How to Start An Appliance Repair Business?

Know the steps following which you can effectively start your appliance repair business. Go through each and accomplish your dream of starting a business in one go.

Nowadays, we rely heavily on appliances, including refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, and washing machines, but we all know that they won’t last forever.

Many things can go wrong with appliances, like excessive usage, electrical shock, and short circuits, so there’s always a demand for appliance repair.

Repairing machines is fascinating, and if you have a knack for finding the root of problems, you might try your luck in setting up your own appliance repair business. 

As far as its future in the business world is concerned. Appliance repair is a promising industry. It is predicted that its global market will grow at a CAGR of 5.4% from 2017 to 2025, reaching $763,451 million.

Would you like to start your own appliance repair business? Now’s the time.

There’s always confusion whenever we do something new. A question that comes up is “how to start an appliance repair business.”

Here is a complete guide to starting an appliance repair business that will clear up your doubts and confusion.

How to Kickstart Your Appliance Repair Business?

If you have decided to start an appliance repair startup, here is how you can kickstart your appliance repair business.

Start with a business plan

When you’ve come up with the idea for your business, the next thing should be writing the business plan. A business plan isn’t just for getting you the finance; several studies have confirmed it is key to success.

Form an entity to conduct business

The next step in starting an appliance service business is forming a business entity. The company’s structure (also called the business entity) determines how the company operates legally. (also check out how become an appliance repair technician)

Business structures mainly consist of four types, which include sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and Limited Liability Companies (LLCs). As with any other entity type, each has its advantages and disadvantages, including liability exposure, cost, and administrative requirements.

There is no doubt that sole proprietorships and limited liability companies are the best choices for appliance repair businesses.

Select your Location

Some appliance repair businesses operate out of their garages and may even provide pick-up services. While it is true that you will be able to reduce your expenses significantly, you will not be able to catch the attention of people passing by.

Decide on a company name and register it.

Now it’s time to select a business name. It should be catchy. Don’t choose a name that is hard to spell and makes sense.

Get your business license

Whether a corporation or an LLC, you’ll need multiple licenses, permits, and registrations to operate your appliance repair business legally. Here’s everything you need to get your business up and running legally.

Federal Licensing: Federal law requires anybody working on refrigeration systems to legally obtain a certification from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in order to operate a business. It’s a must for most appliance repair businesses to get Type 1 certification. Typically, it applies to small appliances with refrigerant charges of under $5.97.

This section of the EPA explains the certification process for technicians to be certified.

State Licensing: In only a handful of states, appliance repair requires a license. The licensing process for commercial equipment is more common, usually under a contractor’s license or a mechanical license.

Local Licensing: In most cases, appliance repair licenses are obtained at the local and county levels rather than from the state. Also, when you apply for this license, you need to bring your recent photograph, proof of your residence, and the location of your business.

Federal Employer Identification Number: Federal Employer Identification Numbers (FEINs) are unique nine-digit numbers that indicate that businesses are registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)—also known as FEINs, EINs, Employer Identification Numbers, or Federal Tax Identification Numbers.

If you intend to hire employees or establish a partnership, you will need an EIN. Single owner LLCs and sole proprietorships that currently do not have an employee can use their owners’ social security numbers.

For more information on obtaining an EIN, please visit the IRS website. You will receive a number within seconds of submitting your application, and the process will take only a few minutes.

Sales Tax Permit or Number: Whether selling products or offering specific services, you will need a permit from the state for sales tax or a tax ID number. As a result of getting this permit, you can open an account with either your state’s Department of Revenue or a similar-sounding entity.

Obtain business insurance

If you intend to run a business for appliance repair, the following general liability insurance policies will be useful for you:

Commercial liability insurance: Commercial liability insurance is mainly designed to protect your business in case any consumer gets an injury while working at the business location. A liability insurance policy will cover a number of expenses that will arise from the accident, such as legal costs.

Commercial property insurance: The policy covers equipment damage or loss.

Worker’s compensation insurance: This applies if you hire new employees for your company. Employees who become injured while at work are covered under their employer’s insurance policy.

Commercial auto insurance: This type of insurance mainly covers your business vehicle as it protects it from accidents and covers all expenses incurred if an accident occurs. 

There are a number of factors that affect the cost of insurance policies, such as the value of the equipment and the location of the business. 

In order to get a detailed idea of insurance costs, you can request quotes from different companies. When comparing quotes, consider their premiums, exclusions, deductibles, and coverage limits.

Make a list of the services you will provide to customers.

A lot of decision-making goes into selecting which services you should offer to consumers.

Among the standard appliance repair services you can offer are:

• Cooking ovens
• Dishwashers
• Refrigerators
• Freezers
• Dryers and washers
• Microwaves

Regardless of whatever services you need to include in your portfolio, it is essential that either you or your technicians be trained and knowledgable enough to eliminate the issues withvarious appliances.

Set up a separate business bank account

The separation of your business’s expenses and income from your personal finances is essential for keeping things organized and determining the profit earned in a particular period.

Check out your options for accessible business checking accounts at your bank to make the most of your banking experience.

Obtain the necessary tools and equipment

Buying the right tools and equipment is the key to starting your own appliance repair business.

Running your appliance repair business is almost impossible unless you have tools and equipment. Therefore, it becomes necessary to purchase the tools needed to fix appliances.

It would cost at least a few thousand dollars to buy such tools. If you don’t have the funds, you can also take out a business loan to purchase tools for your new company.

To start a new business, you must have some money available to purchase essential items, and purchasing tools and equipment requiresa significant investment.

Be sure to purchase essential tools that can repair almost all appliances. These are some standard tools that can be used both for general and specific repairs:

• Screwdrivers
• Nut drivers
• Multimeter
• Putty knife
• Needle nose pliers
• Gloves
• Glasses

In this case, keeping a stock of the tools required to repair appliances is the best solution.

Make sure your marketing plan is in place

Customers of repair businesses are likely to become repeat customers over time, but customers are more likely to visit an appliance repair company when  appliances break down. 

As a result, repair companies must actively market their services to attract new customers. Marketing costs can vary from direct mail to print ads to social media, depending on the method and volume used.

It is likely that word-of-mouth referrals will eventually become your most crucial marketing strategy.

What is the cost of starting an appliance repair business?

Getting started in the appliance repair business is relatively affordable. How you start your business will either cost less or more depending on the size of the team you hire and how much money you spend on it.

To start with, an appliance repair business could cost as little as $1,000, but setting up a well-stocked business will more likely reach $5,000, and the cost of leasing or purchasing a vehicle will also be higher.

There are several common startup costs associated with appliance repair businesses, including:

• Tools for diagnosing
• Repair equipment and tools
• The inventory of parts for repair
• A vehicle with storage for organizing supplies
• Marketing
• The cost of office space and more.
• Appliance repair app for CRM and Finance tracking

Skills to Build to Start Appliance Repair Business

When starting an appliance repair business, you need to identify several essential skills and characteristics.

It is essential to take a closer look at these skills so that you can identify how you can be successful on a day-to-day basis in your business:

Self-motivation Skills: Self-motivation is one of the essential skills needed to succeed in appliance repair.

It’s likely that there will not be anyone ahead of you to motivate you as you start an appliance repair business. Still, you will have distractions to distract you from work, so self-motivation skills are essential to keep going.

Customer service skills: Communicating with customers and handling service issues is one of the essential parts of the job.

If you’re starting a repair business, you might want to consider these customer service skills:

Professionalism: Professionalism determines a number of factors, including how you act, present yourself and respond to customer grievances. When dealing with customer requests or issues, it is essential to maintain a professional attitude at all times.

Problem-solving: It’s essential to have the ability to respond quickly to issues with a calm and clear mind.

Kindness: This is crucial, but customers appreciate it when a service provider responds quickly, efficiently, and in a friendly manner.

Business savvy skills: For your appliance repair business to be successful, you need to learn a few fundamental skills:

Skills in leadership and training: Putting together a great team begins with you. Before hiring, make sure your policies and appliance repair training procedures are in place.

Self-assured and decisive: The decisions you make in your career will significantly impact your business. Making decisions like these requires clear thinking and rational reasoning.

Financial understanding: Whether an accountant or not, you must clearly understand metrics such as expenses, revenues, margins, cost of goods sold, etc.

Having these skills is one of the many things you need when starting an appliance repair business (or working on them).

Here is the growth chart of how the appliance repair industry is growing since last year:

Benefits & Pitfalls of Appliance Repair Business

Adaptability: There is no limit to how much time you can devote to your business. Having some initial experience and liking the work lets you start small and manage everything yourself.

Potential for unlimited income: There’s no limit to how much you can make with appliance repair. Investing more time and energy in your career will make you more money.

It’s your own business– As a business owner, you make almost all the decisions related to your appliance repair business. Having the final say can be liberating and empowering!

Easy business model– A business model for appliance repairs is simple, making it easier to launch and grow the business.

Pitfalls of appliance repair business

Employee motivation: Motivating a sales or content team can be challenging when you plan on having a sales or content team. The incentives you offer your employees and the working environment are significant to keep them motivated.

Low margins: Typically, your appliance repair business’ gross margins stand at around 32%, making it difficult for you to incur new expenses while maintaining profitability.

Commitment to time: Starting an appliance repair business means being responsible for all the responsibilities and decisions. Most importantly, you will have to meet the time deadline that you committed.

Having technical problems can be frustrating- Having technical issues is common in this industry. If you struggle with any technical issues that will make you outsource your work, you will receive less profit margin.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can build a thriving business. The best way to manage your appliance repair business’ finances is by automating and streamlining it. It can be managed from anywhere, provided you have a stable internet connection.

Using an invoicing software such as InvoiceOwl can eliminate the need for manual invoicing, as this software allows you to handle finances quickly and efficiently.

It is a simple, easy-to-use, on-the-go estimation and invoicing tool designed to keep things simple for you while on the go. If you are in the repair business, with home repair invoices and home repair estimate template, you can create professional estimates and invoices immediately for your clients.

With InvoiceOwl at your disposal, you do not have to carry the hassle of documents and manual creation to generate invoices. 

Using an automated cross-checking solution, your accounts payable team can extract the transaction history within minutes.

Join the free trial today and kickstart your business.