Starting a Mailbox Rental Business

Mailbox Rental Businesses can be both risky and rewarding investments. On one hand many successful parcel delivery companies and nationwide mail services already offer mailbox options. However, with low associated overheads these ventures can also be extremely profitable and there are numerous reasons why clientele may choose your service over a more traditional company. For instance you may offer added incentives like unbeatable prices, 24 hour parcel access or security or maybe even additional services such as fax to email.

 Planning

The first step on your business venture should be putting together a detailed and well thought out plan. Many people don't properly consider the range of factors needed in a detailed plan, but remember - this document will shape your company's approach, your goals and your corporate culture for the years to come.

A good plan will consider both internal factors and a business’s external environment. For instance your plan should include detailed plans for the company’s financial overheads, earning projections, staff structure, earning structure, advertising and marketing and corporate culture. As well as external factors such as analysing your main threats in terms of your competitors, their strengths and weaknesses and possible opportunities (gaps in the market) you can exploit.

Overheads

The primary overheads you will have to consider are the price of the basic equipment you'll need, such as mailboxes, security equipment, computers, phones, electricity and other utilities.

Next you will need to consider the cost of a company’s formation and other legal requirements, such as contracts and terms and conditions. In addition advertising will also be a factor meaning you will need a website, business cards, brochures and more.

Staffing will also be another area for concern. You will need to make sure you can find decent employees that you can trust with your business and who are either trained or are willing to learn.

Evaluation

The first area for evaluation should be your competitors. Firstly you want to see how many there are in the local area against the possible clients. You may need to be willing to move your business near a town or city that isn't too saturated with other start ups. Additionally you will want to study their pricing structure and see if you are able to compete. If you choose to set your prices lower than your competitors, you will have to consider whether how many clients you will need to gain a profit and whether this is realistic.

Additionally if your core mailbox business is not going to be profitable enough, you'll have to look into what other services you can offer, i.e fax to email services or mail forwarding. Another option would be to let companies use your address as their registered business address and charge an additional fee for the privilege.

Registered Office Services Have Become Popular with Small Businesses

Could I buy an established business or franchise?

Another possibility is to simply purchase an established business that someone may be looking to sell. This may be the better choice as some of the work will be done for you and the company may have existing clients. However, this also requires significant investigation into the reason for sale and factors involving the business itself, such as its profitability. Another option is franchising, by opening your own branch of an already successful company. This will give you a good insight into how the business is run and will allow you to buy into an already successful business model.