What Is The Single Most Important Decision Before Starting Your Petrol Station Business?

What is the most critical question you should ask before you start your petrol station business?

Think about it for a second. Is it a question about capital requirements? Is it a question about regulations? Is it a question about the process and requirements

The actual answer might surprise you.

The most important question you should ask is “Does this location profitable for the long-term success of my petrol station business?”

With increasing competition, more than ever, you need a petrol site location that will sell a big volume of fuel and products to your target customers.

You can have all the capital in the world, equip your petrol station with modern equipment and hire the best people in the industry, but if you build a petrol station in the wrong location, you will suffer years of no growth due to fewer sales.

You could quickly go out, buy land on a busy street and start building a petrol station. But that is a very risky approach. Why? Because you have no data-based evidence as to whether there would be enough customers in the target group to make your effort worthwhile.

Also, not all petrol station sites located on busy streets are profitable. Motorists and consumers can pay more to avoid turning into a petrol station, which makes entering or exiting difficult.

That’s why research is so important.
Imagine if your research uncovers that your desired petrol station site will sell only 500 liters daily. But you thought you would sell 5000 liters per month.

Again, imagine if your study uncovers your desired petrol station site will sell more fuel. But you wanted to build a service bay for a car wash, restaurant, and supermarket.

If you do research in advance, you can adjust accordingly. If you don’t research, you’ll still come to the same conclusion but lose money and time on the way.

Before building or even a petrol station, you must assess how easy it is for motorists and consumers to enter and leave the sites. How is the site accessible from the main road?

You must ensure that your site allows access via roadways and frontage.

The location must have easy in and out access. Also, your site must be located at an optimum distance, enabling motorists driving at average speed to have enough time to make buying decisions, slow down their vehicle, and enter your station safely.

If there is a problem with access and visibility, determine what you can do to improve access to the site.

In addition, it is crucial to understand who your closest competitor is in your trading areas and identify their strength and weakness and what volume they are achieving.

If other petrol stations exist in the same trade area, Identify their strength, weakness, and what volume they are achieving. You may also need to identify the competitive advantage your new site could gain on its fuel volume.

I hope this helps.

Remember, the game is not to start a petrol station but to stay in the petrol station market long-term.