Auto parts online store business plan
To live comfortably in the modern world, you need to make good money. As a rule, only having a successful business of your own can you receive money on a stable basis. But just how to correctly determine the niche for the introduction of activities? According to official statistics, the volume of car sales in our country is growing rapidly every year. While catering establishments, shopping malls and small shops, as well as other hot spots close one after another, car dealerships do not have time to calculate their revenue. And this is not surprising, because today a vehicle is not an indicator of wealth and not a luxury item, but a necessity. However, during the operation of the car, its physical wear occurs, due to which various parts periodically fail, so drivers are forced to buy new parts. Therefore, many entrepreneurs think about how to make money on this. Stable demand for products, which does not depend on seasonality, makes this line of business very attractive and one of the most profitable.
Let's take a closer look at how to open an online auto parts store from scratch and build a profitable business on it. This article will provide detailed instructions to help you avoid the most common beginner mistakes that make entrepreneurs lose a lot of money.
How beneficial is it?
Before talking about how to open an auto parts store from scratch, let's look at the prospects of this direction. There is no need to go far and build any calculations, but it will be enough just to look at the experience of competitors. Take a close look at the market situation in the region in which you intend to do business. If there are many companies operating in your city and they are doing well, it means that the investment has financial expediency. However, your point of sale should be located at a certain distance from competitors so that they do not take away potential buyers from you. This is a very important nuance that will give your business a certain advantage and a good impetus in the first stages of work.
If an annoying thought constantly revolves in your head: "I want to open an auto parts store", then you should be clearly aware that this niche is associated with a high level of competition. This is good for conducting market research, but very bad for a business, since it will be quite difficult to survive, let alone earn a stable income. Therefore, when studying the activities of other stores that sell automotive goods, immediately look for a good place for your office. Also define the product range in advance. Which goods are in the greatest demand, and which ones will simply lie dead in the warehouse.
Is it profitable to open an auto parts store? It all depends on many factors. To increase the chances of a successful result, you need to think through everything well and draw up a competent marketing strategy. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account not only the location and range of products, but also the salary of hired personnel, the availability of good suppliers offering favorable purchase prices, the level of income of the population and much more. For example, if a working class with a low level of income lives in the region, then there is no point in selling spare parts for foreign cars. In addition, consumer preferences play an important role. Many prefer to shop in the old fashioned way at retail stores, where they can touch the goods with their hands, rather than ordering from online markets.
If you decide to open an auto parts store for foreign cars or domestic cars from scratch, then you should have clear answers to a number of questions. Some of the most important are the following:
- Pricing policy. The cost should not be too low and not high so that the goods are affordable for customers, and your profit is maximized. To do this, it will be necessary to find good suppliers, or even better, try to reach official distributors.
- Marketing. Opened auto parts stores for foreign cars already have a certain reputation and credit of confidence among consumers, so a powerful advertising campaign is indispensable. Any means and methods available should be used to attract customers.
- Discounts and promotions. Let it be a trifle, but nice. Buyers are very fond of various bonuses, so it's worth providing them.
- Quality of service. Not all people are well versed in the structure of their vehicles, so they need help choosing auto parts. You must hire qualified salespeople to assist buyers with this.
- Availability of accessible entrances. Customers should be able to find your store easily and provide parking in the surrounding area.
These aspects are key, so they need to be thought out and carefully worked out. If you have mastered these basics, then now you can talk about how to open an auto parts store from scratch. This type of business, although it is highly competitive, and also fraught with many problems, nevertheless, even a beginner can get used to it, if he strictly adheres to a certain algorithm of actions. Further, detailed instructions for the implementation of the project will be described, which will help you do everything correctly and quickly recoup your financial investments.
Financial Planning
Let's dwell on this aspect in more detail. So, you are serious about starting an auto parts store. How much money is needed for this? This issue is of particular concern to entrepreneurs who do not have a lot of start-up capital. Experienced businessmen say that starting a store will require from one and a half to two million rubles. However, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the first few years of stable profit will not be, and even you can work at a small loss, therefore, in order to stay afloat, you must have a certain airbag. If you decide to open an auto parts store, the business must come with the following cost items:
- Premises rental. It all depends on the specific region and location. The cost per square meter in our country is very different.
- Repairs. The premises should have an attractive design, and all conditions should be created in it for the normal work of employees and customer service.
- Purchase of equipment and furniture.
- Purchase of goods that should be enough for at least several months of work.
- Payment of salaries to employees.
- Payment for utilities, Internet, as well as mobile and landline phones.
- Costs of the advertising campaign.
- Payment for parking spaces for visitors.
My name is Roman Gorodnichev, I am the manager of the online auto parts store VigodnoZap, the founder of Bigamotor (Togliatti) and not only. I am writing this article to help entrepreneurs open an online auto parts store from scratch. I will not talk about market analysis, about the tax system, or about a business plan. This is all secondary.
Primarily - to establish communication with the client on the Internet. After all, everything is exactly what your tax system is, if the client stupidly does not find you.
2. Features of online trading;
2. Key functions of a selling online store;
4. How not to spend money on advertising and promotion;
5. Help in opening an online spare parts store.
What not to do when opening an online auto parts store
Below are the main mistakes made by entrepreneurs, which lead to huge losses. Perhaps even fatal. There are a number of mistakes that are made, but I can tell you about them personally.
- Don't buy a% market auto parts store franchise is cheating!
At work, I often communicate with owners of spare parts stores throughout the Russian Federation. And the franchisees of this or that franchise regularly call me. This is a kapets. From conversations with these people, I understood what a franchise is.
Selling auto parts means owning a business that will withstand even the most severe crisis. Cars will always be on sale. If fewer of them are bought, the old ones will be repaired more actively.
Any technician requires service. So auto parts are a very popular product. There is no easier way to sell them than selling them through an online store. So, let's start creating a business plan for an online auto parts store.
Where to start
From market analysis. You must know the region where you are going to do business: car brands, incomes of the population, competitors, their assortment.
If you are limited in funds, and you cannot handle a large-scale business, why not focus on a specific brand and start supplying spare parts for it.
What to choose an individual entrepreneur or LLC
Once this critical issue has been resolved for you, go to the documents for registering your own company. If you plan to work exclusively with individuals, register as an individual entrepreneur.
If contacts with large enterprises and small firms are not excluded, a limited liability company is better.
Premises, staff and suppliers
While the paperwork is in progress, look for a room. You will need a warehouse, the area of which will be in direct proportion to the size of the business.
An important point is personnel search. And the first one you have to find is the company that will create the site, fill it and make it really work. And then you will need an operator who will monitor the updating of information on the site.
Auto parts store financial model
Brief Investment Memorandum
Despite the crisis, the car market shows good growth rates from year to year. This phenomenon applies to both domestically produced cars and foreign cars. Thus, the sales of auto parts are also growing. As a result, opening a business for the sale of auto parts is quite profitable, which translates into a quick payback period - 14 months, as well as a quick break-even point - 3 months.
To start a business, you need to find a room with an area of 140 m2. The premises can be found in the industrial centers of the city, on city highways where there is a large traffic flow every day. It is also necessary to hire 5 employees.
The store will sell about 1,000 items of products every month. These will include the entire product range. Average cost of production is about 1,000 rubles. The markup ranges from 40% to 50%. Considering these parameters, the financial indicators of the project will be as follows:
The amount of initial investment - 1 776 800 rubles
Monthly profit - 150,000 rubles
Payback period - 14 months
Break-even point - 3 months
Return on sales - 11%
Opening a store is not difficult, the main difficulties begin when organizing its work. It is necessary not only to ensure the flow of customers, but also to correctly approach the issue of finding and purchasing auto parts. In addition to them, you can sell everything you need for a car, from car oils to tools.
- When a store opens without a specific base - an offline store.
- If you already have a store and you need to search for new customers on the Internet to expand your business.
- Opening a franchise store.
We suggest considering all possible situations when we need to create a website.
How does an online store differ from a catalog site
If the entrepreneur already has a point of sale, it may not be necessary to create an online store. The user has the opportunity to choose everything he needs on the catalog site. Its differences:
- There is no cart to which you can add a product, so there is no way to purchase it online.
- The site is created as convenient as possible, the user is not distracted by anything, and it contains all the necessary information about the products.
- If there is no person who knows how to professionally create websites, the advantage will be a lower price: you do not have to attach payment systems and create a complex service. Maintenance of such a site will also be cheaper.
- You don't need to register your online store as a marketplace.
Thus, if you are only interested in sales in a certain city, this option is much easier.
Benefits of creating an online store Automating your business
Suppose we sell spare parts for foreign cars. With the correct organization of such a business, the profit margin can reach 400 thousand rubles. and higher. We can say that to some extent this is passive income. Orders are automatically accepted and processed by the system. You also need to buy the necessary spare parts on time (or offer them on order), issue the goods to the client, and arrange delivery.
The key advantage is that it is more convenient for you to expand your business. For example, if you organize delivery to other cities, you can significantly expand the geography of sales. And doing it via the Internet is the most convenient way. The most important thing is that the online store is promoted correctly.