Hiring out bouncy castles and other play inflatables for childrens parties, and family events etc. is a great home business to be in either full time or in someones spare time, and the profits can be hire dinosaur bouncy castle high, as well as the fun element! You own the business and all the equipment, there’s no need to pay any franchising fees or licencing legal rights. For example, operating just three bouncy castles part-time at weekends, at £55 ($US88) per day per bouncer provides in around £330 ($US528) per weekend, or over £1, 300 ($US2, 080) per month. Assuming expenses of around £300 ($US480) per month, this leaves over £1, 000 ($US1, 600) profit! Not bad for just a few hours work!
Children have birthdays every single day of the year. In the summer and autumn, their parents can hire a bouncy castle for the back garden or yard. In the winter and spring, parents can hire a community area to hold the party and accommodate the bouncer.
To run a successful bouncy castle rental business, you don’t have to give up your full time job, and also you don’t need any large capital investment. This article will show newcomers how to make and successfully run a bouncy castle/inflatable hire business at home and avoid the mistakes that others have made in the past.
1: Research.
When thinking about starting a bouncy castle hire business, the first thing to do is to selecting all your local newspapers, (classified sections), Yellow Pages, and online. See if there is anyone else in the area advertising a bouncy castle hire business. If you do spot a regular advertiser, don’t be put off – there’s still room for you. In most towns the demand for bouncy castles far is much greater than the availabilit of them especially in the summer months. You will have a undoubted idea of the competition in your area. In a busy area, rival companies will very often pass over enquiries and even bookings to other programs when they are too busy to fulfill the booking themselves. If you are very fortunate, there may be no competitors operating in your area.
2: Equipment needed.
Below is a list of equipment which you will need to find a bouncy castle hire business:
a) Bouncy Castle, rain-cover, electric blower, and anchor pegs.
b) Ground published to protect underside of bouncer.
c) Electrical file format cable (25 – 30 meters long).
d) RCD routine breaker. (safety cut-out device).
e) Safety mat to put at front of the castle.
f) A sat nav or local street map of your town and its surrounding area.
g) Large A4 size desk diary to have bookings (1 Page to a day).
h) Ledger book for recording takings and expenses etc.
i) Public Liability Insurance policy. We strongly recommend one million pounds as the absolute minimum.
j) Safety instruction published and customer disclaimer form.
k) A sack trolley.
From experience, we suggest that your first bouncy castle is 12 foot by 12 foot. (3. 6m x 3. 6m) with a 3 or 4 foot (Approx. 1 metre) safety step at the front. This size is the best common with customers and is easily handled and stored, and when inflated will fit in most back gardens and community halls.
There are many excellent companies selling bouncy castles. Most new bouncy castles come with a one full year guarantee, while some manufacturers give a two year guarantee. Make sure that a repair kit is included in the price of your bouncer.
If buying new, make sure that the inflatable has a certificate to say that it has been manufactured to the recognised Standard which as at January 2010 is: BS EN 14960: 2006 (UK and Europe).
Be mindful when buying used play inflatables as the stitching on the seams does wear over time, and can cause bed failure. Take an experienced person with you, that will know what to look out for.
3: Where you can get customers.
Fortunately, children are born every single day of the year, so there is a virtually endless availabilit of prospective customers. Most parents prefer to use their own back gardens, or the local community area to hold the party. As well as private childrens’ parties, there are several other places where you can hire out your bouncer e. h. playgroups, nurseries, pubs, hotels, after-school clubs, stores, school fetes, car sneaker gatherings, shows and galas, charity events, football clubs, barbeques, beach parties, christening parties, wedding receptions, tennis clubs, cub and scout groups, brownie and guide groups, business promotions, open days etc.
4: How to get bookings.
In order to get your first employees, I recommend that you do the following: Firstly, tell everyone that you know who have young children, that you have a bouncy castle for hire. Offer to let them rent it at a discount, if they are going to tell all their friends and loved ones.
Secondly, you need to place an offer in your local newspaper, and in your local yellow pages directory. This advertising will attract enquiries, and providing your telephone manner is polite and helpful you will get bookings virtually automatically.
Buy joining for free with Google Maps, which means your potential customers can easily find you when they type out the name of your town and bouncy castle hire in the Google search engine. (It is a decent idea to have a website, but it is not required to have one, in order to have your company listed in Google Maps for free.