If you enjoy being around ATVs, working on them, talking about them, keeping up to date with new models, and going on ATV adventures, a startup renting ATVs is worth considering.
An ATV rental business can be a life-changing step, so do your research and consider what you are getting into before starting.
“It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.” ~ Donald Rumsfeld
This post will cover the steps to start your ATV business, followed by a few points to consider. Finally, you will reach the resource section to broaden your knowledge and stay on top of the industry.
Steps to Starting an ATV Rental Business
1. Make Sure Running a Business Is Right For You
When you appreciate ATVs and have a strong interest in them, that translates into a passion, a crucial factor driving business success.
If you have a passion for your business, you can make it work better than starting a business for other reasons.
When you’re passionate, you work twice as hard to make the business work as opposed to starting a company that you’re in just for the money.
For more, see Business Startup Considerations.
2. Research
Business Research
Research is one of the most important things you can do before you start a business. The better your research, the fewer surprises, and problems you’ll encounter.
You can follow a few techniques from the link below to help you get an inside look into an ATV rental business by getting information from those experienced in the ATV industry.
I suggest you spend time on this process, which will pay off in the end!
See An Inside Look Into the Business You Want To Start for more.
Target Audience
The more you know about your target customers, the better off you’ll be.
With a strong understanding of your customers, you’ll be able to make adjustments to give them what they want, and you’ll be better at creating advertising campaigns that have an impact and bring customers.
For more, see, How To Understand Your Target Market.
3. Setup Considerations
You need a vision of what your business will look like when it’s open to the public.
A few questions include the following:
- Are you planning a small operation with only a few ATVs? Or a larger one with many types to choose from?
- To enhance the customer experience, will you use your land for people to explore on ATVs or lease an area?
- Will you have a shop to store and repair your ATVs?
- Will you operate in the summer and winter?
- Will you perform the maintenance, use a repair service, or hire an ATV mechanic?
The more you focus on your vision, the easier it will be during the startup phase.
Now it’s worth noting you could have a vision, and during your research, you could find your vision changes because you come across something you didn’t know about, and that’s okay to look at something better than what you had, but for now, start with a vision.
4. Choosing The Right Business Location
When you consider the location of your startup, you’ll need to do your research to determine if there is a market for ATV rentals.
If there is no demand, then there is no reason to start your business in that location. If you start in an area with many competing businesses, getting any part of the market as a newcomer will be difficult. Take your time to research your location.
For more, see Choosing The Best Location for Your Business.
5. Choose a Business Name
Choosing a name for your business is something you will choose today, but it will be with you as long as you own it.
Business names rarely change unless a merger or the business is bought out. Use the links below to help choose a catchy, memorable business name available for registration.
For this important step, see How To Register a Business Name.
6. Register Your Business
Choosing a business structure is an important point. Depending on your vision will guide you on which structure you should choose.
I suggest you consult with a professional such as a lawyer, accountant, or both. They can give you the advice you need for your vision and situation.
See, How to Register your Business for more.
7. Create Your Corporate ID
A Corporate Identity is a collection of elements such as your log, stationary, business sign, website, promotional items, brochures, and business cards.
Your Corporate ID must have a professional design because it’s the face of your business, and you want to make a positive impression on your customers.
You don’t need all the components now, but you at least want your logo and business cards and can get the rest as needed.
See A Complete Introduction to Corporate Identity Packages for more.
8. Estimating Your Startup Cost
Your startup costs must be as accurate as possible.
If you estimate too low, you will run out of money before you open, and if you estimate too high, your operation may look risky, which can keep you from moving forward or allow you to get the funding you need to start.
To start, list everything you need and research prices. As you go through the process, other issues will appear, and you can update your estimate as necessary.
One of your major costs is how many ATVs you will have to offer for rent. You can find a link to ATV buyer Guides in the resource section of this post.
Depending on the make and model, a new ATV can cost around $10,000. Of course, you could purchase ATVs less than a couple of years old and in good condition for a better price. For the sake of argument, let’s say each ATV costs $6,500.
Assuming you have a busy location, you may need to purchase 20 ATVs that can be rented simultaneously. Keep in mind that a lot of people rent out ATVs in groups. Twenty ATVs at $6,500 each will cost you $130,000.
Add in the cost for your building, whether leased or purchased.
You may have a charge associated with the land and trails where your customers take their ATVs if it’s not a public area where ATVs are allowed. With all these considerations, you can see that you need to consider many startup costs.
For more, see, Estimating Start-up Costs: Are you Missing Anything? Also, see Business Expenses To Consider.
9. Writing a Business Plan
A business plan is important for the following two reasons.
One:
It’s essential to have a professional business plan in hand when meeting with lenders to discuss a business loan. It’s also important if you plan on attracting investors.
Two:
A business plan is your roadmap to success. It helps you plan where you’re going and how to get there.
You refer to it throughout the startup process and as your business grows. Then, naturally, you can make changes to it as needed.
Options:
A few options to create your business plan include writing one from scratch, hiring a professional writer, or using software or a template.
For details, see How to Write a Business Plan.
10. Set up Your Banking
If you want your personal and business finances to stay separate, you need to deal with a bank. However, what’s more important is the relationship you build with your banker since they can be very helpful.
The banker can assist you with loan applications and provide sound financial advice. It is natural for your banker to help you if you have a good relationship with them, rather than talking to someone who doesn’t know you well. You can also get help from your banker if you are in a financial bind.
You will also need a merchant account to accept credit and debit cards from your customers. Again, your banker can help you with the application process for your merchant account.
For more, see, How to Open a Business Bank Account and What Is a Merchant Account, and How to Get One.
11. Get the Funding to Start Your Business
There are options for funding your startup, such as looking for investors, selling any assets you own, financing ATVs through the dealership, etc.
Banks would rather loan money to an established business with a good track record than finance a startup loan.
Even though it’s difficult to get a startup business loan, it’s not impossible. You need a professional business plan and collateral to secure the loan.
For ideas, see our article, Getting a Small Business Loan.
12. Software Setup
In this step, you’ll focus on the software you’ll need for your business. You’ll need regular business software such as a package for accounting, and you may use something like Microsoft Office, which is popular in the business world.
You may want to consider specialty packages designed for a rental business. Be sure to review the package that appeals to you to see what other people have experienced with the product.
You’ll also want to research the company to ensure you’re buying a supported software package. The last thing you want is to invest time and money in a software package with the company going out of business in a few years.
13. Get The Right Business Insurance
You need to ensure your customers are fully covered in case of an accident, and you want to ensure your ATVs, property, and employees have the correct coverage.
The last thing you need is a lawsuit on your hands because of something you took for granted. In the link below, you’ll be able to find a qualified insurance company that can guarantee you have all the coverage you need for yourself and others.
You may also want to ask your insurance broker about customers that want to pay for insurance coverage in case of an incident while renting your ATV and how you can set that up.
For more on business insurance, see What to Know About Business Insurance.
14. Choose Suppliers
You’ll need suppliers you can count on for the parts and supplies you’ll need for your operation.
Dealing with a poor supplier will hamper operations, and you could lose business and customers.
For example, your parts supplier takes two weeks to get the parts you need to repair your ATVs. This means every time an ATV breaks down, you can’t rent it for at least two weeks which is money lost. Compare a supplier that delivers parts within an hour or the next day for hard-to-find parts. Therefore, a dependable supplier is essential for a business.
See How To Choose a Supplier for tips and insights.
15. Physical Setup
In this step, you will set up your operation and office layout. It’s also time to set up your business sign.
Layout
Depending on your operation and if you have a storefront and showroom, focus on your layout and storage area. These areas must be organized. If customers see any of these areas, you want to ensure they are impressed.
Office
Your office is where you’ll spend a lot of time managing your business. Therefore it needs to be fully equipped, organized and set up to enhance your productivity.
See, Here are Considerations for The Setup of Your Office for the details.
Business Sign
Your office sign should include your logo and make a good impression on your customers because it could be the first thing they see when entering your showroom.
For more, see, All About Company Signs.
16. Creating a Website
Your website is an important tool for your business because you can use it to give customers all the information they need. For example, you could highlight what experiences they can expect along with the type of ATVs you have for rent. You can also include terms and conditions plus your pricing.
You can use your website as a marketing tool and create a scheduling tool that allows people to book their rentals online.
You need to register your domain name and find a decent web host to ensure you fully control your website. For more, see our page on How to Build a Website.
17. Create an External Support Team
An external support team is a group of people you’ll use for advice and services that are not directly on your payroll. Instead, you pay them by the job, by the hour, on contract, or via retainer.
It can take years to build the right team, and it’s ongoing even as your business is operating. For example, you may need a lawyer and accountant in a banker during the startup phase, and it is a good time to start building your dream team.
For more, see, Building a Team of Professional Advisors.
18. Hiring Employees
In the early stages of operations, you may be planning to do everything yourself, which is a good idea if you can handle it because you’ll keep your cost down, and keeping costs down in the startup phase is very important.
You’ll need to hire staff as your business grows, but you want to ensure you only hire for necessary positions and that they’re filled with the right employees.
Hiring the right person for each position is more important than just filling it.
For more, see, How and When to Hire a New Employee.
Considerations
At this point, you have the steps to start your ATV rental business. Now let’s look at other issues to consider for your operation.
Getting Customers Through The Door
To attract customers, you could create events, such as ATV racing, competitions, and other related entertainment venues, that can attract the right crowd.
More people will consider renting ATVs if you get them involved.
For example, if you set up a racing competition and made sure it was completed well before sundown, people at the event may want to rent an ATV, and you could have your entire fleet rented after the event. You could also get rental bookings for the next few weeks.
Another idea is to create” a day in the trails,” where a guide takes a group of people out to sightsee while experiencing the use of an ATV.
Offering instructional courses is another idea for people interested in ATVs to learn how to use them safely. Then, you could give them a discount after the course if they want to rent one.
One last idea that comes to mind is to offer a monthly subscription that allows your customers to rent an ATV regularly, either weekly or monthly, for a discounted price. This keeps the revenue flowing. Also, remember that if you implement a subscription model, people usually bring friends, resulting in more rentals for you.
You can also see our article, How To Get Customers Through the Door, to find a few ideas you can use.
Marketing Ideas
See our marketing section to spark your creativity for ideas to market your business.
Profit Margins and Revenues
For example, the average rental is around $50.00 per hour per ATV. Naturally, that depends on the model of the ATV, your business’s location, and the demand for rentals. Keep in mind that there are daily rates because some people need the ATV for more than an hour.
If you can have all your ATVs rented by the hour for an eight-hour day for 20% of the time, you can expect a pretty good daily income.
Using the example above; 20 ATVs x $50.00 x 20% of the time = $200 Per hour x 8 Hours = $1,600 per day.
Once your startup costs are taken care of, most of you’re operating expenses would be for insurance, maintenance, repairs, and shop upkeep, as well as other monthly expenses that a business incurs.
So your net profit margin will depend on other expenses and the ability to keep most of your ATVs rented. A rule of thumb is to keep expenses as low as possible without sacrificing quality, safety, or productivity.
 The Condition of Your ATVs
As a business renting out ATVs, you want to ensure you provide the best experience for your customers. Providing them with new ATVs is an excellent way to get repeat business and spread the word about your rentals and services.
That doesn’t mean all your ATVs need to be new. After a month, they are considered used anyway. The key is providing your customers with ones in excellent condition.