Entrepreneur Business Opportunities
Starting a Land Surveyors Business
It's official. You're going to become an entrepreneur and start a land surveyors business. What's next? Getting started can be intimidating, but we're here to help.
Wondering how to start a land surveyors business? We take you step-by-step from start to success.
State of the Industry
The land surveying industry has come a long way in the past twenty years. Without a doubt, the biggest change has been the transition away from manual surveying tools to sophisticated surveying technologies.
Today, the leading land surveyor businesses utilize electronic data collection, computer aided graphing and global positioning systems. While these changes have improved surveying speed and accuracy, they have also created higher capital requirements for entrepreneurs trying to break into the industry.
Scope of Surveying Services
Startup surveyors can't afford to specialize in a particular market niche. Until you establish yourself as a quality surveyor, your business will need to service a wide range of private and governmental clients.
Likewise, you'll need to be ready to provide a variety of surveying services including land title surveys, boundary surveys, construction staking, GPS control surveys, utility surveys, route surveys and more. Since each survey you perform represents a potential repeat client, you'll need to demonstrate that you're capable of handling the full spectrum of survey types to build your client base.
Staffing a Startup Survey Business
During the early stages of your survey business, your firm's only employees will probably be you and an assistant (or family member). As your business grows, you can begin to add staff to accommodate increased demand.
However, every new hire has to be able to hit the ground running from their first day on the job. Your startup's reputation depends solely on the quality of the services you provide. So in addition to being certified, your surveyors need to be experienced and knowledgeable about local customs.
Best Practices for Writing a Land Surveyors Company Business Plan
Many new land surveyors business owners feel unprepared for the challenge of writing a business plan.
But even though you have primary responsibility for drafting a business plan for your land surveyors business, you aren't entirely alone. These days, there are tons of great resources and solutions available to support the business plan writing process.
If you're feeling overwhelmed, take a look at Gaebler's Business Plan Help section for a list of business plan writing resources.
Check Out Competitors
Prior to launching a land surveyors business within your community, it's worthwhile to see how strong the competition is. Try our link below to find competitors in your area. Complete the form by entering your city, state and zip code to get a list of land surveyors businesses that are close by.
Is the local market large enough to support another land surveyors business? If not, you had better be sure that you are doing things much better than the competition.
Talk to People Who Are Already in the Business
After you've evaluated your local competitors, it's a wise move to talk to somebody who is already in the business. Local competitors are not going to give you the time of day, mind you. Why would they want to educate a future competitor?
Thankfully, an owner of a a land surveyors business outside of your community may be willing to share their entrepreneurial wisdom with you, after they realize you reside far away from them and won't be stealing their local customers. In that case, the business owner may be more than happy to discuss the industry with you. In my experience, you may have to call ten business owners in order to find one who is willing to share his wisdom with you.
Where do you find a land surveyors business founder that lives outside of your area?
Here's how we would do it. Try the useful link below and key in a random city/state or zipcode.
Benefits & Drawbacks of a Land Surveyors Business Acquisition
An acquisition can be a great way to enter land surveyors business ownership. But it's important to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of buying a business before you decide on either an acquisition or startup approach.
BENEFITS: Acquired land surveyors businesses should be profitable right out of the gate; they should also be capable of demonstrating a loyal customer base, brand identity and operational efficiencies.
DRAWBACKS: On the downside, land surveyors business acquisitions can be difficult to adapt to your unique business philosophy so it's important to make sure the business is capable of achieving your ownership goals before you initiate the buying process.
Franchising May Be a Better Way to Go
If you are launching your first business venture, it might be wise to contemplate whether it makes sense to franchise instead of doing everything yourself.
If your goal is to start a land surveyors business, a smart move is to determine whether purchasing a franchise might help you on your entrepreneurial journey.
The link below gives you access to our franchise directory so you can see if there's a franchise opportunity for you. You might even find something that points you in a completely different direction.
More Advice for Startups
These additional resources regarding starting a business may be of interest to you.
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Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs