Towing Issues: Starting my own company., state business licenses, city business licenses

Question
Hi , I'm trying to open a small towing company with 1 truck. I am wondering how much it is going to cost after I purchase my truck (how much insurance is, how much is needed to start, etc). I am also wondering if it is necessary to be open 24/7, it seems more practical and I imagine you make more money but is there a BIG difference in income?  If you could please give me some advice I would really appreciate it!
Thanks  

Answer
Pablo, I am going to give a few general answers here and do not take it the wrong way, but your question leaves a lot to be desired.

First of all, insurance costs will be based on your driving record, the value of the truck, what kind of towing you are going to do (commercial, dealership, retail, police towing, private property towaways, motor club towing) as there is On Hook, Garagekeepers, Liability, and all kinds of other insurances.


Each of them will have different requirements due to your city, county or state requirements, and you did not mention where you are.
Then there are state business licenses, city business licenses, tax identification numbers to just name a few things.

And there is also the factor of what kind of tow truck you have, as to what you will be doing, Flatbeds can do more things but are also limited in operations also. A boom or recovery truck can do things that a flatbed can not do also.

As to other issues, well there is fuel for the truck, repairs, tires towing supplies which break or wear out,along with basic supplies needed such as pens, invoices, business cards, phones, to name a few.
And if you are going to do any accidents, impounds or police tows then you will need an office and a storage yard, which also requires more insurance.


As to staying open 24 hours a day / 7 days a week, well that again depends on what kind of towing you are going to be doing. After all you do not want to miss any of your customers calls.


I really wish that I could provide you more information, but if you do not have any towing experience it might be worth while to get a job in the industry for about a year to see if it is something that you really want to spend the money on...

Also you can check out a few of the online towing forums and read some stuff about the business also...

(JUST FOLLOW THE RULES OF THE FORUMS and you will gain a lot of information..)

www.tow411.net

www.towtalk.net

www.priceperpound.info