Selling Carports & Garages

Selling and Building Carports & Garages.

I was in this business for many years

In some parts of the country, garages and carports are good sellers. You can create a nice business by specializing in these two items.

Some companies in this buiness operate like the home improvement sales people, and make their sales in the home using commissioned salesmen, selling from plans and photos. Others operate like the portable building people, and sell from a sales lot with actual garages on display. Both methods work. You might start with in home sales, generate your leads with small display ads, or use classified ads placed in the local TV guide. After you learn what to do, you can expand by opening a sales lot.

You need very little money to start this business. Your customer's deposits can cover most, or all of the material cost, and the installers have their own tools and equipment. You will need a sales book to use in the home, made up of the brochures and pictures you get from your suppliers.

If you run ads to get sales leads, you will need money to pay for the first couple of months advertising. If you are going to advertise by putting fliers on doors, you maybe a little less money. You can also find jobs by setting up a booth at the flea market to get leads. You could start this business with a little as $1,000.

As you complete jobs, add you own job photos to your sales book. People will buy from the pictures you show them so a ring binder sales photo book is money well invested.

A pick up truck is helpful, although your installers will pick up and deliver materials for the jobs. You may need to haul materials to your job sites from time to time.

Read the sections on home improvement sales, and the section on portable buildings, the general principals are the same.

Pricing:

Different contractors use different pricing formulas. The most common are.

1. Material cost, times three, equals the sales price.
2. Material plus labor, times two, equals sales price.
3. Material plus labor, times 1.67, equals sales price.

There are some Home Improvement Contractors who use much higher mark-ups, and some who sell so cheap that they cannot afford to advertise, or grow their businesses past the start up stage, Charge a far price, and stand behind every job you do. If you do that your business will grow.

Advertising:

We found that the best place to advertise was in the TV guide. The best ads read, "20% off car-ports, screen rooms and patio covers, free estimates call xxx-xxxx". or "20% off Garages" The next best way to advertise was to put up full size carport displays at busy highway intersections with signs saying CAR PORTS & PATIO COVERS CALL XXX-XXXX.

Sub Contractors:

Sub Contractors are the key to your success. When you find a good carpenter and concrete man take care of them, and they will take care of you. Most subs have standard rates that they charge for the different types of jobs, sit down with your subs and make a list of their labor rates. Sub-contractors operate as independent business men and as independent businessmen they pay their own taxes. Be sure you have a signed sub-contract agreement on each and every job to avoid becoming liable to the IRS for taxes on subs or their employees.

Check the sub's insurance for workers comp and liability insurance.

How the Internet assist this business:

The Internet allows you place smaller display ads and direct people to your web site for more information. The web gives you access to garage construction plans. It allows you to get information quickly on specialty building products. Building permit information is online in most large cities. The web allows you access to all manner of business forms and contracts to use in operating your business, as well as business how to information from bank and other web sites.

There is a lot more to this than what is given here, and you will need to learn as you go. Our how-to-manual goes into detail on what to do, including list of suppliers, advertising samples, plans, photos and advertising copy. The manual covers all areas of the business.

The cost of this manual is $59.00 (call 1-888-814-7531 ext 1382) it includes how to design and sell steel patio covers, and carports covers. Information that cannot be purchased from the local home improvement contractor sources. If you want to save thousands of dollars in trial and error learning, as well as jump-start your Home Improvement business, order the manual. (paid adv.)

You can be successful with out the manual, I was.

Even if you order the manual it will not help, if you do not get out there and get started. So however you do it, the key is, DO IT!

"The real reason the rich get richer is because someone is working at it"
Jim Glasgow