For those of us who have been in this business for a while, this is nothing new. We see start ups all the time and as an association are here to help you in your new business venture. Running this Business both in Vancouver Canada and also Cancun and the Riviera Maya Mexico we have seen many Baby Equipment Rental businesses come and go. People see it, believe it to be a great idea (which of course it is!) and think that it is easy and buying a couple of strollers and pack and plays slapping up a website and Bob’s your uncle.
The reality of this business is that it is a lot of work, can be little return and if you do not have the volume you can spend your time burning gas on deliveries and pickups discovering that at the end of the year you barely broke even. This is not even taking into account your time and wear and tear on your vehicle.
A breakdown of a delivery for us here in Mexico.
- Order comes in via the website
- Return emails, verify information and reserve the equipment
- Consolidate trips to and from outlying areas leveraging resort relationships.
- Clean the equipment
- Load vehicle
- Deliver equipment, set up what has been collapsed for space.
- Pick up equipment.
- Return home
- Clean equipment
- Put away
Say this is for a 5 day rental of a crib $60 to $80 USD depending on your pricing plus a delivery fee. Ours is a flat fee as it is not the clients issue where I am located. Say $100 Gas $25, depreciation on your crib $5, wear and tear on your vehicle $10. $60 profit. 2 hours to deliver and 2 hours to pick up if not busy enough to have multiple deliveries or pick ups, plus an hour on cleaning twice and organizing your equipment storage room, responding to the client etc. Congratulations you just made $12 an hour.
It is not an easy business as you know and to do it well you need to take the time and spend the time and money on extras.
What am I trying to say?
The message here really is you are going to have people pop into your marketplace, they will come and go. If you keep doing what you are doing and do it well, you will realize the longevity of your business and for a short period of time the other company(s) will help raise the industry awareness in your area and you will hear from them when they are closing down for some great deals on almost new equipment.
We personally have great relationships with our competition and regularly call or refer each other.
We had a fantastic review lately as a client rented and was blown away with the cleanliness of our items. She had rented in Miami USA several months prior and had to clean all the items before using them. She comes to Mexico and fortunately after that experience still rented and was very happy. It helps us all to help each other since a bad experience in Miami could have lead her to a place where she did not rent again from anyone in any destination.
We as always invite your comments
GABERCO TEAM
Of Course for many other of us, it is a slower time and business goes from November to April.
If you feel like getting off the beaten path, take baby for a spin through the trails at Lost Lake. A beautiful park with a vast network of trails that the BOB jogger was built to handle. A large lawn and sandy beach will keep baby busy on the warmer spring days.
