Are you about starting a gas station with convenience store? If YES, here is a complete sample gas station business plan template & (petrol filling station) feasibility report for starting a gas station.
Starting a gas station or filling station or petroleum station as it is typically called in some parts of the world is indeed one of the means of owning a business portfolio in the oil and gas industry. This is for sure one business that has made a lot of people millionaires or even billionaires.
It is true that playing in the gas industry might require loads of funds, but in the long run it sure does pay. If you are looking to start a gas station business, the care has to be taken in deciding on the area you want to delve into. You will also be required to carry out various market researches.
Why is this important, you may ask? This is especially important because of the level of knowledge about the trade that you will be required to garner. Knowledge is indeed very important in the gas industry.
Yet another thing that you would have to take really seriously is the writing of a business plan. The business plan is one manuscript that has continued to be important. This is because it serves as a good blueprint on top which every business should be built.
On the other hand, not everyone knows how to write a business plan. This is because of the technicality which is involved in the activity. That said now here is a sample gas station business plan;
A gas station which also called a petrol station, filling station, fueling station, or service station is a business facility which retails gasoline (petrol), diesel and lubricants for motor vehicles. Gas stations offer one of three types of service to their customers: full service, minimum service or self-service.
A full service gas station has attendants who operates the pumps, often wipes the windshield, and sometimes checks the vehicle’s oil level and tire pressure, then collects payment and perhaps a small tip and a minimum service gas station has attendants that operates the pumps.
This is often required due to laws in some cities that prohibit customers from operating the pumps themselves. While in self – service gas stations the customer performs all required service. Instructions informing the customer of filling procedures and cautions are clearly displayed on each pump.
Customers are expected to go to the store or go to a booth to give payment to an employee of the station and lastly we have the unmanned gas station that make use of card – lock (or pay-at-the-pump) system, these gas station are completely unmanned.
The Gas Stations industry over the years has experienced a modest amount of volatility. As a matter of fact, as more Americans acquire automobiles, the total vehicle miles increased and this gives room to increase in the demand of gasoline.
So also, as per capita disposable income continued to increase, some automobile owners would choose to go for premium fuel, which is priced higher than lower-octane fuel.
Just like other industry, the Gas Stations industry has also experienced its fair share of ups and downs over the last five years. As a result of strengthening domestic economy and improvement in employment over the early part of the last five years, the Gas Station Industry also experienced improvement in performance.
The Gas Station industry is indeed a very large industry and pretty much thriving in all the parts of the world. Statistics has it that in the united states of America alone, there are about 10,719 licensed Gas Station businesses responsible for employing about 120,226 employees and the industry rakes in a whopping sum of $106bn annually.
The major breakthrough in the gas station industry came as a result of the increase in automobile ownership which can be attributed to Henry Ford when he started to sell automobiles that the middle class could afford resulted. The gas industry therefore, experienced a great boom that has continued to affect nearly all economies of the world.
In the bid to stay afloat in the highly competitive gas station industry, owners of gas stations now go the extra mile to ensure that they make their facility welcoming and conducive for customers. Gas stations now have vulcanizing services, car wash, convenience stores, coffee bars, snack bars, and cigar lounge within their facility so as to leverage on the opportunities around them to generate more income.
Although the gas station industry can be said to be a competitive industry, but it does not in any way stop entrepreneurs who are creative and financially capable to still make headway in the industry. It is indeed a profitable industry especially when the business is well located.
No doubt busy highways and busy cities with growing population is highly suitable for gas stations. The catch is that if there are automobile users in any city, then the city would have need for a gas station.
Sunny Star® Gas Station is a fully registered and licensed standard gas station that will be located along a busy highway in Miami – Florida, U.S. Our chains of gas stations that will be scattered all around major cities in the United States of America will adopt full service, minimum service and self-service as it suits the location
Our basic services and products offering to our highly esteemed customers as a standard gas station are retailing of gasoline (petrol), diesel and lubricants for motor vehicles. We will make sure that we give our consumers nothing short of the very best.
We will also run a convenience store, car wash, vulcanizing services, wheel balancing services, wheel alignment services and other related automobile repair services.
We are quite aware that in order to become the number one choice for automobile owners who ply the route where our gas stations will be located, we must continue to make our gas station welcoming, easy to operate and that is exactly what we will do.
We are open to the use of latest technology in the gas station industry. No doubt our excellent customer service and the range of additional complementary services we offer will position us to become one of the most preferred gas stations in Miami – Florida.
At Sunny Star® Gas Station, we are passionate in the pursuit of excellence and financial success with uncompromising services and integrity.
We are in the industry to make a positive mark. We are quite optimistic that our values and quality of products and service offering will help us drive our gas station business to enviable heights and also help us attract the numbers of clients that will make the business highly profitable.
We are a company that will be dedicated to establishing and maintaining the best practices as it relates to the gas station industry. Sunny Star® Gas Stations will ensure that all our customers are given first class treatment whenever they visit our gas stations. Customer care is one of the tools that we plan to have in order to charm our clients and turn them to loyalists.
We have a CRM software that will enable us manage a one on one relationship with our customers no matter how large the numbers of our customer base may grow to. We will ensure that we get our customers involved when making some business decisions that will directly or indirectly affect them.
Sunny Star® Gas Stations is owned and managed by Mr. Craig McCarthy and family. The business will be financed by the Mr. Craig McCarthy family and they will be actively involved in the day to day operation of the Gas stations. Mr. Craig McCarthy has a B.Sc. in Business Administration and Management and he has well over 15 years of experience in the service industry.
Sunny Star® Gas Station is a fully registered and licensed standard gas station that is positioned in the gas station industry in the United States of America to maximize profits. Aside from the point that we will be retailing gasoline and diesel, we will also engage in other complimentary services that will help us maximize profits.
We have designed products and services that will not only help to meet the demands of the people, but also to put good money in our pockets. These are the products and services that will be made available to our customers;
Our Business Structure
Sunny Star® Gas Stations is set to become one of the leading gas station business in the whole of Florida and other cities where our chains of gas stations will be located hence the need for us to build a solid business foundation and business structure that will enable us achieve our aims and objectives.
Excellent customer service and efficiency are top priority for us which is why we will ensure that we look for applicants that match the picture of the business who want to build before hiring them. Although we will provide trainings in areas such as excellent customers services et al, but we will ensure that we shortlist applicants that are customer centric.
In essence, we want to build a team, a dedicated workforce that will work together to help the organization achieve its set targets. We will not only hire attendants that will help supervise our gas stations and attend to customers need when they patronize our services.
But we will also hire employees that will manage our convenience store, cash wash, coffee café, cigar lounge, snacks bar, vulcanizing services, wheel balancing, wheel alignment and other automobile repair and maintenance services. Sunny Star® Gas Stations will employ customer centric and skilled people to occupy the following position;
Chief Executive Officer – CEO (Owner):
Gas Station Manager
Human Resources and Admin Manager
Convenience Store, Coffee Café, Snacks Bar, and Cigar Lounge Manager
Accountant / Cashier
Pump Attendants
Vulcanizing Services, Wheel Balancing, Wheel Alignment and Automobile Repairs and Maintenance Manager
Car wash Manager
Security Guards
Knowing the strength and weakness of any business is one of the right steps to take in business. No doubt starting a gas station is indeed capital intensive especially for aspiring entrepreneurs who may not have huge sum of money saved up in a bank.
We are aware that it will require loads of cash to set up a standard gas station in Miami – Florida which is why we decided to do all that is required to build a profitable business; we don’t intend to invest our hard earn money in a business that we know we are not truly cut out for.
One of the tools that is required to position us in building a successful gas station business is SWOT Analysis. We hired the services of Dr. Memphis Iverson, an HR and Business consultant who is based in Miami Florida to help us conduct SWOT analysis for our company and he did a pretty good job for us.
Here is a of the result we got from the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Sunny Star® Gas Stations, Miami – Florida;
Sunny Star® Gas Stations is centrally located along one of the busiest highways in Miami – Florida; our location is in fact one of our major strength. Aside from the basic service that we offer, we also offer complimentary services that most of our competitors are not offering.
So also the vast experience of our management team, we have people on board who are highly experienced and understands how to grow business from the scratch to becoming a national phenomenon and our attendants are well groomed to handle various classes of customers; our excellent customer service culture will definitely count as a strong strength for the business.
Our perceived weakness could be the fact it is a new gas station business which is owned by an individual (a small family), and we may not have the financial capacity to sustain the kind of publicity that can give us leverage and start operating chains of gas stations in various cities in the United States as planned.
We are centrally located in one of the busiest highways in Miami – Florida and we are open to all the available opportunities that the city has to offer.
Our business concept also positioned us to attract people who like doing their shopping, washing and servicing their automobile in gas stations. Miami is one of the densely populated cities in Florida, and indeed populations translate to opportunities.
One of the major threats that confront businesses all over the world is economic downturn; when the economy is bad it affects consumers spending which in turn impacts businesses negatively. Another threat that we are likely going to face to confront us is the emergence of a new gas station within the same location where ours is located.
There is hardly anyone who doesn’t have a need for gas, this is why it is really vital that one keys into this industry. One of the trends in the gas station industry is that, in the bid to stay afloat in the highly competitive gas station industry, owners of gas stations now go the extra mile to ensure that they make their facility welcoming and conducive for customers.
Gas stations now have vulcanizing services, car wash, convenience stores, coffee bars, snack bars, and cigar lounge within their facility so as to leverage on the opportunities around them to generate more income.
Another trend is the adoption of the underground modular gas station model. The underground modular gas station is a construction model for gas stations that was developed and patented by U-Cont Oy Ltd which is based in Finland in 1993.
Subsequently the same system was used in Florida, USA. While the Above-ground modular gas stations were built in the 1980s in Eastern Europe and especially in Russia Federation, but they were not adopted in other parts of Europe because of the stations’ lack of safety in case of fire outbreak.
Before choosing a location for our gas station business, we conducted our feasibility studies and market survey and we were able to identify the location that will benefit greatly from our products and service offerings which is why we deiced to settle for Miami – Florida.
Essentially those who will benefit from our service offering are automobile owners / drivers and they are of course busy corporate executives, business owners, households, students and travelers / visitors / tourist et al. They are the category of people that we intend marketing our gas station services to.
Our Competitive Advantage
From our recently concluded feasibility studies and market survey, we observed that there are several gas station businesses spread all over the city of Miami – Florida, as a matter of fact, there are about 3 standard gas stations close to same locations as ours. This goes to show that there is stiffer competition in the industry.
Before launching our gas station we have critically studied the market and we know that we have some form of competitive edge. Our competitive advantage is that we have a standard gas station facility that offers additional complementary services that will definitely help us attract and retain customers.
Another competitive advantage that we have is the vast experience of our management team, we have people on board who are highly experienced and understands how to grow business from the scratch to becoming a national phenomenon.
So also the wide varieties of other complimentary services and products that we offer and of course our excellent customer service culture will definitely count as a strong strength for the business. One thing is certain, we will ensure that in future, we open our gas stations in various cities in the United States of America and also sell our franchise. With that our brand will be well communicated and accepted nationally.
Sources of Income
Sunny Star® Gas Station is established with the aim of maximizing profit in the gas station industry in the United States of America and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to generate enough incomes from both our basic product and services offerings and our complimentary services. Sunny Star® Gas Station will generate income by offering the following services and products;
It is important to state that our sales forecast is based on the data gathered during our feasibility study and also some of the assumptions readily available on the field with reference to similar business in Miami – Florida. We know that we are well positioned and we will definitely attract clients that will not only patronize our gas station but will also patronize our complimentary services which will help increase our income.
Below is the sale projection for Sunny Star® Gas Station, it is based on the location of our gas station and the type of services and products that we will be offering;
N.B: This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any gas station offering same additional services like us within 4.5 miles radius from our gas station facility.
The marketing strategy for Sunny Star® Gas Station is going to be driven basically by making available standard and safe gasoline and diesel et al, excellent customer service and provision of complementary services. We will work hard to build a loyal customer base; customers that will always patronize us over and over again and as well help us use word of mouth publicity to get their friends and acquaintance to patronize us.
We want to drive sales via making available easy to use fuel pumping machines (for self – services) et al. We are quite aware of how satisfied customers drive business growth especially businesses like gas station which is why we will always ensure that our customer service and facility are top notch.
Over and above, our unique selling proposition is that we have various complementary service offerings such as convenience store, coffee café, snacks bar, cigar lounge, vulcanizing services, wheel balancing, wheel alignment, carwash and automobile repairs and maintenance services. We will also retail lubricants and other related products.
In view of that, we are going to adopt the following strategies to ensure that we do not only attract customers but ensure that they become loyal customer. Part of the marketing and sales strategies that we will adopt are;
Despite the fact that our gas station is a standard one with a wide range of other complimentary services and products that can favorably compete with other leading brands in the gas station industry, we will still go ahead to intensify publicity for all our products and brand. We are going to explore all available means to promote Sunny Star® Gas Station.
Sunny Star® Gas Station has a long term plan of opening our gas stations in various locations all around key cities in the United States of America which is why we will deliberately build our brand to be well accepted in Miami – Florida before venturing out.
As a matter of fact, our publicity and advertising strategy is not solely for selling our products and services but to also effectively communicate our brand. Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise Sunny Star® Gas Station;
It is the wish of all businesses to have a pricing system that will yield loads of profits for them; as such we are working on having very competitive pricing.
At Sunny Star® Gas Station, our pricing system is going to be based on what is obtainable in the industry, we don’t intend to charge more (except for premium and customized services) and we don’t intend to charge less than our competitors are offering in Miami – Florida.
Be that as it may, the management of Sunny Star® Gas Station have put plans in place to offer discounts for our complimentary services and products once in a while and also to reward our loyal customers especially when they refer clients to us.
The prices of our products (snacks, cup of coffee, cigar, detergents et al) and services (vulcanizing, wheel balancing, wheel alignment, car wash, and automobile repair and services) will be same as what is obtainable in any part of the United States of America.
At Sunny Star® Gas Station, our payment policy is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. We will work really hard to make sure that all our clients are given payment methods that suit them. Here are the payment options that will be available in every of our outlets;
In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our payment plans without any itches.
When it comes to starting a gas station business, loads of factors influences the amount that will be required to successful launch the business.
Factors like the location you intend starting the business, the size of gas station business you want to start i.e. the number of complimentary services you want to add to the business, and of course the state of the economy as at when you intend start the business. This is the key areas where we will spend our start – up capital on;
We would need an estimate of $1 million to successfully launch our gas station business in Miami – Florida. Please note that the startup cost is higher than the average startup cost for a gas station business simply because we intend adding coffee café, snacks bar, cigar lounge, car wash, convenience store and other complimentary services.
Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Sunny Star® Gas Station
Sunny Star® Gas Station is a family business that is owned and financed by Mr. Craig McCarthy and family. They do not intend to welcome any external business partner which is why he has decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital to 3 major sources.
These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;
N.B: We have been able to generate about $250,000 (Personal savings $200,000 and soft loan from family members $50,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $750,000 from our bank. All the papers and document have been signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited with the amount.
The future of a business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If any of these factors is missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.
Sunny Star® Gas Station will ensure that all the factors listed above are reinforced on a regular basis, we will continue to improvise with our products and services and also we will engage in continuous capacity building of our workforce. As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more.
We will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that staff welfare is well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner.
Check List / Milestone
