Do you want to start a parking lot striping business? If YES, here is a detailed sample parking lot striping business plan template & FREE feasibility report.
Every organization which operates on a large scale will require parking space. This creates a demand and a necessity for striping the parking lots. It also means that your business has its prospective clients anywhere there is a parking space. At the very least 5 companies will have parking space for every kilometre.
Note that parking lots also need restriping every now and then. Most companies in the united states tend to redo it every year, and some once in three years.
The parking lot striping business is an amazing business which may be a good fit for you if you can find one good client and grow your business over time. As a new startup, you will need to begin by working with a small client and add others through word-or-mouth and good publicity as they see the work you do.
There are no popular niches in this market but you can choose to specialize on a particular customer or demand. You can choose to strip only school parking lots or provide your services to only corporate companies. Choosing a specific niche is not necessarily a necessity in this business because as long as there is a parking lot to be striped, it really doesn’t matter who owns it.
A Sample Parking Lot Striping Business Plan Template
1. Industry Overview
Reports have it that the global parking lot management and maintenance market was valued at USD 3,980.2 million in 2015 and is expected to experience significant growth from 2017-2023. It is believed that the growing production and usage of cars, especially in the developed and urban parts of the world is helping the parking lot management and maintenance solutions growth.
This industry has come a long way from the traditional parking methods which included gated and unattended facilities and head meters. As these systems were driven by visual and centralized enforcement methods, they failed to provide a failsafe and streamlined flow of traffic and created numerous bottlenecks.
Note that with the advent of new technologies such as Internet of Things, sensor networks, easy-to-use striping machines, and connectivity, the parking lot management and maintenance landscape is changing rapidly. Experts believe that these solutions that are being deployed in the industry today are a result of the consolidation of various technologies available to vendors.
Even though the machine-to-machine connectivity serves as the backbone of these systems, many other supplementary technologies have added value to the existing infrastructure. Access control, parking reservation applications, cellular connectivity, and analytics are some of the emerging areas that will have a massive effect on this industry.
Experts believe that the combined effort by all the industry participants will drive future movements of this market wherein, a greater emphasis will be put on service provision and greater convenience to end-users. Also have it in mind that one of the most important aspects of the parking lot management industry is the role played by government bodies and law enforcement authorities.
Note that the impact these government entities will have on the market will be most profound in two major areas namely, regulations and laws, and public private partnerships. Reports have shown numerous successful implementation of parking lot management and maintenance solutions with public private partnerships in both, developed as well as developing countries.
As the advantages come to light, more number of local governments are expected to follow suit. But, the regulatory framework that is allowed today for parking laws is quite outdated and is expected to act as the main hurdle to sustainable development. North America region and especially the U.S. lead the global regional market in terms of adoption.
The ever-growing number of car users, growing traffic congestion problems and propensity of end-users towards service oriented offerings are driving the market growth in the region. The region is closely followed by Europe which is expected to grow at a growth rate of 7.6% over the span of next eight years.
Then the Asia Pacific region holds a massive opportunity for growth in coming years for the parking lot management and maintenance market.
This is particularly true for developing countries such as China and india who have been facing population growth problems in recent years. Also, the increasing investments in smart city projects in the developing countries of the region will help the market to grow at a rapid rate.
2. Executive Summary
Solid Base is a start-up service Provider Company in Des Moines, Iowa that will offer parking lot stripping services, crack filling and sealcoating to residential customers.
Parking lot striping makes parking easier and ensures adequate use of all parking spaces in a lot, while sealcoating protects asphalt driveways by filling the cracks and coating the surface of the driveway, protecting it against external elements.
We at Solid Base plan to make use of our industry-benchmarked customer service to rapidly gain market share. Our key objectives at Solid Base are to establish a service-based company whose primary goal is to exceed customer’s expectations and to increase the number of our clients by 20% per year through superior service.
We are prepared to offer our unique services to residential office buildings in Des Moines, we have also taken our time to analyze the industry and our chances of survival as you will see in our SWOT analysis.
Although Solid Base is a seasonal business (cold temperatures and rain do not allow the striping and coating to dry or cure properly) spanning eight months, we plan to maintain an office/garage year round because we’ve been able to find a low rent facility in the industrial district of Des Moines.
Even while only operating seasonally, we will reach profitability by month six and will achieve respectable profits by the end of year three.
Our business location is ideal as it provides us with less competition and an open market. The Des Moines-West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of five central Iowa counties: Polk, Dallas, Warren, and Madison. The area had a 2000 census population of 481,394 and an estimated 2014 population of 768,927.
Note that the Des Moines-Newton-Pella Combined Statistical Area consists of those four counties plus Jasper and Marion Counties; the 2000 census population of this area was 550,659, and the estimated 2009 population was 631,805. Des Moines’ suburban communities include Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Grimes, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Urbandale, Waukee, West Des Moines, and Windsor Heights.
3. Our Products and Services
Solid Base will provide residential parking lot striping, sealcoating and crack filling. Parking lot striping is the process of lining and coordinating the space in a lot while sealcoating is the process of spreading a thin layer of an asphalt-based product that coats the surface of an asphalt driveway, filling in small cracks and sealing the surface against the elements.
Part of the sealcoating process is applying crack filler first, a rubberized liquid that fills the gaps that are created in the driveway.
If the crack is more than 1/8th inch in depth, sand must be added to fill up the empty space. Note that before a parking lot or a driveway is ready to be striped or seal coated, it must first be cleared of all debris. This will help adhesion of the paint or the sealcoat.
Once the driveway is clear of debris, the lot will be lined or the cracks will be filled. Next the sealcoat goes on and the driveway must then dry for 24 hours before use. Report had it that typical cost for parking lot striping is $400 depending on the size, while the price for sealcoating a driveway ranges from $200-$300 depending on size and condition of the driveway.
4. Our Mission and Vision Statement
- Our Vision at Solid Base is to provide the finest parking lot striping and seal coating services to residential buildings as well as existing building owners.
- Our mission at Solid Base is to provide customers with the finest level of service available in the industry. Our goal is to attract and maintain customers. When we adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place. Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers.
Our Business Structure
Solid Base is a unique business that is owned and managed by Alex Scalper. Alex will be working full time for Solid Base. He will be doing the hiring, training, sales, and strategic development, as well as helping out with the actual parking lot and driveway work for training proposes.
We at Solid Base plan to employ eight full-time employees by month three and they will be working with Solid Base through the beginning of November when the sealcoating season will be coming to an end. Note that for the second season, three more people will be hired. Outlined below are the portfolios we will need from our third month of running Solid Base;
- Chief Executive Officer
- Head of Technical Services
- Associate consultant
- Sales and Marketing Executive
- Accountant
- Laborer
- Client Service Executive
5. Job Roles and Responsibilities
Chief Executive Officer
- He will oversee all other executives and staff within the organization.
- Charged with meeting with board of directors and other executives to determine if company is in accordance with goals and policies.
- Tasked with directing the organization’s financial goals, objectives, and budgets.
- In charge of implicating the organization’s guidelines on a day-to-day basis.
- Will preside over quality control.
- Hire, train, and terminate employees.
- Charged with providing visionary and strategic leadership for the organization.
- Tasked with collaborating with the board of directors to develop the policies and direction of the organization.
- Will make sure the members of the Board of Directors have the information necessary to perform their fiduciary duties and other governance responsibilities.
Head of Technical services
- He serves as the project manager of the organization; works directly with employees
- In charge of developing strategic plan by studying technological and financial opportunities; presenting assumptions; recommending objectives.
- Tasked with accomplishing subsidiary objectives by establishing plans, budgets, and results measurements; allocating resources; reviewing progress; making mid-course corrections.
- In charge of building the company image by collaborating with customers, government, community organizations, and employees; enforcing ethical business practices.
- Should be able to maintain quality service by establishing and enforcing organization standards.
- Makes sure that the organization work in line with international best practices.
Associate consultant
- Interact with clients and project team to plan and develop project work.
- Provide training to clients on project deliverables when needed.
- Respond to client’s questions and concerns in a timely manner.
- Provide business solutions and recommendations to clients to meet project goals.
- Communicate with clients to clearly understand project requirements and scope.
- Monitor and report project status to clients on regular basis.
- Work with HR team to screen and recruit candidates for project.
- Maintain complete project documentations for reference purposes.
- Ensure that project team works according to project scope and timelines.
Sales and Marketing Executive
- Tasked with managing external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
- Should be able to model demographic information and analyse the volumes of transactional data generated by customer
- In charge of identifying development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts
- Should be able to write winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
- In charge of handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for clients
- Creates new markets cum businesses for the organization
- Motivate the sales team to meet and surpass agreed targets
Accountant
- In charge of preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
- Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports
- In charge of financial forecasting and risks analysis.
- Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
- In charge of developing and managing financial systems and policies
- In charge of administering payrolls
- Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
- Handles all financial transactions for Solid Base
- Serves as internal auditor for Solid Base
Laborer
- Operate company vehicles and equipment.
- Perform basic maintenance for assigned operating equipment.
- Assists in the painting and taping of lots and driveways
- Regularly lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.
- Occasionally lift and/or move more than 100 pounds.
Client Service Executive
- Welcomes clients and potential clients by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
- Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In centre, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
- Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
- Manages administrative duties assigned by the Head of technical services in an effective and timely manner
- Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to clients when they make enquiries
6. SWOT Analysis
Solid Base, being a business that wants to be successful contracted the services of a core professional in the area of business consulting and structuring to assist our firm research and analyse a sincere SWOT Analysis. We are really interested to understand our advantage and flaws. The professionals we contracted were very thorough, and this is the summary of their SWOT Analysis for Solid Base;
- Strength
According to our SWOT Analysis, our strength in this industry is the reasonably priced services we at Solid Base will provide which will exceed customer’s expectations.
- Weakness
To all industries, it is hard and daunting task for a new entrant to attract customers immediately. Most new entrants focus on acquiring or raising funds, and do not consider the need to acquire a substantial share of the market. We hope not to make the same mistake but leverage this weakness as a stepping stone.
- Opportunities
Our Business location at the centre of North America and far removed from large bodies of water, has a hot summer type humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with hot, humid summers and cold, snowy winters. Summer temperatures can often climb into the 90 °F (32 °C) range, occasionally reaching 100 °F (38 °C). Humidity can be high in spring and summer, with frequent afternoon thunderstorms.
Fall brings pleasant temperatures and colourful fall foliage. Winters vary from moderately cold to bitterly cold, with low temperatures venturing below 0 °F (−18 °C) quite often. Snowfall averages 35.3 inches (90 cm) per season, and annual precipitation averages 36.0 inches (914 mm), with a peak in the warmer months.
Winters are slightly colder than Chicago, but still warmer than Minneapolis, with summer temperatures being very similar between the Upper Midwest metropolitan areas. This climate affects asphalt constantly and creates a need for steady re-striping and sealcoating.
- Threat
According to our SWOT Analysis, the key issue facing every industry in the world is economic recession. The world is recovering from a massive recession and people are still scared that it might swing back. Another threat we have in this business is the increasing possibility of a direct competition in our business location.
We have analysed our chances and we believe we have the ability and strength to gain substantial market share while achieving our business visions. We are confident in our abilities to reach all our milestones on or before the stipulated timeframe.
7. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Market Trend
Report has it that since the construction industry started recovering from the Great Recession; it has dealt with labour shortages throughout areas of the country. Experts believe that this will continue in 2019 as businesses will keep struggling to find enough skilled craft workers to meet the growing demand in order to keep pace with the increase in construction spending expected this year.
Statistics has it that the construction industry added 210,000 jobs in 2017, with 30,000 of those, mostly specialty trade contractors, being added in December. This is up from the 155,000 added in 2016 but still down from the 336,000 added back in 2015.
Industry data shows that most firms in the industry are planning to add headcount in 2018. That’s good news, except when you consider that 78% of firms are currently having a hard time filling skilled labour positions and 82% of firms expect it to remain difficult or become harder to do so.
Due to the recent reduction in the corporate tax rate, it will be interesting to see if construction firms invest those savings into creating training programs to lure more workers to the industry or by increasing wages to attract more workers. We at Solid Base are open to adopting new positive trends in the industry as long as it aligns with our company goals and visions while also suiting our wage structure.
8. Our Target Market
We at Solid Base plan to target just two distinct segments of the population that are consumers of parking lot striping and sealcoating services. We plan to establish one innovative and unique marketing campaign that will reach both populations. Our first target audience will be people with disposable income who can afford to pay someone.
Note that this group typically has a household income over $85,000 who own parking spaces and pay many service providers to maintain their home (i.e. lawn care). Our second target audience will be residential landlords.
Note that this group believes that parking lot maintenance and sealcoating is too much exertion for them or way too messy, particularly at their age. They also believe that striping or sealcoating the driveway will greatly extend the life of the driveway and give it a unique beauty to attract more tenants.
Our competitive advantage
Our Competitive Advantage at Solid Base is our outstanding customer service. This will start with the initial interaction when providing the customer with an estimate. After that, our next chance to shine is the time when the company is on-site lining the parking lot or laying down the sealcoat.
Upon finishing the job, we at Solid Base plan to briefly speak (or leave written documentation if the customer is not home) with the customer detailing what was just done to their parking lot or driveway, what needs to be done in regards to curing, what are some reasonable expectations in regards to the service and what to do if they have any problems or questions.
We also plan to ensure that all our employees are trained on how to interact with customers so we will feel comfortable in letting the employees who are in the field be our company representative.
9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
Our sales and marketing strategy at Solid Base will be based on impressing our customer with excellent customer service. We understand how difficult it will be to compete on price as all businesses in this industry perform these services almost within the same price range. With this in mind, we at Solid Base will compete on superior service.
We plan to give our customers detailed information about the services we are rendering to them, what the advantages and disadvantages are, and what are reasonable expectations consumers should have. We will arm the prospective consumers with information to make a more educated choice.
We strongly believe that by providing the customer with as much information about the service, they will choose Solid Base because they appreciate our attempt to benefit and help them make good decisions.
- Sources of Income
We will generate revenue by providing residential parking lot striping, sealcoating and crack filling to the people of Des Moines. Research has shown that businesses in the industry charge around $400 an hour for striping, while the price for sealcoating a driveway ranges from $200-$300 depending on size and condition of the driveway.
Note that the buying patterns of consumers are typically based on price and perceived customer service, with an emphasis on price.
Price is emphasized because there often is little to differentiate companies based on the actual product (because the customer is not aware of the striping and seal coating materials until the job is done and even then it is very difficult for the consumer to perceive a difference) and in general the industry is not known for its stellar customer service.
10. Sales Forecast
For us at Solid Base, there will be no sales activity during the first month so this time will be used to set up the work area and the office. But the next month will be used to line up initial customers as well as hire and train employees. Note that by the third month, we will be striping parking lots and sealcoating driveways.
We expect business to steadily grow through September when the season will begin to wind down. From our analysis, profitability will be reached by month six. We believe that our sales forecast was analyzed using all predictions and incentives present and obtainable in the industry. Our sales forecast at Solid Base includes;
- First Year: $900,000
- Second Year: $1,600,000
- Third Year: $2, 500, 000
11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy
We at Solid Base understand the importance of good publicity and word-of-mouth advertising. We plan to ensure that the opening of our business will be huge news in the city of Des Moines, and will therefore serve as a very useful promotional tool. Residents won’t be able to avoid noticing the scale of this project. Outlined below are the publicity strategies we hope to use at Solid Base;
- Place adverts on both print (newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
- Sponsor relevant community based events / programs
- Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our services
- Install our billboards in strategic locations all around Des Moines
- Engage in road shows from time to time in targeted neighbourhoods
- Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
- Contact corporate organizations by calling them up and informing them of Solid Base and the services we offer
- List our company in local directories / yellow pages
- Advertise our company in our official website and employ strategies that will help us pull traffic to the site.
- Ensure that all our staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are branded with our company logo.
12. Our Pricing Strategy
Just like we stated above, when it comes to pricing in this line of business, there often is little to differentiate companies based on the actual product (because the customer is not aware of the striping and seal coating materials until the job is done and even then it is very difficult for the consumer to perceive a difference) and in general the industry is not known for its stellar customer service.
We at Solid Base will keep our prices below the average market price by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance from residential landlords and clients who would hire our services. We also hope to offer special discounted rates to all our customers at regular intervals to attract them to our business.
- Payment Options
We at Solid Base understand that payment options are one of the vital factors that bring any business closer to the heart of the people, and we are very much prepared to make use of that extensively. We will be bringing payment options that are unique and will make the payment for the service we offer very easy for our customers.
- Payment by via bank transfer
- Payment via online bank transfer
- Payment via check
- Payment via mobile money
- Payment with cash
To provide our services, we have partnered with a renowned bank in the country and we hope to make use of that relationship. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials so that it will be easier for clients to make payments when necessary.
13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)
One of our key objectives at Solid Base is to develop a sustainable start-up business, surviving off its own cash flow. But to achieve this objective we need to first start up our business and run it successfully, which requires adequate funding and excellent fund management.
The incentives needed to start this business will include the price of facility lease, office and service equipment, advertising and all other aspects. Meanwhile, this is what it would cost us to start Solid Base;
- Business incorporating fees in the United States of America will cost – $750.
- The budget for Liability insurance, permits and license will cost – $4,000
- Budget for leasing and renovating an adequate facility in Des Moines– $100,000
- The amount required to purchase the needed equipment, tool box and repair equipment – $150,000
- Equipping our office facility (computers, printers, projectors, markers, servers / internet facility, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – $130,000
- Amount required to purchase the needed software applications to run our business – $ 3,500
- Launching an official Website will cost – $500
- Amount need to pay bills and staff members for at least 2 to 3 months – $250,000
- Our budget for marketing and publicity – $200,000
- Additional Expenditure such as Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will cost – $5,000
From our detailed analysis above, we will need $843,750 to start Solid Base.
Generating Funding/Startup of Solid Base
Solid Base is a unique business owned and managed by Alex Scalper. Alex will be working full time for Solid Base. He will be doing the hiring, training, sales, and strategic development, as well as helping out with the actual parking lot and driveway work for training proposes. He will also be the sole financier of the business which is why we have decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital for the business to just three major sources.
- Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings
- Generate part of the startup capital from friends and other extended family members
- Generate part of the capital from the bank (loan facility).
Note: We have been able to raise $500,000 (Personal savings $300,000 and soft loan from family members $200,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $400,000. We have verified all the necessary procedures to actualize or get our startup capital.
14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy
We at Solid Base will be aggressively courting new customers by making use of our superior customer support in the industry. Have it in mind that in an industry that is not known for their customer support, it is quite easy to stand out with good customer service.
During the initial estimation phases, our employees at Solid Base will be able to professionally respond to any questions that the customer may have.
We believe that this meeting provides us with the opportunity to provide the customer with a written pamphlet of information that explains information about our company and our services, offers general information about striping and sealcoating, the pros and cons of striping and sealcoating as well as what expectations the consumer can reasonably have about a service provider.
We at Solid Base strongly believe that this initial interaction will give us an opportunity to show off our stellar customer service, which will turn the prospective person into a client.
Also note that our strategy at Solid Base to reach our target audience will be based on a series of advertisements in the local paper. Within the metro section of the paper there is an area where local service providers advertise. This section appears to be well received by the readership as people of the community often refer to this section when they are trying to find a service provider.
We at Solid Base will also have a yellow page advertisement. We will also leverage word of mouth referrals. We plan to establish an economic incentive for current customers to make referrals for a new customer. While this will take a small amount away from profit margins, it will build a loyal customer base for successive years.
Check List/Milestone
- Business Name Availability Check:>Completed
- Business Incorporation: Completed
- Opening of Corporate Bank 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
- Leasing, renovating and equipping our facility: Completed
- Generating part of the startup capital from the founder: Completed
- Applications for Loan from our Bankers: In Progress
- Writing of Business Plan: Completed
- Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
- Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
- Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
- Printing of Promotional Materials: Completed
- Recruitment of employees: In Progress
- Purchase of software applications, furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
- Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
- Creating Awareness for the business (Business PR): In Progress
- Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
- Establishing business relationship with banks, financial lending institutions, vendors and key players in the industry: In Progress