There are eight parking spaces for every car in America. If this was true for all places, parking space could never be a problem. Unfortunately, the distribution of these parking spaces is not in tandem with the cars in a given area.
If you live in a populous city, you know how problematic getting a parking space can be. That means getting into parking as a business venture can be a profitable investment in such places.
Here are several options if you aspire to venture into parking as a business venture, including how you could transform your parking spot into a profitable investment.
Investing in a Parking Management Company
If you want a slice of the parking money but do not own a space or have the money to buy a space, investing in an established parking company is your best option.
The most common way of investing in an already existing business is buying a share which also means you earn dividends from the profits made by the company. The only disadvantage to this option is that your shares will limit your earnings, and you will not have much control over what the company does or does not do.
Transforming Your Space into a Parking Lot
If you own a property, you could transform it into a parking space and earn revenue by allowing people to park their cars. You could also invest in a property with a parking space and transform it into a money-making business.
However, you may need to consider several things before putting your money into a parking business venture.
Business Viability
Before opening any business, it is always important to conduct a market analysis. Market analysis involves considering the business viability based on several factors, such as parking scarcity, existing parking options, and how the options are doing.
By conducting a business feasibility study, you can get a rough idea of the potential revenue you can generate from your business which will determine if it will be worth the money you put into it.
Obtain Necessary Permits
Cities will have different permits and licenses for different businesses. So ensure you obtain the right permits or at least know the permits you need to factor in the costs.
If you have to do any construction, you must consider your local government permits and approval for buildings based on zones. Getting approvals can take quite some time, so you may need to start early.
Design and Build Your Facility
Once your plan checks the feasibility and permit boxes, the next step would be designing and building your facility or doing whatever upgrades you need to make it appealing to customers. One of the things customers will be looking at when parking their cars will be security.
So consider building a wall around your premises if it is allowable by your city. But the best security strategy is installing a parking system. A parking system is a set of tools designed to monitor and control access to your parking lot, giving your lot that extra layer of security customers hope to find.
The good thing is that you can find many advanced parking management systems on the market to help you streamline the processes in your business.
Market
Like any other business, you must market your parking lot to get word of its presence. Luckily advertising is so much easier in this digital era. You only need to create an ad targeted at the people living or working near your parking and place it on your platform of choice.
However, there is a lot to marketing that you may not know, so it would be best to work with a marketing agency at least for the first few days or months of starting until your business gains traction in attracting a steady stream of customers.
