Marcus Richards
Mobile businesses are a great way of starting your own business without the expense of buying or leasing premises, paying high utility bills, employing lots of staff, and purchasing lots of stock. The most significant advantage is that you can take your goods and services to the customers and garner more business opportunities than you would in brick-and-mortar premises. Here are some ideas for businesses you can run from a truck.
Book store
A mobile bookstore may not be a new idea, but it is still a good one. Taking books to remote towns is bound to be popular with people who can’t get to shops and libraries in big cities readily. You could have a range of books, magazines, CDs, and DVDs for people to borrow or buy. Ask for donations from friends and family, or look for second-hand items in charity shops or yard sales to use as stock. If you have a large vehicle, you may want to have a seating area where lonely people could come and read for a short while and have a quiet chat with other bookworms.
Reading stories to children aboard the truck would be popular with schools and nurseries or children living in remote areas.
Dog Grooming Parlour
Convert a truck into a mobile dog grooming parlor. Buy a large truck from a local car dealer or look online for international used trucks and have a company convert it into a parlor for you—Google companies in your area who can do this or consider buying a ready-converted vehicle.
A truck can be converted into grooming stations by having a bath, grooming table, and cages fitted into them. A water supply, heating, and electricity can be installed, allowing you to bathe, dry, and clip your doggy customers.
Mobile grooming allows you to visit customers who might struggle to get their dog to an inner-city groomer because they are old and unable to travel far or because the dog is nervous when traveling or in busy locations.
Nail Bar
Beauty is big business these days, and what better way to win customers, than take your business to them. Kit your truck out as a funky nail bar with a table and chairs, UV lamps, and shelves full of beautiful colored nail polishes. Providing a quality and convenient service where customers can have their nails done at a time convenient to them without having to travel will make you stand out from the competition. You can also undercut the opposition by offering cheaper deals because you do not have the expensive overheads a professional salon has. Offer customers party deals for hen nights or birthday parties.
Mobile Lunches
Convert your truck into a mobile café and drive around offices and workplaces isolated from food venues and shops.
Offer your customers sandwiches, cakes, cookies, and various other cold foods and beverages. Install refrigerated display cabinets to store the goods. Workers will appreciate your door to door service as they will not need to bring lunch in from home or travel miles during their lunch break to find a food vendor. You could take orders by phone or email if you have regular customers and have their lunch put aside for them.
Party Truck
Offer hen parties or birthday crowds a unique party experience by converting your vehicle into a party zone. Install a quality sound system, disco lights, seats, tables, and refrigerators for soda and liquor. You can host the party and provide karaoke, charades, board games, and truth or dare games. The party can be hosted entirely on the truck, or you could provide entertaining travel en route to a casino, night club or bar. Similarly, you could provide children parties and let them have a disco, karaoke, and play games.
Mobile Boutique
Boutiques on wheels are popping up all over the country. Give your vehicle an edgy makeover with a retro theme and sell vintage clothes. Make your own clothing to sell – this is an excellent way of putting yourself on the map and dressing customers with your creations over vast distances. People will love the unique nature of your business and will be intrigued enough to enter your boutique.
Move
People are always looking for a person with a van to move things for them – cash in on this a do it professionally. Buy a truck with a large storage capacity, so you can pick up and deliver large items or even perform a small house move. You could also use your vehicle to work as a courier for a professional firm.
Another way to offer removal services is to pack your van with people’s waste such as old furniture or debris left over from a house renovation and take it to the local waste disposal center for them.
Hot Food
Door to door hot food is a popular way of utilizing a large vehicle. Travel to housing areas, industrial estates, offices, and schools with hot food for hungry customers. Have a theme menu such as fish and chips, noodle bar, breakfasts, jacket potatoes, or vegan meals. Furnish the vehicle with heating and cooking facilities as well as a water supply for cleaning.
Music festivals, sports games, weddings, and other social gatherings are other great places to take your mobile food van.
Farm Shop
Customers love fresh produce. Delivering farm produce door to door is a great way to provide people with fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, and dairy products. Perhaps you live on a farm and want to sell your produce this way. Your service will be popular as customers know that what they are getting is fresh from the field. You can provide large bags of potatoes and trays of eggs to your customer’s doorstep – these things they would never be able to find at their local store or carry home! Make your cheese, yogurt, conserves, or other fresh produce, then brand it and sell it. You never know, if it’s good and word will spread about its popularity, you might find big grocery store moguls snap up your wares.
