Starting a boat storage business offers income potential for those with experience in the business. Boats are popular for younger families choosing to save travel dollars while enjoying more time with their children. If you live near a popular water source, boat ownership may be common and boat storage is a must for those who do not have enough space at home. There are many places and communities with restrictions on-street parking of boat trailers, so storage facilities for these vehicles are always in demand.

Business Model

Whether you sail a catamaran or drive a motorboat, when boating season is over, finding adequate storage can be a challenge. If you don’t have a large indoor facility for dry boat storage or the extra outdoor space to accommodate a boat and/or its trailer, you need an indoor or outdoor boat storage facility you can trust. The business model explains the principal characteristics and roles of the company to offer storage locations with easy, drive-up access and security features for worry-free temporary or long-term storage. The business earns its money by leasing space and providing regular maintenance for boats owned by third parties. It could also earn money by leasing it to other people with the owner’s permission.

Business Summary

Market Positioning

At any boat storage facility, tenants pay attention to customer service, superior security features and amenities. The business plan outlines the strategies to use in order to position your business within the market, taking advantage of the strengths of the company and facilities that excel in those features to ensure a high occupancy. These qualities are particularly crucial to attract and maintain tenants.

Operations Plan

In this section, there is all the information for running the boat storage business in a successful and profitable manner. We understand that boat owners like the flexibility of being able to pick up their boat at any time. So the staff working schedule, location and procedures need to offer easy, drive-up access to the boat storage buildings through flexible lease terms. All these aspects will be described in the plan including maintenance procedures and security measures to guarantee the boat’s safety.

Marketing Plan

Marketing a boat storage facility can be challenging if you don’t have a business plan to guide you. The key of this section is to focus on your facility’s attributes and competitive advantages to build the right marketing strategy.

Market Segmentation

People who enjoy more disposable income usually choose water sports as a recreation. At the same time, most communities have restrictions regarding the parking of boats in streets and driveways, providing an excellent opportunity for a boat storage company to meet the resulting need. These high-end toys often bring high-end tenants who have high expectations and different needs. The business plan offers a description of the usual profile of boat owners so you can develop effective strategies in order to attract them.

Promotional Strategies

The promotional strategies mainly focus on excellent customer service that will create word of mouth. Successful boat storages companies not only provide storage for these vehicles but a multitude of complementary services. Such amenities include vehicle wash bays, showers, electricity hookups in units, dump stations, water-filling stations and enhanced security. This section of the plan summarizes the steps to provide the ultimate customer service, offering additional services that apply specifically to this niche. This will create referrals that can become the main source of new customers along with certain traditional and online advertising tools.

Financial Projections

This kind of business does come with upfront costs during the development stage and soft costs to keep the services running. Nevertheless, the costs usually worth it since they contribute to good customer service, which equates to happy tenants and consistent lease payments. In this part of the boat storage business plan there is a complete research and statistics of the financial aspects of the business.

Revenue Assumptions

To run a profitable boat storage business, it is essential to count with a business plan that offers all the financial and revenues information to guide you through. The information on this business plan will save you time and effort on researching the industry and competitors, giving you information about the main sources of income for the company such as customer’s monthly rent payments, along with the payment of fees for additional services such as the ones mentioned above.

Projecting Expenses

This section emphasizes the main expenses you will incur to operate the business, such as maintenance, rent, staff, materials and services and it includes a complete guide in order to keep them in balance to keep your business as profitable as possible.