster rentals in the industrial sector, as well as for things like home improvement projects.

In total, over 300 dumpster rental companies are operating in the US, but don’t let this discourage you. The actual number of businesses you are competing with is far smaller. 

Dumpster rental companies tend to be localized, and only operate within a certain radius of their business headquarters. So instead of competing with every rental business in the country, you are only competing with the ones nearby, plus a few big players that have a nationwide reach. 

In general, the performance of the industry is linked to the overall performance of the economy. In times of economic boom, the increase in construction projects and consumer spending will drive up demand for dumpster rentals. Despite occasional dips, the industry is still projected to grow steadily in the coming years. 

How the Pandemic Affected the Industry​

Since the rental industry is closely linked to the overall national economy, it’s not surprising that the industry saw a dip during the coronavirus pandemic. As everything came to a halt, so did countless construction projects and a significant number of dumpster rental contracts. 

However, as things begin to get back to normal, the industry is expected to reach pre-COVID levels in the coming years and continue to grow. 

Of course, small businesses were hit the worst by the pandemic since they do not have the same financial cushion that large corporations have. This decline forced a lot of businesses to evaluate how they do business and how they can attract new business. 

A new sense of importance was placed on marketing and presentation as businesses tried to attract customers to stay afloat. 

How to Compete

Thankfully, one or two corporations don’t control the entire dumpster rental industry. The largest three industry leaders of dumpster rentals only generate about one-quarter of the entire industry’s revenue. This ratio means that there’s still lots of business for the little guys — you just have to know how to get it. 

Research Local Competitors

The best place to start is to do some research on your local competition. By finding out what products and services they offer, what their website looks like, and what their prices are, you can get a better idea of how to make your business stand out. 

For example, if dumpster rental companies near you do not offer delivery on weekends or 24/7 customer support, you can offer that as a way to stand out.

Diversify Services

To attract more clients, cast a wider net with the services and products you offer. By diversifying your dumpster rental inventory and services, you can create more streams of revenue for your business. 

Diversification can be as simple as stocking more sizes. It can also be more complex, like creating some sort of loyalty program as a way to get clients to return.

Focus on Customer Service

The biggest leverage your small business has over big corporations is customer service. Big corporations can sink money into hiring hundreds of customer service reps, but they are not able to provide the individualized and personal customer service that local businesses can. 

 

Simply getting to know your clients and making them feel heard by providing prompt, knowledgeable, and helpful customer service is one of the best ways to ensure clients will return.

Increase Your Online Presence

In today’s increasingly digital world, a company’s online presence is extremely important. People want to be able to learn everything they need to know about a company from their website, so that they can compare nearby businesses without having to make several calls or schedule face-to-face meetings.

Create a Positive Customer Experience​

Instead of focusing solely on attracting new customers, you should also focus on how to get customers to return. If you can create a positive customer experience, then your clients will be more likely to give you their business again in the future and to recommend your company to other people looking for dumpster rentals. 

Of course, this includes customer service, but the full customer experience encompasses every step of the rental process, from booking to delivery and pick up.

Many small businesses overlook the effect their website has on their customer’s experience, but a clunky, outdated, and hard-to-navigate site is going to ward off potential clients. 

However, a streamlined website that is informative, captivating, and easy to navigate will create a positive first impression and increase the chance of a potential client giving you their business. 

If you do not have the technical knowledge to create an engaging and functional rental website, don’t sweat, you can easily create one using Quipli. Quipli is an eCommerce rental software solution that allows small businesses to compete with large corporations and stand out from the local competitors. 

With the software, your clients can quickly and easily book the rentals they need, and you can manage rental inventory, deliveries, and pick-ups all in one place. If you’re ready to take your dumper rental business to the next level, check out Quipli today to book a demo of our industry-leading rental software!

Learn About Quipli’s Dumpster Rental Software

No matter what kind of business you’re interested in starting, you’re going to need a well-put-together business plan if you’re going to succeed.

Not only is planning essential to your success, but it’s also something that any lender will have to see before providing a loan to start your business. With a good small equipment rental business plan, you can make a great impression and get the funding you need.

Your business plan should start with an industry overview, which serves as a sort of introduction. This brief section will discuss the general state of the construction industry to serve as a lead in to why you believe that your business will be profitable in this area.

The Industry Overview section should include some publicly available statistics on construction and rental industries, total revenue in the country and the state, growth percentages over the last few years, and other very general information at this point in your plan.

The Industry Overview

Your business plan should start with an industry overview, which serves as a sort of introduction. This brief section will discuss the general state of the construction industry to serve as a lead in to why you believe that your business will be profitable in this area.

The Industry Overview section should include some publicly available statistics on construction and rental industries, total revenue in the country and the state, growth percentages over the last few years, and other very general information at this point in your plan.

The Executive Summary

The executive summary is just that, a summary. In this section, you can go over why you’re interested in starting a construction equipment rental company, what kinds of services you’re going to provide, and some details about your background.

While this is one of the first sections of any heavy equipment rental business plan PDF template, it’s often the best practice to write it last. Because it serves as an introduction to the remainder of the plan, you should have a very firm idea of what’s to follow.

Your Services

Next, you’ll need a thorough description of what your actual services are going to be. In the case of equipment rentals, you’ll describe that you’ll be acquiring equipment to rent to individuals and companies in your area.

At this point, you should consider if rentals are going to be your only service. Most rental businesses sell at least accessories for some equipment and often provide repairs as well. If you intend to provide additional services, you’ll have to include them here.

The Mission Statement and Vision

While this section might seem like a bit of departure from the more practical parts of the business plan, it is expected and will be included in any construction equipment rental business plan PDF templates.

Here, you’ll generally explain that your mission statement and vision are to provide quality service as a rental business and to thrive within the market. You don’t have to make up something about values or principles; you’re here to start a business.

The Structure and Roles

Getting back to the details of how your business is going to run, you’ll have to define what the roles in your company are going to be. Depending on the size of the business you’re setting up, are you going to be the CEO, owner, manager, or all three?

Small businesses could just be one person, or perhaps several who all share in a variety of duties. For larger endeavors, you’ll have to define roles like maintenance manager, rentals and leasing manager, and more.

The SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It’s a way of looking at your business to find which areas you believe you’ll excel in and which will present challenges.

For your strengths, you might like to mention any past experience in either equipment or business in general. You don’t want to go too far into your weaknesses, perhaps just mentioning that there are plenty of competitors, but make sure to mention how your business plans to differentiate itself.

Your Sales and Marketing Strategies

Here, you’ll have to explain how your business plans to present itself and put itself out there to get started and find customers. Some common strategies might include brochures, a website, social media, or ads in local print publications.

You should also specify who your target market is supposed to be. Are you exclusively renting heavy equipment to construction contractors? Are you renting smaller equipment to mostly homeowners?

Your Sales Forecast

When dealing with lenders, they’re going to want to know how much money your business plans on making. While determining these kinds of forecasts can be difficult, you can often base them on industry averages within your region.

These should be broken down by fiscal year, so basically stating what you forecast your sales to be in the first, second, and third years of operation. Any information about a similar business would be very helpful in putting this together.

Your Pricing Strategy

So you’ve acquired some equipment to rent out, but how much does it cost to rent? Are there additional fees? Do customers have to put down deposits? What payment methods are accepted? These are some important questions to answer in your pricing strategy.

This section should also reference the ratio between equipment costs and rental rates to demonstrate that equipment rentals will be profitable over the lifetime of the equipment.

Your Business Expenses

Of course, your business plan is going to have to include a breakdown of your expected expenses. This breakdown will have to include both the initial expenses of opening your business and the ongoing operational expenses you can expect to continue into the future.

Your startup expenses will play a big part in justifying any loans you’re seeking, and a well-defined explanation of operational expenses will play a big part in demonstrating that your business can be profitable.

If this all sounds like a bit much, you can greatly streamline the process of developing your equipment rental business plan by downloading our straightforward business plan template PDF.

Setting Up Your New Rental Business for Success With Quipli

Even with an effective business plan, your rental business needs careful oversight and the right tools to succeed. Quipli provides an integrated platform that combines your inventory management and online presence to make online bookings that much easier for your customers.

To find out more about the many features of the Quipli platform and what they can do for your business, Contact our Team at Quipli for a demo of online equipment rental checkout software today!

Get Started With Quipli’s Construction Rental Equipment Software Today

With the recent rise in home improvement projects, associated industries have been growing. One of those industries is the dumpster rental business.

Both homeowners and contractors need a simple and easy way to handle construction waste during projects, and more often than not, they turn to dumper rental businesses for convenient and affordable waste disposal.

How Does a Dumpster Rental Business Work?

A dumpster rental business is like many other types of rental businesses, but it also differs in many ways. One of the most important things to consider when figuring out how to start a dumpster rental business is that the business also incorporates delivery, pickup, and waste disposal.

The most common type of dumpster rental is the roll-off dumpster. These make pick up and drop off much faster and easier but require a specialized truck to do so. The dumpster “rolls off” the back of the truck and is loaded back on with a winch.

The process is pretty simple: First, the dumpster rental company drops off the dumpster. Then, the customer fills it with construction or other waste. Finally, the dumpster rental company picks it up. It’s then up to the dumpster rental company to dispose of the waste properly and prepare the dumpster for the next rental.

What Is a Dumpster Rental Company’s Business Model?

Developing an effective business plan is an important step in how to open a dumpster rental store. You’ll have to have a very clear understanding of what your business model is going to be to put that plan together.

A dumpster rental company makes money from rentals and has to leverage that against the cost of dumpsters, trucks, and waste disposal. While this might cause you to wonder, “are dumpster rentals a profitable business?” they generally are and can quickly grow.

To get financing for initial costs, you’ll have to define your dumpster rental business model in your business plan. There are dumpster rental business plan PDF templates available to make this easier. You’ll also have to make sure to properly form your business so that you can get the necessary insurance.

What Are the Costs of Running a Dumpster Rental Business?

When preparing a dumpster rental business plan, it’s important to consider what the costs of getting started are going to be. Among the most significant are going to be the truck or trucks needed for your businesses. These can range widely in cost depending on if you go new or used.

A new roll-off dumpster truck is going to cost over $150,000, while you can find used ones in passable condition for as little as $60,000. This cost is going to be the single largest expense in how to start a roll-off dumpster business by far, and you’ll also have to consider ongoing maintenance costs as well.

Now, where are you going to keep your dumpsters? Are you renting a lot somewhere? Do you own land? Are you buying new land? This need is something else to take into consideration, as these dumpsters do take up quite a bit of space if you’re building up a considerable inventory.

Depending on what scale you’re planning on starting out at, you may also need to hire employees. Paying them will be a considerable ongoing cost that you can’t ignore when figuring out how to start a dumpster business.

You’ll also need to develop an understanding of the appropriate waste disposal rates at local landfills. They’ll probably have different categories for different types of waste, and that’s going to play into how much you charge your customers and what your margins are.

On top of all that, there are several administrative and housekeeping costs as well. You’ll need a budget for advertising and setting up a website, or none of your potential customers will be able to find out that your services are available.

How Much does Acquiring Dumpsters Cost?

Of course, you’re going to need roll-off dumpsters for your business. There are many different types and models of roll-off dumpsters available. Generally, you can find them in sizes of 15, 20, 30, and 40 cubic yards. These will range from 12 to 22 feet long.

You can find them ranging from as little as $1,000 to as much as $6,000 or even more for certain types of specialty dumpsters. You’re going to probably want at least 10 to have a reasonable business plan.

How much does a dumpster rental business make? Well, it all comes down to how many dumpsters they rent, so you always want to have enough inventory for your customers.

How Can My Dumpster Rental Business Reach Customers?

Once you have all of the dumpsters and your truck ready to go, there’s still work to be done. You have to ask how to grow a dumpster rental business if you’re going to get ahead. That’s going to mean making an effective strategy for finding customers.

Having clear signage on both your dumpsters and your trucks with contact information is one of the most efficient ways to do so. Anyone who sees your dumpsters in someone’s yard will know that your business is available for dumpster rentals if they should ever need one.

Providing an optimized website is also important so that anyone searching for dumpster rentals in your area can find you. Similarly, you can try local print ads or direct mail to contractors.

What Kinds of Waste do Dumpster Rental Companies Handle?

Most dumpster rental business ideas center around the construction and renovation industry. Renovations and demolitions are some of the most common activities that generate enough waste to necessitate a dumpster rental but not enough to hire a dump truck.

Construction waste can include a variety of materials. Wood, concrete, brick, stone, asphalt, shingles, and more. Most landfills will simply categorize this as “construction waste” and apply a simple per ton rate to it.

Dumpsters are sometimes also required for landscaping, in which case they’ll be filled with a variety of yard debris. This waste could include trees and other plants, sod, soil, and rocks. Unless it’s soil that’s being removed due to contamination, there aren’t any special considerations needed here.

The Importance of Reservation and Inventory Management

Your dumpster rental business start-up relies on providing your customers with easy access to your inventory. They should be able to know what’s available and make reliable reservations without any hassle.

Inventory is essential to how to run a dumpster rental business. When a customer makes a reservation, you need to know that it’s been effectively registered in your system so that you don’t end up with double bookings that cost you return customers.

Ideally, you should have rental equipment checkout software that handles this part of your business. Inventory management is too important to leave up to chance, so you should be using the best solution available today.

Comprehensive Inventory Management With Quipli

Quipli makes inventory management easy with all of the tools that your business needs to succeed. The integrated system handles reservations and inventory seamlessly, providing easy bookings through your professional and straightforward website.

If you’re starting a dumpster rental business and interested to see what our construction equipment rental software features we offer contact our team at Quipli and Book a Demo Today!