If you know a lot about fixing bicycles, a great opportunity awaits.
If you know only how to fix flat tires and handle small repairs, you still have an opportunity. For any thing beyond your capabilities, you can offer to transport stranded riders and their bikes to their homes or to a better-equipped bike shop.
Starting a mobile bike repair business is easier than starting a full retail bike shop. On the other hand, a mobile bike repair business can be a profitable stepping stone to an eventual bike shop.
You could start as simply as loading some tools, a few spare parts and a good tire pump onto your bike shop, and meet stranded bicyclists on the road.
On the other end of the spectrum, you could equip a tall van with everything from a workstand to a vise, power source, and welding equipment. You can also carry 90% of the parts bicyclists need, and even a few accessories.
Mobile bike repair can be done in one or all of three general ways:
1. You help stranded bicyclists. They call, you roll. It’s your choice whether you’d want to keep office hours, or be on-call 24 hours a day. Keep in mind that most recreational bicycle riding is done during the daytime, but on weekends.
2. People make an appointment for you to go to their homes to fix up the families’ bicycles. This often includes full tune-ups, and could potentially include major overhauls and repairs. This can be especially lucrative because you may have four or more repairs at a single location. You might even encourage them to make a ‘neighborhood bicycle repair fair,’ inviting all their friends and neighbors.
3. You travel to a public location such as a flea market, doing repair work for people who stumble upon you, or those who know you’re going to be there. Unless you do something to publicize your presence for the first time at a place such as a flea market, your first week is likely to be really slow. However, once people catch on to you being there week after week, you can expect a lot of business.
Initially, you can lay in a stock of common replacement parts by simply buying them at a local bike shop. If you tell them your plans, they may give you a small discount, typically 10%, hoping you’ll become a steady, high-volume customer.
You may find better deals on the most common parts such as inner tubes and saddles at discount stores.
In time, you can become established with bicycle wholesalers, giving you a better markup on parts. If your only income was from repair labor, that could be good enough, but augmenting it with parts sales is icing on the cake.
Then, if you want your cake and eat it too, you can lay in a stock of attractive accessories. You might realize quite a profit by selling jerseys, locks, helmets, and maybe even carry a complete bike or two in your van.
For more general business information that will help your mobile business, see General Business Action Pack.
For more about the bicycle business in general, see How To Start A Bike Shop.
