Business/Finance

How to Start a Go Kart Business (25 Best Ways & Tips)

October 8, 2022

You will learn how to start a Go Kart business from reading this helpful article.

It shows up to 25 best ways and tips that will help you start and even succeed with a Go Kart business.

Importance

There are many business ideas that an enterprising individual can research, pursue and create a steady stream of income.

Some of the businesses can provide a service or a product and can be in the area of food service, selling of computers, freelance writing, and so forth

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Another strong area of business opportunities is in the world of entertainment and specifically, when it comes to family entertainment.

Families understand the importance of this critical and foundational unit within our country and significant dollars are spent on entertainment opportunities for the family members.

The entertainment can include areas such as movies, gaming, amusement parks, and so forth.

One other particular exciting adventure for young family and their members is the exciting world of go-karting.

Let us therefore start our engines and move towards looking at ways to start and succeed at developing a go-kart business.

25 Best Ways & Tips to Help You Start a Go Kart Business

1. Research

Before starting out on any adventure it is important to conduct your research.

The research surrounding the starting of a go-cart business would include the marketability of this entertaining service that you will be providing, whether there is an excitement or enthusiasm for people to go-karting, understanding the entire financial obligation to start this business, and so forth

To determine the viability you could talk to youth oriented companies, business leaders, Chamber of Commerce, etc.

2. Budget

An important aspect of starting any business is to understand the finances.

After all, you are going into business to earn a profit as well as enhancing the lives of those in your community.

Therefore a budget should be comprised which would list all of the major expenses on the expense side of the ledger.

Some of those expense line items could include:

Equipment purchase
Maintenance of equipment
Staffing costs
Rental of property
Insurance
Etc.

Once you have established an approximation of the startup and ongoing costs you then can determine what your income will need to be and whether the income side of the ledger is equal to or greater than the expense side.

3. Competition

If you live in a larger community one of the analysis that needs to be conducted is looking at any competitors.

Some of the aspects of the competition would include their pricing, popularity, features or additional services they offer, the layout of the go-cart track, etc.

Using this analysis you then can devise your own go-cart track to add different or unique features that separate you from the competition, ensure that your pricing will be with in the ballpark of the competition, and so forth.

4. Business Plan

A significant action item that needs to be taken is the development of the business plan.

The business plan will be your roadmap of how you will proceed with starting and continuing on to success with your go-cart venture.

Some of the components of a business plan would include:

Executive summary
Marketing plan
Budget
Conducting a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats)
Staffing
And other elements

The importance of a business plan will not only provide you a roadmap of how you wish to proceed and how to get to your destination of success but also will be a document that potential investors will look at to make sure that the business strategy is well thought out.

5. Business Structure

In order to operate legally with in the business world as it relates to governmental entities a business structure or legal structure needs to be determined and obtained.

The choice of business structure will determine which state you are registering your company in, the payment of taxes, reports that need to be filed, and so forth.

Examples of legal entities for a business to be structured under would include:

Sole proprietorship
Limited liability company
S Corp
C Corp
General partnership

It is important that you conduct your research on what best matches your particular situation.

6. Insurance

Insuring your business is another important action step that needs to be followed through on.

The purpose of having insurance will protect your business and assets from unexpected are unforeseen events that may negatively impact your business.

The different types of insurance can include:

General liability
Business property
Equipment breakdown insurance
Workers compensation
Property
Professional liability
Etc.

It is best to research which company which insurance company would meet your insurance needs and talk specifically to an insurance agent to make sure that the proper insurance is utilized and at what level of deduction or liability.

7. Staff

Another important consideration when starting a go-cart business is the consideration of staffing.

Depending upon your hours of operation you may need staffing in the evening or on the weekends or on certain holidays.

Therefore, you would need to consider what staffing you would need and what would be the total hours on a set timeframe such as weekly or monthly.

Staffing needs may include:

An attendant at the course to ensure safety
Collection of money for tickets
Any administrative duties needed such as accounting
And so forth

8. Permits

Before you begin operations in providing go-cart service you need to make sure that certain permits are up tainted at the state, federal, and also at the local level.

Some of those licensing or permit obligations that need to be met could include registering the name of your company could include:

Business license
Sales tax license
And so forth

Also, go carts are generally powered by gasoline and it would be prudent to check on emissions standards for your state that you operate within as well as other related issues that may surround the use of gas powered engines.

9. Fees

Another important factor to consider and remember is that are variety of fees associated with the obtaining of permits and licensing.

A good idea when following through on all of these legal matters and payments that the hiring of a professional to make sure that all of the T’s are crossed and the I’s are dotted may be a prudent course of action.

10. Liability Release Form

A prudent measure to take when operating a go-cart business is the legal creation of a liability release form.

This signed document by the customer releases or indemnifies the business owner against any claim experienced by the customer that is not a negligent action of the company.

There are standard templates that can be utilized but, as always, with any legal documents it is always best to get the legal advice from an attorney-at-law.

11. Pricing

In order to set your pricing you will need to do a cost analysis of what it actually entails for the use of a go-cart.

Factors that go into the consideration of putting a go-cart on the track would include:

Maintenance
Fuel
Staffing
Rental of the course
And so forth

Therefore, it is important to charge enough for the admission by factoring in all of these expenses plus adding profit per customer.

Another way of establishing pricing would be to check on other go-cart facilities to see what they’re going rate is.

12. Zoning

Another important consideration when looking into starting a go-cart business is any zoning laws.

Typically the noise from the use of a go-cart or several go-karts could be a noise issue as it relates to certain zoning ordinances that have been established by the local city government.

13. Equipment

Another preliminary step that needs to be thought through is the equipment needed to start and be successful in the go-cart business.

Again, this company has paid $25+ million to members:

The basic equipment would be a go-cart, safety equipment, and so forth.

The options of having go-cart’s for use at your go-cart business can be either purchased, rented, or rent to buy.

It is important to conduct your research to determine which is the best option and do some comparison shopping as it relates to cost.

According to www.alibaba.com you can purchase go-carts that are in the range of the upper $500 and above.

Both electric and fuel powered go carts are available.

14. Location

As with all things pertaining to property location is critical.

Considerations, as it relates to location for your go-cart business, would include:

Location accessible through public transport
Good natural lighting that is ventilated and spacious
Entry into a flexible lease
A space that is ready to be used with no major renovations or repairs needed

15. Marketing

As part of your success with your go-cart business it is important that you utilize all of your marketing opportunities.

This would include the full use of:

Social media
Blogging
Website
Word-of-mouth
Flyers
Discounts
Group pricing
And so forth

16. Start-up Costs

One additional financial consideration is to think fully through the startup costs associated with a go-cart business.

In addition to the various licenses and permits and insurance needed other startup costs would include the building of a website, monthly rental, construction of the track, purchase of the go-carts, safety equipment, and labor costs.

17. Name

Choosing a name for your company is important.

The name for this exciting entertainment venue should be engaging, energized, and simple in nature so that individuals will easily remember its name

As part of registering your business your name should be exclusively yours so that there are no trademark or name infringements.

A good idea of determining a name for your business would be to ask family members or friends, avoidance of a particular location in the event that there is expansion, a name that is easy to say and spell, and so forth.

Also, an important component of selecting a name is search engine optimization which would utilize keywords when an individual is searching for this type of entertainment

A tool that you can utilize to provide suggested names for your business can be found by clicking here.

18. Software

It is important to know that there is software that is specifically created and geared towards the go-cart business.

Many of these software packages are designed to manage the various group bookings that may be occurring, the promotion of events, invoicing of clients and the receipt of payments.

One specific software package that is available is known as Race Facer.

19. Electric or Gas Powered

An important consideration when choosing your go-cart that will be utilized in the business is whether to choose electric cars or gas powered.

Considerations of which engine to utilize can be based upon a number of factors.

Some of those factors could include:

Noise level
Environmentally friendly
Long range plans of the state in which you reside
Noise levels
And so forth

20. Financing

An important consideration when considering the start of a go-cart business would be financing.

There are a number of ways that you as an entrepreneur can try to obtain financing for your business venture. Some of those ways could include whole:

Bank loans, small business Association guaranteed loan
Government grants
Working with a venture capitalist
Angel investors
Friends and family
Crowdfunding
Utilizing your personal assets

21. Bank Account

The finances or money received from your go-cart business should not be intermingled with your personal checking account.

Therefore, it is important to open up a separate business account for your go-cart company to make sure that the funds are not intermingled with your personal money.

When looking for a bank that will serve your business needs some important features in choosing your bank should include:

Limited or no fees
Nightly deposits
Earning interest on your bank account
Other features or perks offered

22. Opening Day

To promote your go carting business a good idea is to have an opening day celebration.

There could be a discount on the use of the go carts, perhaps decorating your place of business with streamers and balloons, working with a local radio station to do live broadcasts, and so forth.

23. Website

An important component of your business plan and marketing your go-cart amusement center, the creation of an engaging website is important.

The website should reflect exciting pictures of go-cart action, a link that talks about go-carting and its excitement, a frequently asked question page that addresses some of the questions involved with go carting, and so forth.

24. Other Streams of Revenue

When customers choose to use your go-cart business for a time of entertainment and family get together, most likely they want more than just the go carting experience.

Therefore, as a way to bring in additional revenue you may wish to consider the offering of an arcade with video games, purchase of merchandise, selling of concessions, etc.

25. Networking

A powerful method of hitting visibility for your company is through networking.

Networking is the process in which you interact with others especially business owners.

Through the networking process you can establish connections and potential agreements in which both you and the other business owner can market the business and realize revenue.

For example, if there is a Boys and Girls Club in town you can network with the CEO and provide discounts as not only a community service in serving the youth of the community.

Another good way of networking is to join an association.

Some of those associations could include:

The Chamber of Commerce
Kiwanis Club
Rotary Club
Lions Club
Soroptimist
Etc.

By being a member of these associations and organizations you can network with other business leaders to promote your go-cart business.

Personal Story

One of the first go-cart experiences that I had was when I took our family to Disneyland and of course the kids wanted to ride on the go carts at Autopia.

Of course, being the responsible adult and parent that I was I wanted to be with them in making sure that they had added supervision and an additional safety measure with me being involved.

However, if the truth be known I was just as excited as participating in this ride as they were and their involvement gave me an excuse to drive one of these vehicles with the excuse being that I was being an attentive parent.

Starting a Go-Cart Business FAQs

What is the Business Future of Owning a Go-Kart Business?

The future of owning a go-cart business is bright as by the year 2030 it is projected that this industry will reach the $154.3 million mark.

What is the Annual Worth of Go-carting in America?

According to the Allied Market Research website the value of the go-cart industry was estimated to be $104.8 million.

You Can Do It

Going into business as a business owner can be an exciting journey and present a number of challenges.

However, as an enterprising individual you are equal to those challenges and through a well-thought-out process and plan of action you can be accessible in your business venture and especially in the area of starting a go-cart business.

Conclusion

The entertainment business of go-carting can be a well received opportunity for families to enjoy a memorable outing.

As an individual and enterprising entrepreneur that wants to start this business you can be part of that memorable experience by providing this opportunity of go-karting for all members of the family that are qualified to take their seat behind the steering wheel.

In addition to this being a profitable business with a the future of go-karting looks promising as well.

Therefore, not only are you making a profit for yourself on your business investment but you are being part of that creation of memories for the family unit.

Again, this company has paid $25+ million to members: