Im known to ramble and this is the background info to my questions, which some of you may find unnecessary to read. If so, skip to the next post where I actually ask questions.
I desperately need the advice of the experienced members of the site who are kind enough to share it, as I am seriously interested in starting a rickshaw-style service for my local downtown bar scene.
Over the last few years, our downtown area has been revived due to a concerted effort on the part of the city leaders and business owners...as well as a local job boom which has boosted the local economy overall. We have a decent number of bars, nightclubs and restaurants which are centrally located, yet spread out over many blocks. We now have decent-sized crowds of people walking between these businesses, as well as limited parking in the immediate area. There are no rickshaw or pedicab based businesses currently in my town, and the closest to it would be paying much more to a taxi.
I do not have much money. I've worked for myself doing remodeling and landscaping for the past few years. I had a few slow months of business and a few unexpected expenses and I was struggling, but making it. Then I wrecked my truck. It was my fault(I was taking my cat to the vet and became distracted when she became violently ill in her carrier next to me) and unfortunately I only had liability at the time.
Without my truck running, it's been very hard to continue that type of work. I looked into a temporary, cheap form of transit and discovered motorized bicycles, then realized that I could possibly turn this sad string of events into something positive by creating a rickshaw type business.
I am now selling my wrecked truck, and I plan to use the money I get from it to build at least one custom rickshaw/pedicab. I would prefer to build 2-3, but I will most likely have to start with one and build more with my profits at a future time. Luckily, my father is an engineer and works for the Texas Department of Transportation. He can build the pedicabs for me to save money and, if he doesn't personally know, he can easily ask co-workers about any issues concerning legally operating the pedicabs on the streets here.
I desperately need the advice of the experienced members of the site who are kind enough to share it, as I am seriously interested in starting a rickshaw-style service for my local downtown bar scene.
Over the last few years, our downtown area has been revived due to a concerted effort on the part of the city leaders and business owners...as well as a local job boom which has boosted the local economy overall. We have a decent number of bars, nightclubs and restaurants which are centrally located, yet spread out over many blocks. We now have decent-sized crowds of people walking between these businesses, as well as limited parking in the immediate area. There are no rickshaw or pedicab based businesses currently in my town, and the closest to it would be paying much more to a taxi.
I do not have much money. I've worked for myself doing remodeling and landscaping for the past few years. I had a few slow months of business and a few unexpected expenses and I was struggling, but making it. Then I wrecked my truck. It was my fault(I was taking my cat to the vet and became distracted when she became violently ill in her carrier next to me) and unfortunately I only had liability at the time.
Without my truck running, it's been very hard to continue that type of work. I looked into a temporary, cheap form of transit and discovered motorized bicycles, then realized that I could possibly turn this sad string of events into something positive by creating a rickshaw type business.
I am now selling my wrecked truck, and I plan to use the money I get from it to build at least one custom rickshaw/pedicab. I would prefer to build 2-3, but I will most likely have to start with one and build more with my profits at a future time. Luckily, my father is an engineer and works for the Texas Department of Transportation. He can build the pedicabs for me to save money and, if he doesn't personally know, he can easily ask co-workers about any issues concerning legally operating the pedicabs on the streets here.
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