Small Engine Repair Business Plan [Sample Template]

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Are you about starting a small engine repair company? If YES, here is a complete sample small engine repair business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE.

Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a small engine repair business. We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample small engine repair marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for small engine repair companies. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.

A small engine repair business is a very lucrative business, – even though you would need to know a lot about the different forms of small engines in the varying equipment – this is because almost everyone owns equipment such as lawnmower, water pump and all other kinds of pumps, garden tillers, chainsaws, portable heaters, outdoor generators, go-carts, snowmobiles, forklifts, ATVs, motorcycles, pressure washers, marine vessel engines:

Jet ski motors, refrigerated trailers on reefer trucks and other such equipment which might go cranky once in a while and would then require a specialist to look into and fix it. This is a business that requires the owner to be an engine specialist or have one or two engine specialists to be able to attend to several customers.

Before starting this business, it would be best to approach a business consult who is an expert in this field and has a good knowledge about the market based on your location. The business consultant looking at your Business model will be able to guide you into knowing if the business you intend starting will survive and thrive and also if you will be able to compete favorably against your competitors.

No matter how small a business might seem, writing a business plan is very important especially if you intend to approach investors or a bank for a start-up capital as your business plan is the only way you can be taken seriously. Below is a sample small engine repair business plan;

A Sample Small Engine Repair Business Plan Template

1. Industry Overview

According to the united states Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as at 2008, there were more than 70,000 small engine mechanics with the prediction that this number will increase to more than 75,000 by 2018. Small engine repair mechanics in Texas alone which numbered to about 1,620, made an average of $31,240 in the repair of outdoor equipment.

The industry is one that has annual revenue of $7 billion with a growth that was pegged at 4.1%. There are nearly 5,400 small engine repair businesses in the United States employing nearly 27,000 people. The growth in the industry is due to the fact that there has been an improvement in the economy which has led to more spending by customers.

This industry has grown between the period of 2011 and 2016 due to the fact that consumers’ confidence increased which led to an improvement in disposable income, and allowed households to increase their spending on stuffs such as lawn and garden tools and also carry out repairs on them.

According to IBISWorld, the next five years is looking to be better especially as there will be an increase in consumer confidence that will arise from increasing disposable incomes which portends good news for the industry operators.

The industry which has low concentration is highly fragmented and there are few or no companies controlling a huge share of the market especially as operators solely concentrated on the regions where they were located and seem to have a higher share in their regions than outside it.

The industry has been booming for operators in this field, this is because regardless of the economy; majority of American households still had one or two power equipments that were in used especially as the lawns needed to be mowed, snow needed to be shoveled and other activities that were needed to be done regardless of the economy.

The growth in this industry is also helpful for the operators as it gives them the opportunity to re-invest their earnings and get better machinery, technology as well as skilled workers that would enable them offer better services to their customers.

Operators in this industry also need access to the OEM service information so as to be able to correctly identify an engine before carrying out repairs or replacing certain parts especially as most small engine manufacturers produce a wide variety of engines.

2. Executive Summary

Bobs and Sons Small Engine Specialists LLC is a small engine repair business that is located in Houston – Texas and will offer repair services of small engine to customers both domestic and corporate. We will also engage in other services such as sales of refurbished engines, sale of small power equipment as well as offer consultancy service, trainings and other services as well for our wide range of customers.

Our vision is to ensure that we are recognized for our standard business practices and that we are the preferred small engine specialists for our target market here in Houston – Texas. We also intend to ensure that we are located in other strategic states by the 2022.

We are in business to compete favorably against other small engine repair businesses here in Houston – Texas as well as all over the United States of America. To achieve this we are willing to invest massively in our business structure in order to ensure that we attain our desired goals and objectives.

Our facility is located in an area that is easy to access for our clients as well as employees. It is also conducive and well ventilated for all our workers.

We are willing to hire competent employees for our business and make sure that they are well paid. We intend to ensure that their welfare packages are the best across similar start-ups like ours here in Houston – Texas, so as to encourage them to remain committed and increase productivity for the company.

Our employees will also undergo continuous training that will enhance their skills and make them adaptable to changing trends so that they become the best in the field.

Because we know how important our customers are to us, we intend to ensure that we offer them excellent customer care and ensure that all their inquiries, bookings, orders, and complaints are promptly attended to. We also have a customer referral program in place for our loyal customers.

Finally, our owner Bob Dylan has over 20 years of experience in the field that will be brought to bear in the business and ensure that we attain our desired goals and objectives.

3. Our Products and Services

Bob and Sons Small Engine Specialists LLC is an established shop that deals in the repairs of small engines on almost any kind of equipment. We serve both domestic and corporate clients and also engage in the sale of specific small power equipment in our permanent location here in Houston – Texas.

Our intention is to ensure that we not only generate revenue for our company via one source but that we create multiple sources of income as well by offering other services that will not only generate more interest for our business but will also bring in more customers to patronize our services.

We intend to make profit for our business as far as it is legally permissible by the laws of the United States of America. Therefore some of the services we intend to offer and the products we intend to sell are;

Repair of all kinds of small engines
Sale of refurbished engines
Offering of other services such as boring, honing, surfacing, welding, milling, crack inspection
Sale of small power equipment
Consultancy and advisory services
Training

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

Our vision is to ensure that we are recognized for our standard business practices and that we are the preferred small engine specialists for our target market here in Houston – Texas. We also intend to ensure that we are located in other strategic states by the 2022.
In order to achieve our vision, we intend to ensure that we hire only competent hands that not only understand the business but also know and identify with our vision so as to help us achieve our objectives.

Our Business Structure

Having a solid business structure is important to us because we intend to become the best in the business especially in our location here in Houston – Texas and to achieve this, we are taking our business structure very seriously and will go the extra mile to ensure that we hire only those who are competent and experienced to help run our company to the level which we desire.

Knowing how important a conducive environment is, we intend to ensure that not only are we located in an area that is easily accessible to our staff and customers but that our employees are able to work in an environment that is deemed free and conducive.

We intend to ensure that they also undergo continuous training that will enhance their skills and make them more productive for the company.

We intend to ensure that they are also well paid especially when compared to other similar start-ups such as ours here in Texas. We would be hiring more than it would take to run a conventional small engine repair business and this is mainly due to the fact that we would be offering several services more than what a regular small engine repair shop would offer.

Below therefore is the business structure that we intend to build at Bob and Sons Small Engine Specialists LLC;

Chief Executive Officer
Manager
Engine Specialists
Human Resources Manager
Marketing and Sales Team
Accountants/Cashiers
Customer Service Executives
Drivers
Cleaner

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer

Makes strategic decisions that influences the direction of the company
Reviews policies and either modify or remove ineffective policies
Drafts the budget on behalf of the organization

Manager

In charge of the administrative function in the facility
Inspects facility and effects repairs when and wherever needed
Ensures that all departments comply with organizational policies and procedures

Engine Specialists

Is updated about new trends regarding engines in the industry
Understands new and old engines and how best to fix them
Advises clients on the best way to handle their equipment

Human Resources Manager

Sources for and recruits competent employees on behalf of the organization
Conduct orientation and induction for new staff
In charge of staff welfare and pay packages as well as other incentives

Marketing and Sales Team

Conducts research on behalf of company in order to identify new markets
Carries out direct marketing and sales on behalf of the company
Drafts and implements effective marketing strategies on behalf of Bob and Sons Small Engine Specialists LLC

Accountants/Cashiers

Prepares financial information and statements on behalf of the company
Ensures that the budget is implemented effectively by all departments
Balances and reconciles the office cash books to the bank statements monthly

Customer Service Executives

Remains updated about industry trends and company policies so as to pass accurate information to clients
Attends to all inquiries, complaints and bookings from customers
Ensures that customer database is kept and reviewed on behalf of the company

Drivers

Ensures that site workers get to each the site for outdoor jobs on time
Carries out minor repairs on the vehicle and reports major repairs to the appropriate department
Maintains a log of all routes used and ensure that traffic laws are obeyed at all times

Cleaner

Ensure that the premises is kept clean always
Cleans out the convenience for employees and customers use
Carries out any other duty as directed by the human resources manager

6. SWOT Analysis

Due to the fact that we intend to run a standard small engine repair business, we engaged the services of reputable business consultants here in Houston – Texas to look through our business concept and help us determine if it was going into the business at all.

We also needed to know if we had what it takes to be successful at the business and to also ensure that we could compete favorably against our competitors here in Texas.

The business consultant who also had the industry knowledge and experience from handling similar businesses such as ours was able to take stock of our strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to help determine if we stood a chance against other similar businesses here in Houston – Texas as well as all over the United States of America. Below therefore is a of the SWOT Analysis that was conducted for Bob and Sons Small Engine Specialist LLC business;

Strengths

Our strength lies in the fact that we are not only offering our core service to our customers but also adding other services as well as selling other required products as well leading us to attract more customers to our business.

Also, the fact that we take our business structure very seriously is a plus for us as we hired only competent and professional employees who are committed and who are attuned to our organizational policies and will ensure that we attain our desired goals and objectives.

Also, our Chief Executive Officer, Bob Dylan has had several years of experience and has worked on several small engines and knows most of the models as well.

Weaknesses

We are not the only small engine repairs business here in Houston and so this is likely to pose a challenge to us breaking into the market, we however have plans set in place to ensure that we create a positive impression that would make us stand out from others and allow us gain a share of the market.

Opportunities

Loads of people use power equipment and so there are bound to always be opportunities, as we will not only repair these engines but also sell refurbished engines that will be cheaper as well as new engines. We also have the opportunities of going into several niches that exist in this industry.

Threats

Every business faces threats, and so the threats that we are likely to face will come from a slump in the economy. Even though power equipment is still used during a slump in the economy, less people would demand for our services. Also, we have to deal with the threats of small and part-time small engine repairers who do not have enough experience but will charge cheaper, thereby causing an unnecessary price war.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Trends

Technology drives the efficiency trend in this industry as companies use it to bill out jobs, to send prices, to track usage and maintain their equipment as well as to route crews to their jobs. The industry is one that will always have a high demand due to the fact that there will always be a need by customers to either service older equipment, get spare parts for old equipment as well as replace older equipment.

Also, almost everyone has a power equipment because as long as one owns grass or have to deal with snow and other such things, there will always be the need for a power equipment.

Those in this industry asides from carrying out repairs on equipment that has small engines usually sell lawn and outdoor power equipment as well as replacement parts to their target market which includes farmers, household consumers, ranchers, and other professional workers.

Most products that are usually for sale include garden tractors and shredders, rotary mowers, brush cutters, rear engine riding mowers, leaf blowers, hedge trimmers and such other equipment.

Making money in this industry comes from finding a niche that is either underserved or deserves more competition. This doesn’t mean that existing niches cannot be exploited but one would need to offer extra services, higher quality work, custom work, faster turnaround times, more personalized services, competitive pricing and other such services that are not being offered by those in this niche in order to have an edge over competitors.

There are so many opportunities and trends that abound in this field as well which includes; rebuilding small engines for agricultural, truck fleet as well as industrial customers. Getting into this niche will guarantee repeat customers.

8. Our Target Market

The small engine repair business is one that will always have a wide range of customers, which is due to the fact that almost every home has an equipment of some sort that uses a small engine. However, this does not mean that we will not carry out a research as regards the target market especially around our location in order to know what category of people we will concentrate our marketing strategies on.

The market research we intend to conduct will also let us have an idea of what we should be expecting from the target market and what they should expect from us. From our result, it is apparent that we are in business to offer our services to the following group of people;

Households
Corporate Premises
Business Premises
Restaurants
Hospitals
Schools
Farmers
Ranchers

Our competitive advantage

In order to compete favorably against our competitors in the market place, we have come up with several competitive strategies that we would use to ensure that we not only achieve our goals and objectives but that we gain a higher share of the market than our competitors.

Our first competitive advantage is the fact that we sourced for and hired only professional and experienced management team who not only understand the industry but have the necessary experience to ensure that we go from just a start-up to becoming a force in the industry.

Our management team is also attuned to our core values will help communicate our organizational policies faster to the rest of the employees and ensure that the policies are well implemented.

Another of our advantage is that we sourced for competent employees that are committed to working and willing to attain the level of productivity required by the company. Our employees are well trained in customer service and understand the need to positively communicate our brand at all times to all our customers.

Finally, not only do our employees undergo trainings and also work in a conducive environment, they are also well paid and have the best welfare packages as can be found in similar start-ups across the small engine repair industry in the United States of America. Also, we carry out performance appraisals and reward our hard working employees.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Sources of Income

Like any other business, Bob and Sons Small Engine Specialists LLC has been established with the sole intention of making profit in the small engines repair industry here in the Houston – Texas as well as around certain parts of the United States of America, and we are going to ensure that we achieve just that.

Bobs and Sons Small Engine Specialists LLC will therefore generate income by offering the following services as well as selling the following products to its various customers;

Repair of all kinds of small engines
Sale of refurbished engines
Offering of other services such as boring, honing, surfacing, welding, milling, crack inspection
Sale of small power equipment
Consultancy and advisory services
Training

10. Sales Forecast

Almost every American household own equipment that uses a small engine, in fact most households have and use more than one of such equipments, which means that there will always be repairs carried out and as such demand for the services of a small engine repair specialist.

Our strategic location in Houston – Texas has us well positioned to not only keep up with the several demands that might crop up but to also ensure that we generate enough income and make our first profit within our first year of business.

In order to analyze our chances of succeeding in this business and in the industry at large, we have taken a critical evaluation of our location as well as how our business will thrive and grow and due to this have come up with a sales forecast. The sales forecast were done based on certain data and assumptions gathered from similar start-ups here in Houston – Texas.

Below therefore are the sales projection for Bob and Sons Small Engine Repair Specialists;

First Fiscal Year-: $280,000
Second Fiscal Year-: $560,000
Third Fiscal Year-: $980,000

It should be noted that this projection is done based on the several assumptions that are obtainable in the industry such as there has not being any major economic downturn and not having any competitor arriving in same location during the stated period. Should there be any change in the assumptions, it would likely cause an increase or decrease in the above figures for the stated period.

Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

One of the essential rudiments of any business is marketing. Marketing is a very important aspect as businesses that do not deploy good marketing strategies or engage in any marketing at all, either fold up or struggle with generating revenue.

Another importance of marketing is the fact that you do not only generate revenue but also create awareness for your business as well, thereby attracting more customers to the business and invariably boosting your bottom line.

Due to our intention of gaining a huge share of the market, we have hired the services of a marketing consultant here in Houston – Texas who is quite knowledgeable about the small engine repair industry and who understands the business environment here in Texas well enough to draft strategies that we would use in favorably competing with our competitors.

We have also empowered our marketing and sales team in ensuring that they draft and implement strategies that are in line with our values as a company. Also, our marketing teams have also been empowered to ensure that our brand is positively communicated to the customers at all times by ensuring that they network in the right places and with right people in order to deliver our corporate goals.

Technology has come to play such an important role for marketing and we intend to fully tap into this field to use in attracting the necessary customers we would need for our business. We would use social media platforms in reaching out to customers and educating the audience at large about our industry, whilst also marketing our small engine repair business as well.

In summary, below are the sales and marketing strategies we intend to adopt at Bobs and Sons Small Engine Specialist LLC business;

Throw a grand opening party that would create awareness and generate interest about our company
Engage in direct marketing and sales
Place adverts in local newspapers and magazines as well as on local radio and television stations
Ensure that our business is listed in offline directories as well as online directories
Use social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to vigorously market our small engine repair business
Hand out fliers and handbills introducing our business in various target areas and locations

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

Even though our small engine repair business is one that is of a high standard and offers several services as well as products to our various customers, we know that in order to favorably compete against our competitors that are already established in the business and also increase awareness for Bob and Sons Small Engine Specialist LLC, we would need to engage in several publicity and advertising strategies.

In order to ensure that effective publicity strategies are drafted, we intend to hire a branding consultant who is not only reputable but understands the industry well enough and knows what it would take for us to achieve the awareness that we seek for our company here in Houston, all around Texas and even throughout the United States of America and to also positively communicate our brand as well.

Therefore, the platforms we intend adopting in order to promote and advertise Bob and Sons Small Engine Specialists, LLC are;

Attend conventions and home and garden shows in order to network and create awareness about our small engine repairs business
Use our website and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to positively communicate and promote our brand
Place adverts in local newspapers and magazines as well as on radio and television stations
Position our flexi banners in strategic locations so as attract customer attention
Distribute our handbills and fliers in strategic locations
Ensure that our staff wear our customized clothes in the office as well as on worksites

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Determining the rates that we would charge on our services will depend a lot on what kind of engines we are repairing and how much our nearest competitors are charging for the same services; this also extends to the products that we intend to sell to our various customers.

We however do not intend to sell or offer services that will allow us run into a loss or affect our overheads as it is especially difficult to gauge how much to charge for a service as they are intangible in nature.

Due to the fact that we are just starting out our business and intend to generate awareness in order to attract as many customers as possible, we intend to for the first three months of operations offer our services at a lower price than what we would have originally offered it. However, as this would be for only a while, we intend to ensure that we carry out massive publicity in order to ensure that customers are aware of how low we are charging for our services.

Payment Options

Due to the diverse services that we would be offering that will bring in various customers, we at Bob and Sons Small Engine Specialists LLC intend to ensure that we offer our customers payment options that would suit their different styles and preferences.

Therefore below are the payment options that will be made available for all our customers;

Payment via cash
Payment via check
Payment via credit card
Payment via Point of Sale (POS) Machine
Payment via online payment portal

The above payment platforms which we have chosen for our different customers are designed to run smoothly without hitches of any sort to our business as well as our customers.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

Starting and running a standard small engine repair business with as little hitches as possible will require expending the bulk of one’s start-up capital especially in regards to purchasing small power equipment for sale, buying the needed repair tools for the different kinds of small engine as well as paying employee and utility bills for a certain period of time till the business is able to sustain itself.

Therefore, the key areas where we expect to spend our start-up capital on are;

Total fee for registering the business in the United States of America – $750
Legal expenses for obtaining permits, licenses as well as accounting software – $1,250
Cost of hiring a business consultant – $2,000
Insurance coverage (general liability, equipment liability and Workers Compensation) – $2,000
Marketing promotion expenses (for grand opening ceremony and general marketing activities) – $4,000
Cost of start-up inventory (repair tools and small engine parts) – $30,000
Other start-up expenses (stationeries, phones and computers) – $2,500
Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees and payment of utility bills) – $100,000
Cost of leasing a facility for a period of one year and carrying out renovations – $50,000
Cost of store equipment (cash register, signage, and ventilation) – $5,000
Cost of purchasing a fairly used vehicle – $40,000
Cost of launching a website – $500
Cost of throwing an opening party – $5,000
Miscellaneous – $7,000

From the above analysis, we would need an estimate of $250,000 in order to successfully start-up and run our small engine repair business here in Houston – Texas. It should be noted that the bulk of the amount goes into leasing a facility, procuring a vehicle, getting repair tools and paying employees salaries and utility bills for a definite period of time.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Bob and Sons Small Engine Specialists Business

Bob and Sons Small Engine Specialists LLC is a family business that is owned and run by Bob Dylan and his sons. They own the business 100% and will not welcome any external private investor and so have decided to restrict sourcing for capital to just 3 sources.

Therefore the areas where we intend to generate the required start-up capital for our business are;

Generate part of the start-up capital from personal savings
Source for soft loans from family members
Apply for loan from commercial bank

N.B: We were able to generate the sum of $35,000 from our personal savings, and the sum of $15,000 from our family members. We applied for the sum of $200,000 from the bank, repayable in 5 years at an interest rate of 2% and after signing all the approving documents, we have been told that the money would be credited into our account in two days time.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of our small engine repair business lies in how many number of loyal customers we have and how we are able to retain more than 80%, the number of competent employees that are working for our company and our re-investment plans geared towards not only sustaining the business but expanding it as well.

We know how important customers are to a business, as no customers can lead to the closure of a business. We also know how expensive it is to attract customers to a business than to retain customers and so we will be doing all we can to ensure that we retain a high number of our loyal customers.

We intend to offer our loyal customers a discount when they refer other customers to us and give them a free maintenance on one of their equipment. Asides this, we will offer excellent customer care to our customers by treating their inquiries, orders and complaints with utmost priority.

Having the right kind of employees to help run our small engine repair business is a must as this will ensure that we have as less hitches as possible in starting and running our business successfully. We take our staff welfare very seriously and so we intend to ensure that our employees are well paid and enjoy incentives better than their counterparts in similar start-ups such as ours here in Texas.

We also will ensure that our employees undergo training that will enhance their skills and also improve productivity for the company. We also intend to create a conducive and easily accessible work environment for our employees.

Finally, our goal and objectives is not only to be the preferred small engine repair store here in Houston, it is also to ensure that we become so well known that it will be easy for us when we expand to other strategic locations in neighboring states.

We have a re-investment strategy that goes towards promoting our business intensely and also boosting our bottom line immensely. We are sure that these three strategies are enough in allowing us sustain and eventually expanding our business.

Check List / Milestone

Business Name Availability Check: Completed
Business Registration: Completed
Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
Application for business license and permit: Completed
Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
Conducting feasibility studies: Completed
Generating capital from family members: Completed
Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
Writing of Business Plan: Completed
Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
Recruitment of employees: In Progress
Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress
Establishing business relationship with vendors – wholesale suppliers / merchants: In Progress
Purchase of trucks: Completed.