Dear hello50-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.
You don’t indicate whether there are any buildings, water or
electricity on the lot, but I assume since you are entertaining other
income making ventures there you are willing to place these things on
the lot if necessary. These (especially electricity) would open up a
vast array of possibilities that would not otherwise be considered.
However, in the interest of give you ideas you can use, I won’t assume
anything other than electricity, which you probably already have
access to for lighting the lot.
Because it is a in a residential area, let me propose these ideas, but
since you are not on the main road advertisement will probably be a
necessity:
CAR POOL DEPOT
Gas is about to soar. People will begin trying to conserve gasoline
and will look for new ways of saving money. A properly advertised car
pool depot could bring people into your area to find others who are
“going their way”. They pay a buck or two to park their car for the
day and hop a ride with someone else so they can travel the remaining
distance as a group. This is popular in larger cities and in cities
close to interstates or factories, etc.
COMMUNITY SPORTS
Put up some basketball goals, volleyball nets or soccer goals (things
they can be easily moved at night or are not in the way of your night
time business). Hand out free or half-price tickets to schools,
churches, fast food restaurants and civic groups to get your customers
attention. After a month, charge one dollar per person to “play all
day” at your little city park. A cold drink vending machine, a chip
vending machine and a pay phone on the property would also make some
income.
COMMERCIAL SPORTS
Install a few batting cages or other similar activity and charge a
small fee.
RECREATIONAL SPORTS
Place some ramps and obstacles on the lot and turn it into a daytime
skateboarding site.
FAMILY PARK
Place some picnic tables on the lot and rent reservations out for the
day for family affairs, parties, picnics or reunions. This has gone
over very well in my own area and the sites are generally booked well
in advance.
FOOD
Hot dog stands, snow cone stands, newsstands all do relatively to turn
vacant lots into small money making ventures. You won’t get rich, but
the lot won’t languish unused either. By hiring local teens to do the
work you’d also be doing others a service.
MERCHANDISE
Sunglasses tents, t-shirt tents, art tents and flea markets are also a
great source of revenue for a vacant lot. Renting space out for
community yard sales is another good idea. The community would love it
– buyer and seller alike.
CONSIGNMENT SALES
Hold a few consignment sales a month. This way you can dictate when
things arrive and when they leave; making sure the lot is vacant again
at night. Contact your local auction places and see if they need any
extra space for boats, vehicles or equipment auctions. If they do,
rent the lot to them every other Tuesday or so with the expressed
instructions that they may use the lot only until 6PM when you other
customer begin arriving to park their cars. If they don’t need space,
contact an auctioneer school, or some of the auction houses
auctioneers and ask them if they want a side job. You can start your
own mini auction selling cars, boats and equipment using your own
part-time auctioneer. Advertise in the paper, radio and TV and get
customers to being their stuff down to sell in exchange for a small
piece of the action. You might be amazed at how many people or used
car lots would come to buy and sell their cars.
SERVICE
If you are capable of doing so, or can hire a young person in your
area, it might be a good place to do service on lawn car equipment. A
capable young man or woman could do minor repairs on or services to
lawn mowers, weed-eaters and riding mowers. Since its on the main
road, you’ll have to advertise to get your customers in, but once they
know where you are they’ll keep coming back if you give them what they
need.
MORE
With buildings, your possibilities for a small business are endless:
COFFEE SHOP
INTERNET CAFÉ
COMMUNITY LIBRARY
GAME ROOM
PUB
HAIR CARE
PET GROOMING
COMPUTER REPAIR
LESSONS (school tutoring, computer classes, language training, etc)
DISK SHOP (buy/sell used DVD’s or CD’s – very popular)
VIDEO RENTAL STORE
BICYCLE RENTAL STORE
CAMPING EQUIPMENT RENTAL
VIDEO GAME RENTAL/SALES
PAWN SHOP
THRIFT STORE
And the list goes on and on…
In spite of what you might think, you DO have a great opportunity to
operate a car wash. I saw your other post where you suggested the
portable carwash venture. It would seem to me that your situation is a
great scenario for such an endeavor and in doing so you could kill two
birds with one stone.
Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any
questions about my research please post a clarification request prior
to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final
comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near
future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
STRATEGY
this question was seeking ideas, opinions and concepts rather than
resources so that is what was provided. |
Clarification of Answer by
tutuzdad-ga
on
06 Mar 2003 14:31 PST
Dear hello50-ga:
Here are some products and services, and examples of each, that are
growing trends in the US:
AUTO DETAILING
These are popular, especially on vacant lots or in rental buildings
that have a bay large enough to drive a vehicle into, because there is
very little overhead costs. People can always go to the carwash to
have their car cleaned, but these detail “shops” specialize in waxing,
polishing and cleaning/deodorizing car interiors, that only an actual
person can do for you:
http://www.sparkleauto.com/
http://www.mobileworks.com/
http://www.web-cars.com/detail/
GROUND EFFECTS (sometimes referred to as FX; a play on the English
word “effects”)
CAR LIGHTING SYSTEMS
PLASMA LIGHTS
These are extremely popular among young drivers. The lights don’t cost
a great deal but the retail markup is quite high. You could just sell
these or you could sell/install them on your lot.
http://www.eautoworks.com/html/light_bulbs.cfm
http://www.eautoworks.com/html/lighting_system.cfm
http://www.eautoworks.com/html/new_products.cfm
WINDOW TINTING
This is also popular with young drivers, but also among luxury car
owners, sports car owners, owners of SUV’s and RV’s (because they have
such large glass areas), van owners, limo services and vehicle in
public safety (such as police, ambulance, etc). It’s fairly easy to
learn how to do this but it is tedious work so most people pay someone
else to do it for them.
http://autowindowtintings.com/online.cfm?action=online
http://www.tintglass.com/automotive.htm
CAR ALARMS
KEYLESS ENTRY SYSTEMS
REMOTE STARTING SYSTEMS
With auto theft and car-jacking on the rise, people are using these
items more and more. Auto start is good for those cold mornings so you
don’t have to go out and start your car in the cold, but it’s also
good for a someone concerned for his or her own security. They can
start their car remotely while walking across a parking lot and be
prepared to leave the area as soon as they reach their car without
having to fumble for their keys.
http://www.autotechs.com/
http://www.car-alarms.com/
GPS NAVIGATION SYSTEMS
GPS TRACKING SYSTEMS
These tools are gaining popularity rapidly. As this technology
increases, more and more preople will use them. Personally, I predict
that a time will soon come when we all talk about the days “before”
GPS navigation technology as if it was something quite odd. There are
two different kinds of GPS systems, those that tell you how to get
where you are going, and those that tell you where your car “is” if
someone steals it (the anti-theft device is sometimes referred to a
“lo-jack” system)
http://www.gps-future.com/
http://www.scorpion-security.com/auto/lojack1.htm
AUTO TELEVISION SYSTEMS
MOBILE SATELLITE TV
This is sometimes called an “overhead TV”. Its great fun, especially
for kids and rear seat passengers. It helps to pass the travel time
and keeps your passengers occupied and entertained. Many of these are
capable of playing tapes, DVD’s, and video games. Many of them come
with individual earphones for private listening for up to 6-8
passengers. This idea came from the airline industry, which has been
doing this for decades. Mobile satellite TV is new, but it will grow
in popularity soon. Satellites cost a bit more and will probably be
more popular with RV owners than cars though. The overhead TV though
is relatively inexpensive and some cars are actually coming with it
from the manufacturer.
http://www.langsautoaccessories.com/specials/overheadtvsystem.htm
SATELLITE RADIO
This is sometimes referred to as “XM” or “XFM” radio. It subscriber
based service and equipment provides uninterrupted, uncensored access
to hundreds of 24-hour, digital quality radio stations of your choice.
http://www.xmradio.com/newsroom/screen/pr_2002_10_09.html
http://www.womanmotorist.com/autoshows-2k1/xm-satellite-radio-demos-at-nyias-01.shtml
I hope these provide you with some insight into the latest popular US
automotive trends.
Regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
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