GSB-47: How to Flip Gas Stations for Profit

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Welcome to Gas station business 101 podcast, I am Shabbir Hossain, and this is episode 47. This is the show where we discuss how to start, run and grow a gas station business successfully and give you an inside look at many real life case studies so you can follow and be successful in this business.

Today’s’ episode is a rather interesting one, and this idea came from Moe. Moe sent me an email about a month ago asking about this very topic as he found an opportunity to take over a store for very little money. I did answer his questions via email but I figured this is a topic that can benefit most of my other listeners. So here it is.

As I said, we all know someone who flips home to make a living, and often they make good money doing so. But there is a growing market where people buy and sell gas stations for a big profit. But if you want to do this business there are few very key points you need to measure first and make sure you fulfill all those requirements. It can be a risky business, it can even be a money pit, so you have to be extra careful to do this business. But if you do it right the payout can be huge.

6 Key factors to consider and analyze before deciding to get into this business

• What type of gas stations are better for flipping
• Where and how to find them
• Who can flip gas station
• capital requirements
• Manpower requirements
• Management skill requirement

Once you have fulfilled the requirements and bought your first store to flip, your real work begins.

Find out the causes of failure of the business.

5 Main Reasons Businesses Fail

1. Mismanagement
2. Lack of competitive pricing and promotion
3. Lack of merchandising
4. Store outlook and maintenance issues
5. Change in demographics or change in regulations

Once you know what cause this business to fail, you need to take a comprehensive approach to fixing not only that single issue but all the other factors as well. It will be like opening a new store where you touch and improve on every part of the process.

6 Key Improvement areas

• Fix any and all maintenance issues
• Updated fresh outlook on a budget
• Remerchandise the store
• Innovative/aggressive marketing and promotion
• Well trained employees
• Install a good bookkeeping and store operation procedure

Once you successfully implemented each of the above improvement measures, it’s time to wait and see the results. On an average, it takes anywhere from 4-6 months for a dying store to come back to life and show growth. In my opinion, a flip from start to finish should take no less than four months and no more than 12 months.  Once you see the sales are at a point where the store became profitable, it is time to put it on the market. But don’t try to hide the fact as to why you bought this business when buyers ask you why you are selling the business.

Once again a big thanks goes to Moe as he is the one who came up with this topic, so this episode is fully dedicated to him.

If you have any question, feel free to send me an email at shabbir@gasstationbusiness101.com, or you can post it on my Facebook group page by going to shabbirhossain.net

Lastly, If you are about to buy a gas station for the first time, make sure to read my book “Gas Station Business Smart Start-up” How to measure profitability, how to come up with a valuation, how to calculate ROI, how to write a business plan and how to get financing for your new venture. You can find this book on most all retailers including Amazon, Apple iTunes, Kobo, Smashwords and Barnes and Noble.

Don’t forget to sign up for my very important newsletter, you can simply sign up for it by going to http://gasstationbusiness101.com/subscribe

Thank you once again for joining me in this episode, I will see you in the next one.

Take care