How would you like a business idea that lets you work outside the majority of the time and helps improve the curb appeal and security of homeowners too?
The greatest majority of people own their own mailboxes, and along more rural and and suburban areas the mailboxes are placed on a pole out by the curb.
Now you have probably noticed when you are out for a drive there are many rickety and just plain ugly mailboxes lining the streets.
How about introducing people to better options for their mailbox?
Especially ones made out of brick or a brick or stone base that they can beautiful with plantings to add to their curb appeal.
You can even offer the plantings with this service too.
Now besides having curb appeal a solid brick mailbox or other stone type of mailbox or mailbox base is much safer and will last longer than a typical mailbox on a pole just stuck in the ground.
You could easily offer this service to potential customers who may have worn out, or just boring old mailboxes.
Now if you don’t have any brick laying skills not to worry.
If you are interested in learning how to do this, it’s probably one of the easier do it yourself skills to learn.
But if you are still pretty hesitant about your skill level you can always partner with a bricklayer.
The first place to start with this business idea is to make sure you have a showcase mailbox yourself.
If you don’t have one already, doing the project yourself or with a brick layer will help you get a feel for whether this business idea interests you or not.
Take before and after photo’s to show to your clients, and also take example photos of nice looking mailboxes around your neighborhood to show your customers what you can offer them. (Ask your neighbors for permission first!)
You can also offer to do a few mailboxes free for friends and neighbors – they would supply the materials – and then you would have more photos and some references to add to your portfolio.
Continue taking pictures and adding them to your portfolio as you do more jobs, and then after a while you can edit the portfolio to show your best work.
Always use before-and-after pictures too.
Think about the success of the numerous design, do it yourself and home improvement shows that people watch on TV everyday.
They all focus on showing the before and after transformation of a space.
So having before and after pictures of your successful mailbox projects will help your potential clients see the quality of your work, and what could be possible for their mailbox too.
Additional ideas for business income would be a seasonal cleaning and repainting service to keep the mailbox and pole attractive, and a repair service in case of any damage to your customers mailbox from weather or accidents.
This service would also work well with another curb appeal type of home improvement service such as Business Idea #38 –
Repaint & Rejuvenate Doors.
Some ideas for marketing this business idea would be to put flyers in any public places you could find that attract homeowners.
You could also do displays at Home and Garden shows.
It would be a good idea to connect with local contractors and home builders and let them know about your service.
Many of the smaller details in building a home are contracted out and building a quality mailbox could be one of them.
Also, offer a small discount for clients that would let you display a small sign near their new mailbox for a short time, to inform passers-by of your business.
Of course one of the easiest ways to get new customers would be to simply drive around neighborhoods and leave your flyer on the door of a house where you see a mailbox in need of help.
Hopefully the homeowner won’t be offended, but make sure to word your sales material with some compassion for the busy homeowner who simply doesn’t have time to attend to something that’s not a real priority for them.
On the other hand, just bringing some attention to their mailbox may be the impetus they need to have something done, and they may be relieved to know that there is someone local who can do it for them.
You can also advertise in local newspapers. Take out an ad or have a flyer insert mailed out in the newspapers.
You could also have a bulk mailing sent out through the post office.
You will have to weigh the cost effectiveness of these options, perhaps testing and seeing what the return on your investment is.
And as always, have quality business cards to hand out whenever you see an opportunity or meet a contact that could help you build your business.
Now it would be a good idea to research the local and state code requirements for the different areas you plan to sell in.
Make sure that you build your mailboxes according to the code requirements, especially in areas that may require frequent snow plowing.
The more types and styles of mailboxes and bases you can offer to your customers the better.
Offering various safety features are also desirable options for many different types of customers. Be sure to offer as many features as possible.
This is one of those small business ideas where you can find a lot of inspiration online.
Surf the internet for lots of different designs of brick and stone mailboxes, and spend time looking for as many different kinds as you can.
The more you find, the more options you will be able to duplicate and offer your customers.
Quality Mailboxes.com
has a lot of great mailboxes to help you get started with your research.
