Could I turn fitting campervans into a profitable business? Dave Fishwick replies

I’ve been interested in vintage campers for a while and this past year I started decorating vans for friends.

I’ve mainly focused on friends and family, but I’ve started building a small customer base in my area. Is this too small a base to start with, or should I take the plunge?

I’m not sure where to start as I’ve never written a business plan, started a business or borrowed money to run it – and I have no clue about advertising to get clients.

Do you have any advice for turning my sideline and passion for motorhomes into a profitable business?

Campers are something I’m passionate about, and I don’t want to fall in love with them by running a business full time!

Dave Fishwick, This Is Money’s company doctor, replies: I tell people, take the job or start a business that you would if you didn’t need the money. If you can find that job and earn money from it, then you have indeed succeeded.

I’ve been trading commercial vehicles for over thirty years and it’s a great industry to be involved in. However, you will go through hard times and you will need some extra money to get you through the rough times.

I remember the very first RV I ever sold many decades ago. The vehicle was a very old Ford Transit van that had been converted into a camper.

The customers who bought it were a very young couple who had saved up to buy a motorhome and wanted to drive it all over Europe. in this two-tone green transit camper on an adventure.

It would help if you consider that the money you now get for converting a van into a camper, after material costs and maybe a little extra on your electricity bill, is pure profit.

On the other hand, if you formally start a business, it will be gross profit, which will be reduced by the various costs associated with running a business, especially a premises-owned business.

Rent, business rates, commercial electricity and gas – which is usually more expensive than household – insurance, marketing, accounting costs and of course the various taxes levied on businesses.

If you employ staff, add up their wages and national insurance contributions and pensions. All in all, your fixed costs can quickly add up to thousands of euros per week.

Initial investment costs can include vehicles, equipment purchases, research and development pricing, building improvements, signage, and initial marketing.

All this doesn’t mean it’s not impossible to make a net profit from a new venture – many companies across the country are doing just fine. However, if it’s your first venture, the cost can shock you and cause cash flow problems at first if you’re unprepared or the work doesn’t come in as quickly as you expected.

As you point out in your question, the novelty can wear your hobby down pretty quickly, and it sounds like you’re the only one doing the work. For example, if you injure yourself or damage your hands, it can cause a huge problem if everything depends on your labor.

This type of commercial vehicle construction is seasonal and while you may now choose to wait for good weather to begin a job, your landlord, the taxman, local authorities, staff and various others, with hands outstretched, will not wait for the sun to shine. to shine!

When asked where to start, it sounds like you’ve already started and in a very sensible way: minimizing your overheads, spreading prices and investments across tools and equipment, and eliminating the need for a marketing budget by growing organically through Word of mouth.

If you do have another source of income and this is a profitable sideline, you may already be in the best place right now, especially as we are all in these very uncertain economic times.

However, if you can build up a cash buffer and get to a stage where you’re just as eager to continue growing this business, and you feel that not expanding is severely limiting the business, then you know the time is right to make your next move, forward and up!

Whichever path you choose to move forward, I wish you the best of luck.