Gas Station Business 101 Podcast - How To Start, Run And Grow A Successful Gas Station Business

There are risk factors associated with buying any new businesses, I am sure you all know that but when it comes to buying a gas station, last week I spoke about 9 factors to check as part of your normal due diligence for your business. This week I want to address 7 hidden risk factors that can also literality make or break your business even before you get started with your new business, so you need to check and verify that will not be the case ...stay tuned and I will tell you all about them...   Let's get started. As you are aware that most every new business has its own sets of challenges and risk factors. I spoke about many business risks and challenges in episode 32, if you have not heard that episode, I strongly advise you do so as I discussed many of the legal issues your business can face and how to mitigate them the proper and cost-effective way. As you recall this is part of the two part due diligence series I wanted to cover. In part-1 which was episode 40 we covered the usual 9 due diligence facto

This is the first of a two part series episode all about due diligence. In this episode I will be discussing everything under the sun about each of the 9 steps of due diligence before buying a gas station business.  In the next episode which is part 2 of this series, will be all about the other hidden risk factors that you need to check and verify before buying a gas station. The risk factors I will be talking about in the next episode do not actually fall into a typical due diligence check list. So it is important to pay attention. Let's get started   The store location Demographics Age and brand Physical inspection of the store Talk about the issues we noticed Recommended upgrades and how much those upgrades would cost Indoor Issues Outdoor Issues Sales and financials Projected P&L vs. Real P&L      

GSB-39: Why Gas Station Business is a Good and Solid Long-Term Investment Welcome to Gas station business 101 podcast, I am Shabbir Hossain, and this is episode 39. This is the only show of its kind where we discuss how to start, run and grow a gas station business successfully, and I give you an inside look at many real life case studies so you can follow and become successful in this business. There are many great business and investment opportunities out there if you ever read the Entrepreneur magazine or the franchise magazine you will see they have a list of 10-20 great names of franchise businesses that you can invest and make money with. Back around 2005-2006 one of the leading magazines named  Quiznos as the number one franchise to buy in the US,  look at it today, from around 5500 stores in 2008 now they are barely surviving with just a few. The same analogy can go for other similar fast food businesses; there are new ones popping up every day, but the number of customers in any given city is not gro

A common question I get asked a lot, how do gas stations make money, especially when they hear the gasoline does not make much then how do we make money? Would you like to know too? Let's do some calculation GSB-38: How do Gas Stations Make Money? Welcome to Gas station business 101 podcast, I am Shabbir Hossain, and this is episode 38. This is the only show of its kind where we discuss how to start, run and grow a gas station business successfully, and I give you an inside look at many real life case studies so you can follow and become successful in this business. There are 3 ways a typical gas station/convenience store generates profit.   1. From Fuel Sales Regular unleaded Midgrade Premium Diesel 2. From Merchandise sales Cigarettes Tobacco Beer and wine Soda Coffee and Fountain Deli Food Automotive supplies/oil Candy Snacks, cookies, and cakes Other grocery items ketchup, rice, beans, can foods 3. From Other Sources of Revenue ATM Air/Vac Phone cards Lottery Game Machines Pay at the pump video ads

Today I want to discuss 7 very useful tips and ideas you should put to use immediately to improve your store's outlook and image. Most of these ideas will cost you very little, and some will only cost 50% of the total cost as the other 50% is paid by, well not you, so stay tuned, and I will tell you who will pay the rest. Let's get started. There are co-op programs available from most branded oil companies like Exxon, Shell, BP, and Chevron where they share some upgrade cost with you; often it is 50% of the total cost but yes there is usually a cap as to how much you can spend. These Co-Op programs are available from your brand managers. They can tell you what and how much your brand is offering for you to do certain upgrades. 4 Upgrades your Brand May Pay up to 50% 1. LED Lights Upgrade For Example, most all brands offer you up to 50% cost to replace and upgrade your exterior canopy lights to LED lights as long as you follow their requirements. So if replacing your 18 canopy lights cost you $8,200 you may be

In this episode, we will break down how to read and analyze a cash register report. This is the most important piece of paper that business produces every day. This is the report that tells you how much money came into your store and how. Not to mention it gives you break down of all the category sales and how much of each category you sold and how much revenue you generated from that sale. If you want to see how your business is doing financially, this is the only way you can tell by reading and analyzing this report. So what's in this report? Any of you that are in this business already know what is in it, but some of you may not pay attention to some details that I will be talking about. Most of us usually always just look at the sales figures, but don't forget this report can also offer you some very vital indications of many other factors like if there are foul play going on in your business.  it also tells you what method of payment people are using to pay you for the good and services they are buying f

What is a Branded Gas Station? Branded stations are what we see around us the chevrons, the shells, the marathons, the Bps the Mobil stations, all these are examples of branded stations. On the other hand, the unbranded stations are the one that you also see around you like the quick stop, the express mart, where you will see names like that but no sign of a branded logo anywhere. The primary difference between a branded and unbranded is the fuel additive most every brand use. Most brands use millions of dollars in advertising their brand and about their fuel quality due to the additive they sue. I am sure you have seen words like Chevron with Techron, or similar type of advertisements These additives are mostly designed to improve fuel economy and clean your fuel system and reduce carbon emission.  Naturally you should ask what about the people that buy unbranded fuel? What happens to them? Do they all suffer from lower fuel economy and dirty fuel system? Well no, they are not, The government has a lot to sa

This is the very first episode where I will just answer all the email questions and comments I have received recently, as some of you may recall I stopped answering email questions few episodes ago so I can have the whole time to dedicate to the topic of each episode. But didn't want to ignore anyone's questions, so from now on this how I will be answering email questions. Sometimes I get similar questions from a few people, and in those cases, I will just answer one where I will try to cover most all angles so everyone will have their answers. Feel free to send me email questions at shabbir@gasstationbusiness101.com or you can post your question on my Facebook Group by going to shabbirhossain.net This a domain name that is forwarded to my Facebook group. Let's get started... The first question is from K. Patel, and he wrote: Shabbir, I love your podcast show, I am getting a lot of new ideas from you, but one question I have after listening to your episode 23 and 29, I was wondering how easy is it to duplicat

Generally speaking, in life we all want to hear about success and how others became successful, and we all want to be successful in our own life. Not to mention hearing about success motivates us makes us want to follow the same footsteps so we can get some taste of the similar type of success in our own life.  We hardly ever want to hear about how someone failed in something because deep down we all know it is easier to fail than to succeed. In this episode, I want to share some of my biggest failure in business life. This way you may take a lesson in heart and know what not to do in business. My very first failure was when I first started in Tampa; most of you may recall I shared that story on the very first episode. It was a much needed one, by not doing well, I had to learn the very basics of the gas station business, and I believe that is what gave me the strength, knowledge and confidence to go forward later in my business life. The second one was not a good one; it came like a freight train and knocked

In this Episode I discuss all the security threats that we face as small business owners, then I discuss the business legal liability and how we can manage them properly. Most businesses especially retail come with a few security threats, and there is a certain degree of risk management that every entrepreneur has to do. This is part of doing business. There is no way around it. Every business has its own set of challenges, security threats and a certain degree of risk management. That is how business works. Remember the old saying "No Risk, No Gain"? Well, it is true to some degree when it comes to business. Don't let challenges like this deter you from getting into business but in my opinion, you should embrace these challenges and manage them properly and thus become a very successful business owner. Let's first look at some of the security threats we as small retail business owners face daily. Business Security Threats: Theft External Internal Burglary Robbery Vandalism Accidental Damages Act of God

Lately I have been getting a lot of emails from my international readers and listeners about investment visas and what and how to go about getting one of those. At first I was going to include them in my first Q&A episode but then when I started researching it, I have decided to dedicate an entire episode on this topic. For US listeners this episode maybe just as helpful maybe more , because either you may know someone who can benefit from it or when you go to sell your business the buyer you may find is from another country and they will be asking you for help in this matter. So it will benefit you greatly to listen to this episode. One word of caution before we go any further, as you know I am not an attorney, not a lawyer, I am here do provide some basic information about various investment related visas and how they work. I am not offering you legal advice here, nor am I qualified to offer you legal advice. So please before you act on anything we talk about here today, please ask an immigration attorn

First, I want to rectify something I said in the last episode. Remember I spoke about a Facebook group I started, to make it easier for everyone I bought a domain that is easy to remember, which was Shabbir on facebook.com, and then I redirected that domain to my Facebook group. But three days later I received an email from Face book's legal dept. Asking me to stop and remove that domain for copyright infringement. So I had to cancel that domain.  Now here is a new one for you, type in ShabbirHossain.net and it will take you to my Facebook Group. This episode is all about passive income ideas. But first, let me define what is really passive income. Well, passive income is a way to earn money where you are not actively working every day like you are in your gas station business. It is something that set it up once and see that work produce fruit every so often without you doing anything more. So it is more like a hands-off approach. You do work hard at first but then just let it set free and see it produce inc

First, an important announcement, Almost in every episode ask my listeners to go on my site and post a question on under "Ask Shabbir" tab where you have to register first, and many of you told me that you have had issues registering for it. So I decided to make it easier for everyone. I just started a Facebook group where you can go and start a conversation, ask questions and just engage in conversations. It's called the GSB Community. Since everyone uses Facebook anyway, I figured this is the best and easiest way to solve the issue and get everyone in one place. Now to find my Facebook group, simply go to ShabbirOnFacebook and it will take you straight to my group, off course if you have to ask to join the group just once but after that you can invite your friends, and you can get them approved. Sounds fun? Let's try and see how this will work. Now to the show..... On Episode 23, I brought you a real life store sales data and analysis, where I was helping a group of buyers decide if they should buy a locat

This episode is for people that are still thinking about getting into the business but haven't actually taken the plunge. You can read and listen to as many books or podcast as you want but if you don't take the plunge to actually getting into one it will just get harder as time goes by. Remember the opportunities are being taken every day and time and tide waits for none right? Steps you can take to get into a business now. First is soul searching? Look at your financial situation and come up with a budget Find that business Do your due diligence Buy the business Work hard at the business learn everything you can learn for at least 6 months Grow your business and enjoy the fruit The book I have this week is called 4-hour chef by Tim Ferris, remember when I recommended his first best seller the 4-hour work week? I was fascinated by his work, he is the one who first said as long as you know little more than the average person on any topic, and you can be an expert on it. Well in this book he talks about how

    In this episode I discuss the most important part of buying a business which is how to write a business plan. If you are looking to obtain financing from a bank, this is one document you cannot do without. This is truly the blue print of your business. A great business not only helps you to get the bank to finance your business but it also gives you a clear outline of what and how your business need to function and operate. It should also outline how you will be able to improve the business in the near future and generate more profit from it.  A great business plan should have these following items and I will touch on every one of them, so let's go through the list first: A well written cover page and a cover letter where you outline your objectives such as what business you are looking to buy, how much money are you needing as form of loan and what if any you are offering as collateral to secure the loan. Address that letter to the person in charge of lending. 1. A mission Statement2. Executive summery

Once again I answer few more burning questions I have received from my newsletter subscribers when I asked via a survey about their biggest struggle in business. So here it is, I talk in depth about why and how gas station business model is still a viable business model and why people should invest in it, and why it is still so lucrative. I look closely at issues like: Why and how it is good business: If you read my book, then you most likely know I spoke at length about how Gas station is truly one of the very few recession proof businesses out there. I am sure everyone remembers the big financial meltdown of 2008; we lost something in that disaster right? I know I lost a lot, I still remember that pain and heartache of losing so much that I worked so hard for over many years. I am sure all of you still remember that time; l am sure you all have seen businesses closing down around you, from restaurants to big name retailers at the mall. But honestly, how many gas stations have you seen closing down during th

In this episode I reply to several emails, I received including one from a gentleman named Murat. So this episode along with the next two episodes are all dedicated to answering a burning question I asked all my newsletter subscribers, where the question was what is the most important issue they are facing today in their business. One of the answers I got most was How to find a suitable and profitable business in their budget. Though in previous episodes, I touched on this subject before but I went ahead and summarized once again and talked about how you can find the right business for you that is within your budget. I talk in depth about: How to pick the right location that gives you the most value How to find out what is the right pricing for the business How to use your budget to find the right city and state for your location that gives you the most value How to go about finding those businesses How to find financing when major banks say NO How to do a proper Due Diligence so you know the seller is telli

GSB-24: How to Negotiate Vendor's Contracts to Your Advantage and Win- The Pain and the Gain Pain: If you are in c-store business already then you know how much pain it can be to negotiate vendor's contracts to your advantage. Just remember one thing, the contracts are often written by their legal dept and it is always to benefit them and not YOU. They are always looking out for them and not YOU. Unless you have a big legal dept with a few high paying attorney's on board, it is hard to negotiate with them, it is usually their way or the highway. But as a small business owner most of us do not have access to big law firms or a legal dept, not to mention if we even try to hire an attorney to negotiate on our behalf, we can go bankrupt just by going back and forth and paying their legal bills. So I know most of us often the sensible approach and read these contracts, talk to the vendors and ask other retailers about how they handled their contracts and then try to find comfortable ground and that is in my opinio

Today's episode is different than any other episode as I have decided to share a real life business details with you so you can see the due diligence first hand and share your input as well. In this episode I discuss: The store and its location Demographics Age and brand Physical inspection of the store Talk about the issues we noticed Recommended upgrades and how much those upgrades would cost Indoor Issues Outdoor Issues Sales and financials Projected P&L vs. Real P&L  

In this episode I address and answer many questions on a very important topic of EMV upgrade for which I have received many emails for. If you own a gas station business or any other retail outlet, you need to listen to this episode so you know what you need to do to comply with the new requirements. The questions I answer in this show: What is EMV update? Why is it required? When is the deadline? What's the cost? What are the pros? What are the cons? What should I do? The book I mention in this episode is Secrets of a Master Closer: A Simpler, Easier, and Faster Way to Sell Anything to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere By Mike Kaplan