Research shows that 70% of Americans wish they were self-employed. If you’re one of them, then you may look into starting a commercial asphalt business. But getting started can be difficult.
That’s why we’ve put together this article. It provides step-by-step instructions for starting your new commercial asphalt business so that you can get your new company up and running as soon as possible.
Let’s get started.
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1. Come up with a business plan
Having a strong business plan is an extremely important part of starting a new company. It’s the guide that you’ll follow to take your business from an idea into something that can pay your annual salary.
As you’re putting together your business plan, you’ll want to consider things like:
- How much you can expect to earn on your asphalt projects
- How much capital do you need to get the business up and running
- How you’re going to finance your business
What kind of asphalt work will you do?
It’s also worth getting specific about the kind of asphalt work you want. For example, are you going to focus on projects for residential homes? Or will you do work for commercial clients only?
You can certainly work on both kinds of projects. But establishing a niche now may help you focus your efforts so that you can see faster results. Specializing in a certain kind of asphalt work could also be beneficial to your marketing.
How will you stand out from the competition?
The biggest question your business plan needs to answer is why your company should exist. What gap in the local market is there if the competition isn’t filling that?
Maybe there just aren’t enough asphalt companies in your area to satisfy all of the demand. Or, perhaps you need to stand out in another way, such as through better pricing and faster project completions.
2. Get all of your licenses
The next step is procuring all of the licenses that you need to launch your business without getting into legal trouble or incurring any fines. The specific licensees that you need to get will depend on where you’re starting the company, so be sure to check with your local chamber of commerce.
It’s also possible that you will need to complete other steps before being able to launch your business. For example, your local government may require a certain kind of workers’ compensation insurance for businesses of your kind.
3. Purchase equipment
Now you’re ready to purchase the equipment you need to run your business. Your needs will likely include gear like:
- A paving machine
- Rollers
- A mixing machine
- Various kinds of safety equipment
When you add all the purchases you need to makeup, you may find that they’re more expensive than you had hoped. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to give up on your dreams of starting a commercial paving company in Elk Grove, CA.
You may be able to rent some of the equipment that you need. That way, you can go out and complete jobs for your customers without having to come up with a ton of upfront capital to do so.
It’s also sometimes possible to buy used equipment. That’s another avenue you may want to look into if you’re trying to save money while starting your commercial asphalt business.
4. Get insurance
If you haven’t yet, now is the time to take care of your insurance needs. You will typically need a business insurance plan to cover your property and give yourself protection if anyone sues your company.
Getting workers’ compensation insurance and potentially even other kinds of plans may also be necessary. It all depends on your local government’s requirements and how much protection you want.
5. Start advertising your business
Once you have everything in place and are ready to begin working on projects, the next step is advertising your new business. Again, there are many different channels you can use to do this.
For example, you can start a blog and fill it with SEO keywords to get organic traffic coming to your website. You could also put an advertisement in local trade magazines, on local TV, or on local radio programs.
The key is knowing your target audience and engaging with them on that channel.
6. Monitor your progress and adapt
Finally, it’s important not to rest on your laurels after successfully launching your business. You’ll likely need to make changes to your marketing and sales strategies over time based on what you’ve learned during your early projects.
That’s why it’s always a good idea to monitor how each aspect of your company is doing and to make adjustments when they’re necessary. Doing this will ensure you don’t fall behind the competition.
