Lesson B100.3 · Business 100: Start Right
Prove the demand before you buy the equipment
4-minute read · No dated figures
Photo: Jack Taggiasco / Pexels, Pexels License
The short answer
Before you buy a rig, find out whether people near you will pay for the work you want to do. Pick one service line, talk with at least 10 likely customers about what they've bought before, read what competitors' customers say, and finish three paid jobs with rented or borrowed equipment. Only paid jobs count as proof.
Pick one service line first
Choose where four things overlap: local demand, the length of your season, the skills you already have, and what the equipment costs (lesson B100.4 has the numbers).
| Service line | Who usually buys | Learn first |
|---|---|---|
| Sealcoating | Homeowners, property managers, HOAs, churches, small businesses | Prep, crack work, mixing, application and cure |
| Crack repair | The same customers, often as an add-on to sealcoating | Cleaning, product handling, safe hot-pour work |
| Striping | Property managers, businesses, churches, schools | Layout, accessible-parking rules, straight lines |
| Snow and ice | Commercial lots, HOAs, sidewalks | On-call work, written contracts, salt and brine use |
| Pavement pressure washing | Businesses, drive-throughs, parking garages | Surface care, local rules for wash water |
Start with one. Some lines pair well later: crack repair with sealcoating, striping on lots you just sealed, snow and ice to fill the winter. A second line also means a second set of equipment, skills and insurance questions.
Talk with 10 likely customers
Make a list of 25 before you talk to anyone: neighbors, churches, a small strip center, the property manager for your apartment, the HOA board down the road. Then talk with at least 10.
Ask what they've already done. People are polite about what they might do someday. What they've already paid for tells you the truth. Four questions that work:
- When was the lot last sealed, crack-filled or striped? Who did it?
- What did you like about the job? What bothered you?
- Who decides, and who has to approve it?
- When is next year's budget set? Many property managers and HOA boards plan months ahead.
Then study the competition. Read their reviews and look at the services they offer. Notice the complaints: no-shows, sealer tracked into a garage, overspray on a curb, cracks left open, calls never returned. Skip their prices. Your price has to come from your own costs, which lesson B100.8 covers.
Get three paid jobs first
Do your first jobs before you take on a truck payment, an equipment loan or a shop. Rent what you can, borrow only with the owner's permission, and do small jobs by hand where the product's instructions allow it. Even these first jobs need liability insurance; lesson B100.7 covers it.
Weather and season limits come from the product's technical data sheet: temperatures, dry time before rain, cure time before traffic. Follow the sheet for the product in your bucket.
Recommend only what the pavement needs, starting with job one. If a driveway sealed last year still looks good, say so. If a lot has alligator cracking or potholes, sealer won't fix it; recommend repair, or refer it out. Put the recommendation in writing on the estimate.
Example. Marcus, 24, already does a few weekend driveways. This spring he listed 25 prospects and talked with 12. Seven had pavement that needed work this year, four asked for a price, and three hired him and paid. (Made-up numbers.) He learned he'd need about four conversations for every paying customer, and that two of the three came from neighbors of past jobs.
Your Move
Do this week
- Write a list of 25 likely customers for one service line.
- Talk with at least 10 of them, using the four questions above. Write down what each one said.
- Read the reviews of three local competitors and note the top complaints.
- Book one paid job and do it with rented, borrowed or hand tools.
Log it: I talked with 10 prospects.
Common questions
How do I know if there's demand for sealcoating in my area?
Talk with at least 10 likely customers about what they've bought before, read competitors' reviews, and finish three paid jobs. Paid work is the proof.
Can I start sealcoating without buying a rig?
Many people start small driveways by hand, then rent or buy once the work is steady. Use the method your product's instructions allow.
Should I find out what competitors charge?
Study their reviews and services instead. Your price has to cover your own costs, and theirs may not fit your business.
Watch out for
- Counting compliments as customers. "I'd hire you" isn't a booked job.
- Buying a rig because one big job is "almost certain."
- Sealing over failed pavement to win a job. It fails, and the customer remembers who sold it.
- Free jobs that never end. A favor for family is practice. It doesn't prove anyone will pay.
Free help
- SBA: Market research and competitive analysis
- SCORE: free mentoring
- Small Business Development Centers: free one-on-one business advising
Free practice
Lesson check
5 questions on this lesson, one at a time, with the answer and the reason after each. Pass with 4 right, including every must-know question.
This is general education, not tax, legal, investment or insurance advice. Rules change and every situation is different. Check the sources below, and talk to a qualified professional before you act on it.