Funding for a car wash - Nectum dobre informacje

Aktualizacja odbyła się 16 stycznia 2023

For more or less a few years, we can notice that we have an increasing number of car washes in our country. In the vast majority, these are maintenance-free car washes, based on pressure washers technology. This type of economic activity is referred to as a passive business, because it requires quite a large amount of own contribution, but generates quite large profits at very low costs. For this reason, many people would like to invest in this type of business. The question, however, is how to obtain funding for this type of business activity. In a moment, we will tell you about the best methods of financing your own touchless car wash, according to many experts.

Costs

At the very beginning, we need to talk a bit about costs. Otherwise, the issue of raising funds or a possible loan, etc. will be somewhat detached from the basics.

A self-service car wash with six positions will be built for about PLN 500,000. We are talking about a complete car wash with floors and devices. We can similarly conclude that a car wash with three stations will cost PLN 250,000. In principle, we can freely calculate how much a car wash with a specific number of stations will cost. The cost does not include the cost of purchasing or leasing a given construction plot and its utilities, if necessary. As we can see, we need quite a lot of money to start. As you can guess, not everyone has one. Before we go to the bank for a loan, it is good to find out how much we can get as a subsidy and what form of ownership of the car wash is the most beneficial for us.

What funding methods do we have?

We can consider many different things as funding. In fact, we can divide them into many categories. The two main ones are definitely non-refundable or refundable subsidies on preferential terms that can be offered to us by the state or the European Union. The second category is co-financing as an investment in our business, with the option to buy it after some time. Of course, this definition is general, because it must contain many concepts, such as franchise, leasing, credit, etc. In a moment, we will discuss the best methods, according to many industry experts, to obtain funding for your own passive business, which is a touchless self-service car wash. Of course, we will not discuss the issue of taking a loan here, because it is a fairly obvious option, but not necessarily the best.

Franchise

The simplest form of starting your own business in the car wash industry is signing a franchise agreement with a large network of car washes. This has significant advantages. First of all, we can obtain funding for our business under a franchise agreement, and additionally we are starting under the banner of a well-known brand. This can attract a lot of customers on a good day. In addition, the franchisor will most likely share with us his knowledge about running a business. There are of course also downsides. The two biggest ones are, of course, the need to share profits with the franchisor, and the second is the lack of independence. As a franchisee, we must adapt to the business model of the larger partner, and in the event of disputes or inspections, we are usually in a weaker position. However, this is an option to be considered by a potential investor.

Leasing

Leasing for the construction of a touchless car wash is a rather interesting option, but not necessarily considered by many people. First of all, hardly anyone realizes that a car wash can be leased at all. This type of solution has many advantages. First of all, the leasing offer is usually more advantageous than the issue of a regular loan. In addition, leasing, and more precisely its costs, can be deducted from the company’s revenues all the time, so the taxes we pay during the duration of the leasing contract are ridiculously low.

EU grants

The biggest subsidies we can get will always come from the European Union, and if not always, then certainly for a very long time. Currently, the most prospective in terms of financial issues is applying for funding from the „Human Capital” program. The amounts awarded in this program are of course different, but the maximum amount is up to forty thousand zlotys, so there is a lot to strive for. If we want to apply for this type of subsidy, we must meet certain guidelines. First of all, in the year preceding the submission of the application for co-financing, we cannot have a registered business activity. By default, this program is supposed to help you set up your own business.

National subsidies

When it comes to national subsidies, the largest of those easily available can be offered by the employment office. Generally speaking, an application for co-financing may be submitted by anyone who is registered as an unemployed person at the employment office. The subsidy at the employment office is up to six times the average salary in the country. This subsidy usually increases over time, because the average salary in the country goes up systematically. Currently, such funding amounts to about twenty thousand zlotys.