$3k a Month Renting Out Mobility Scooters Part-Time

I really like an excellent rental enterprise: purchase one thing as soon as and receives a commission for it over and over.

It’s a cool mannequin, and this week’s visitor discovered a artistic strategy to it within the mobility scooter area of interest.

Lenny Tim from LAMobilityScooterRentals.com is a serial aspect hustler and entrepreneur concerned within the e-commerce and YouTube space. He constructed his scooter rental to $3k a month in his spare time.

Tune in to the Facet Hustle Present interview to listen to how:

• Lenny found his area of interest
• discovered his first clients
• expanded his fleet and operations

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The Thought to Begin a Mobility Scooter Rental

In 2019, a pal of Lenny’s who had an tools rental enterprise reached out to him to see if they may begin an identical service collectively.

After performing some analysis, Lenny got here up with an inventory of kit they may lease out, and one in all them was mobility scooters.

There weren’t many mobility scooter leases on the time, and scooters have been neither too cumbersome nor too costly. So, they determined to run with the thought.

However Lenny needed to see if there was a requirement for scooter leases first earlier than totally committing to the enterprise, so he constructed a web site utilizing the GoDaddy Website Builder.

Getting Preliminary Traction

Lenny began getting calls and emails inside six months of constructing the location.

He attributes this preliminary traction to the standard of the location. “I checked out my opponents and I simply tried to do higher, and … I ranked fairly shortly,” he instructed me.

Lenny didn’t know a lot about search engine marketing, however he tried to get a site title that may be straightforward to go looking. He additionally populated the location with photos and key phrases, arrange a Google Business Profile web page, and made an inventory for the enterprise on Yelp.

The enterprise was primarily geared towards vacationers and vacationers in Los Angeles who wanted a scooter to get round, however additionally they acquired calls from movie crews. Generally, accommodations would even name on behalf of company who wanted scooters.

Lenny mentioned he waited till he acquired a number of requests a day earlier than really shopping for the scooters to lease out.

“I needed it to be the place … I used to be gonna get a number of constant leases on a regular basis.”

Pricing

Lenny costs $75 a day to lease a mobility scooter. He provides a $75 supply/pickup payment on prime of that — $150 if the shopper is greater than 10 miles away.

Lenny instructed me that he usually doesn’t do one-day leases. As an alternative, he retains leases to a three-day minimal, which prices $225 plus supply/pickup.

He often goals for four- to seven-day leases, which go for a similar base worth of $249. In the meantime, clients who wish to lease a scooter for the month can accomplish that for $500 plus supply/pickup.

However all of that’s negotiable, particularly if the shopper is nice to cope with or in the event that they ask for a reduction.

And whereas there’s alternative for promoting add-ons like cellphone chargers and canopies, Lenny says he likes to maintain issues easy.

“Some individuals need [add-ons], some individuals don’t, so I maintain it easy. It’s type of like an 80/20 rule. I simply lease them the scooter, and I get probably the most cash for that.”

Lenny costs the best costs amongst his opponents — one thing he’s in a position to do due to the work he put into constructing his model.

Total, it provides as much as round $100 a day in earnings.

Startup Prices

Lenny makes use of Pride® Mobility Scooters, which generally value round $1,500 model new.

However he was in a position to maintain his startup prices pretty low by shopping for scooters second-hand on Fb Market and different native marketplaces for about $500 apiece.

That meant he might get his a refund after only one to 3 leases.

Presently, Lenny has seven mobility scooters — every one an income producing asset. He says he might positively purchase extra, however he prefers to maintain the rental as a aspect enterprise, not a full-time one.

When the scooters aren’t in use, he retains them in a storage unit he rents out.

And so far as supply goes, Lenny makes do along with his SUV, which might comfortably match two scooters within the trunk. “I simply put [the scooter] within the trunk of my automotive and I simply ship it that means.”

What About Legal responsibility Insurance coverage?

Except for the rental settlement, Lenny has a general liability policy in place to guard himself and be sure that the shopper takes accountability for the scooter when it’s with them.

He was initially nervous about clients calling him in the course of the night time about an accident or a defective scooter. Fortunately, that’s not often occurred.

“It’s occurred a few times the place the batteries have been type of defective and the scooter wasn’t working that properly, however I used to be in a position to maintain it … No person was caught anyplace,” he mentioned.

Lenny can be assured in regards to the high quality of his scooters. And quite a lot of occasions, individuals who lease scooters are with their household and don’t enterprise out on their very own.

Methods to Market the Enterprise

Listed below are among the methods Lenny recommends to advertise a scooter rental:

Set Up a Google Enterprise Profile Web page

Lenny created a Google Enterprise Profile web page and optimized it for SEO.

He believes that constructing a robust digital presence this fashion helped him simply outrank his opponents, even these which were round for a very long time.

Create a Yelp Web page

Lenny made an inventory for his enterprise on Yelp when he first began out.

He says he nonetheless will get some requests on Yelp, though he doesn’t pay as a lot consideration to his itemizing there anymore.

Construct Relationships with Resorts

Hanging up partnerships with accommodations is a good way to get a gradual stream of consumers.

You’ll be able to both strategy accommodations personally to allow them to learn about your service or ask them to place up one in all your flyers on the entrance desk for company to see.

Lenny didn’t make the most of this technique as a result of he’s proud of how a lot enterprise he presently has. However he says he’ll positively attain out to accommodations if he ever considers taking his aspect hustle to the following degree.

Solicit Evaluations

In the course of the first few months of working the scooter rental, Lenny would usually ship clients a follow-up e-mail thanking them for his or her enterprise and soliciting evaluations.

As of late, he doesn’t solicit evaluations as a lot as a result of he feels he has sufficient constructive ones on each his Google Enterprise Profile and Yelp pages.

What’s a Typical Day Look Like?

The vast majority of Lenny’s day-to-day work includes supply and pickup. He says he often works solely 2-3 days every week in step with the part-time facet of his enterprise.

Right here’s how renting works:

1. The shopper calls or emails Lenny to lease a scooter.
2. Lenny sends the shopper a PDF copy of the rental settlement, which they’ll refill, signal, and return to Lenny.
3. Lenny creates an bill utilizing Square and sends the shopper a fee request.
4. Lenny delivers the scooter to the lodge the place the shopper is staying and leaves it on the entrance desk. He makes positive to place a tag with the shopper’s title on the scooter.
5. As soon as the rental interval is up, Lenny picks up the scooter on the lodge.

Any Surprises Alongside the Manner?

When he was beginning out, Lenny was typically nervous that one thing was going to go incorrect with the scooters or that clients would have points with them. However that was not often the case.

Save for an incident or two the place he needed to change the batteries for a buyer or convey them a brand new scooter altogether, enterprise was easy crusing.

Lenny was additionally shocked on the several types of clients he’d get. It wasn’t all the time vacationers, vacationers, or individuals with mobility points. Some clients rented scooters to make use of as props.

What’s Subsequent?

Lenny says he plans to broaden the mobility scooter rental sooner or later.

However he additionally not too long ago began a big-ticket tools rental enterprise, LAGeneratorRentals.com, with a pal.

They’ve already acquired some mills, they usually’re pondering of presumably serving the film manufacturing and occasions niches.

Lenny’s #1 Tip for Facet Hustle Nation

“Begin with a minimal viable product.”

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