West Memphis Arkansas is just on the other side of Tennessee and the Mississippi River. It has become a giant distribution hub where to major freeways, one going East and West, and one going north and south meet. This makes it a major Trucking, Barge, and Rail Hub, meaning there is quite a bit of business for a mobile car wash company which specializes in fleet washing. Having previously set up a franchise in Memphis, our crews were often called on the other side of the river to do services.
You see, there are seven major trucking companies which have relay terminals there. Also, there are four or five truck stops, and quite a number of restaurants, hotels, and travel centers. Folks driving their own personal cars often wish to get the bugs off the window, and for a quick $5-$7 exterior only wash, you could have unlimited work merely setting up in the parking lot of a restaurant. If you were to pay the restaurant a small percentage, they would probably enjoy your company being there.
The large trucking depots are also an excellent place to clean vehicles, especially if you don’t mind cleaning over the road trucks. There are a couple of truck washes in the area, one a nationwide chain, and another privately owned, and they always have a line of trucks waiting. Setting up a deal with one of the truck stops might also be a smart idea, as these are some of the biggest truck stops, and the busiest in the country.
There are challenges with labor supply in this region, as most of the labor comes from rural parts of Arkansas nearby, or over the bridge and Tennessee. Because of this it may be important to pick up your labor supply across the river, pick them up at the bus stop, or have them meet you somewhere. One challenge we found right away was that many of the trucking companies would try to recruit our workers to come work for them driving trucks.
Believe it or not, even in a down economy the trucking companies need more drivers, and when times are very good they can never get enough, and therefore, that is something to think about as well. Also, you may have to hire workers and pay them $10 an hour or more, but of course as long as they’re working hard that shouldn’t be a problem.
The weather can be challenging in this region, but the storms move through fairly quickly. Nevertheless, if you wish to clean trucks with your mobile carwash unit, West Memphis is definitely a great place to hang your hat. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on that.
