Start Your Own Bicycle Business

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Learn how to make a living with your bike in “Cycling for Profit.”
Learn how to make a living with your bike in “Cycling for Profit.”
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For those wanting to start their own bicycle business, working as a cyclist has several advantages.
For those wanting to start their own bicycle business, working as a cyclist has several advantages.
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Part-time and full-time cycling opportunities.
Part-time and full-time cycling opportunities.
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Paid or self-employment
Paid or self-employment
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Equipment Needs
Equipment Needs
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Startup Costs
Startup Costs

Cycling for Profit (Van der Plas Publications, 2000) by Jim Gregory helps cycling enthusiasts find a way to earn a living with their bike. With information on business practices as well as marketing advice, you can start a bicycle business of your own. This excerpt was taken from chapters 2 and 3.

You can purchase this book from the MOTHER EARTH NEWS store: Cycling for Profit.

Commercial Cycling as a Business

For those wanting to start their own small business, working as a cyclist has several advantages. The amount of money needed to get started is very low. In some instances, all that is needed is a bicycle. Even the most capital-intensive businesses described in this book require only a few thousand dollars to get started, a fraction of what it costs to start most other businesses. Nor is a building or an office usually needed; inmost instances, you can simply work out of your home.

Moreover, most commercial cycling businesses are subject to few, if any, government regulations. A commercial driver’s license is not required, nor will most businesses described in this book need a permit to operate. (Check with your state and local government to make certain, though.) Using a bicycle may even exempt a business from the rules that other businesses would follow. For example, when I informed the city that I wanted to start a curbside recycling service, I was told I would need a local waste hauling permit and have to get my vehicle inspected annually. When I told them that my “vehicle” was actually a bicycle, both the permit and inspection requirements were dropped.

  • Published on Jul 12, 2013
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