When it comes to buying products for your inflatable rental company or family entertainment center, there are several rules you must follow to be successful. We have been selling commercial inflatables for years and we know the keys to success and they all start with product selection.
Tip #1 – Quality Product
Your entire business plan revolves around your product. Quality of product is essential to success. You only make money if your inflatables are in service. You can not afford to have product in the shop for repairs. Go with reliable brands. There are a lot of good and bad products in the market place and like most things you buy, you get what you pay for.
Tip #2 – Start Conservative
To many times we here from start up customers that they would like to start with 10-12 inflatables. Our typical response is why would you do that? The key to success is cash flowing your inflatable business. Start with 3-5 inflatables and when they are all rented consistently. If inflatables are sitting in your garage they are only costing you money, not making you money.
Tip #3 – Don’t Buy What You Like, Buy What Your Customers Like
Like I mentioned above, you don’t make any money when your inflatables are not rented. Often customers want to buy a unique bounce house for their start up and this is absolutely wrong. One customer in particular wanted to start their business with one princess themed bounce house. Instantly, that business only caters to 50% of the parties. There is competition in most markets and if you don’t buy what the customers want, you won’t rent. Our philosophy is to start out with traditional gender neutral products. Starting with bounce houses or bouncer slide combos will put you in the best position to meet your customers needs.
Starting an inflatable rental business can be a profitable business. By following the tips I outlined above will help get you started and on track. By buying quality product you are ensuring your product is in service to get rented. Combining a conservative approach with buying products that appeal to the masses will give you the right mix for starting. When your inflatables are all rented and you are turning customers away, it is time to add product. You will also get feedback from customers for products that they would like that you don’t have. This is crucial. By having product that appeals to the masses, you might not have exactly what they want but they will rent it. At the same time you can take notes on what customers are asking for.
Good Luck!