Written By Don Archer Connect with him on Facebook

So you’re ready to do it. You’re ready to make a change in your life and start your own towing business. Good for you, being in business for yourself is the only way to go. You’ll have more freedom, more fun and the ability to grow something from the ground up.

It’s not an easy decision, breaking free, and you certainly don’t feel like you’ve got the world by the balls when you first do it. I remember the pain in my stomach the day I decided to make a change in my life. Three kids and a wife and now I decide to do my own thing? Essentially I was unemployed and didn’t have a clue how to get business.

So wait; Way before you buy a truck and invest in equipment, training and advertising…Way before you pick out a catchy name…Before you make it all legal and righteous by the powers that be… And certainly way before you quit your job- You need to know if it’s worth your time. You need to know what the payoff’s going to be.

So let’s begin with the possibilities. You’ve made the decision to go into business for yourself but if you don’t know what you’re gonna get out of it you’ll never be motivated to move forward.

Here’s a list of the different revenue sources and rates others have charged. These rates are not representative of any area in-particular and should only be used as a guideline, a place to begin. Your situation and the rates you charge will be determined by your costs, expected rate of return and competition in your area.

Towing for individuals $40 to $75 hook plus $2 to $5 per tow mile
Towing for Repair Shops $40 to $75 hook plus $2 to $5 per tow mile
Abandoned vehicle towing PD Varies- Dependent upon circumstances
Accident rotation PD Varies- Dependent upon circumstances
Towing for Motor Clubs $30 to $50 hook plus contracted mileage rates
Other Services- Motor Clubs $30 to $50 plus contracted mileage rates
Towing for Trucking Companies Varies with services
Unlocks $30 to $50 plus mileage
Jump Starts $30 to $50 plus mileage
Tire Changes $30 to $50 plus mileage
Fuel Delivery $30 to $50 plus mileage
Battery Sales $30 to $50 plus mileage and markup on battery
Winching $50 and up Varies-Dependent upon circumstances
Private Party Towing Dependent upon regulated rates in some cases
Repo work $200 and up depending on level of involvement
Business Accounts Varies
Equipment Hauling Varies- requires rollback or trailer
Scrap Hauling Dependent upon price-per-ton

Now that you’ve got an idea of services and rates, you should be able to do the math and figure out how much money you could bring in on a daily and monthly basis.

Example: Assuming one guy with one truck – Also assuming an average call brings in $50 and you do 10 calls per day – That’s $500 in sales daily. (some days will be less some will be more and there’s no guarantee that you’ll make a sale on any given day) If you can do that for an entire month- 22 work days (weekends off) then you’re looking at $11,000 per month in sales.

But don’t stop there. Now that you have an idea of the possibilities of the income you’ll be making you need to determine what the costs of running your business are.