Start a Bouncer Business for Some Great Supplemental Income
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Most of the posts that you will find on the Residuals and Royalties blog will inform you about ways to make money online and earn residual income. I sometimes write posts about other forms of supplemental income or really great part time jobs. Today I want to tell you about a weekend business that you can start straight from your home that can make you some great supplemental income. This business is a inflatable bouncer rental service, I have operated this business in the past and I can tell you that it is the perfect business for someone who has to work a 9 to 5 job during the week. These inflatable bouncers are also known as jumpers, moonbouncers, astro jumps and moonwalks. Bouncers can be purchased new for about $1,500 and you can literally make your money back with 7 or 8 bookings. After that, other than the cost of your insurance - your earnings are primarily profit.
The fact is, 90% of the rentals for bouncers will take place on Saturday and Sundays. Most of the events are kid’s parties and almost all parents will only throw a kid’s party on the weekends. Parents will typically pay between $150 and $240 for 6 to 8 hours of a bouncer rental. If you are starting this business, it is best to set your rates in conjunction with your local competition – you don’t want to be much higher or way lower than your competitor’s prices.
You can purchase these bouncers through a variety of manufactuers. I bought mine through a company called Ninja Jump and I was very happy with the overall quality. They offer a ton of designs like princess castles, dinosaurs and other kid’s themes. At first it is good to start with a plain castle – buy one with colors that are unisex so you can rent them out to both boys and girls birthday parties. These bouncers are pretty easy to set up, they come with a large snail fan that you simply attach to the bouncer and let it inflate. You will need to buy a long extension cord since some houses may have you in the backyard and a good distance from the nearest power outlet.
One downside to setting up these bouncers is how much they weigh. They can range from 75 to 150 pounds and you may want to get a dolly to help you roll it out to the set up location. Be sure and use stakes to keep your bouncer in place and ask the parents to have the kids take off thier shoes before entering the bouncer.
You will also want to have a responsible adult sign a waiver that includes the rules and regulations of renting the bouncer. The one other major cost of owning a bouncer company is the insurance. You can get insurance from companies like Inflatable Insurance and the cost per year runs about $700 to $1,200 per policy. (This would be for 1-2 bouncers.)
The final cost in running a bouncer is your advertising. You can set up a simple website through Homestead and list your company on Google, Yahoo and MSN for your local region. Handing out flyers is also a great way to generate business. Once you have been in business for a while, you will begin to get word of mouth referrals. I actually had so much fun operating this business that I am considering doing it again. I initially did it many years ago on the East coast and I sold the business when I moved out west.
You can check out some bouncers at Ninja Jump’s website by clicking here: Ninja Jump
If you have operated a bouncer business or have some experience with kid’s inflatables – please let us know your opinion by commenting below…
Best regards,
Michael-John Wolfe
4 Comments to “Start a Bouncer Business for Some Great Supplemental Income”
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Hi Michael-John
I’ve come through to your site via your post on Pat’s blog, smartpassiveincome. I am looking forward to reading more of your posts, it looks like there are a lot of resources and ideas here!
I just wanted to comment on your bouncer idea … we bought a bouncy castle to supplement our household income about 6 months ago. It is going fairly well – we decided to promote it through our local day care, toy library and children’s music programme. We give a $25 donation to the organisation every time one of the group’s members hires our castle. This has been a good way to advertise free to our target market and give something back to the community – a win:win.
I also wanted to mention that we went for a smaller bouncer, it only weighs 95 pounds in the bag. So that means our customers can pick it up from us, inflate it themselves and drop it back when they are finished. It easily fits into the trunk of even small cars (we cart it around in our Suzuki Swift!). Even though it’s small, it still takes 10 small children at a time.
Anyway, I just wanted to add those points to those who might be interested in getting a bouncer – it is a super easy way to add a couple hundred bucks to your weekly income.
All the best
Lisa
New Zealand
Hi Lisa,
That is funny you mentioned the smaller bouncer, because part of the reason I was leaning against purchaing another bouncer was because of the size. Do you mind if I ask what size is your smaller bouncer? Do you have an age or size limit in your contract? I assume you keep the adults out of it? Also, what manufacturer did you purchase it from? Sorry for all the questions – but it is getting warmer here, so if I want to do this — I need to act soon!
MJ
Hi MJ
That’s great you’re considering a bouncer business again. Here is a link that shows the commercial version of the bouncer we bought and who we bought it from – I am sure you could source similar or better in the US. All the specs are pretty much the same but ours is the domestic version: http://www.thefunwarehouse.co.nz/products.php?sec=anytime48b1c3fa0ab42&cat=anytime47d45e8212fc7&id=anytime4803e3691bc2b
We don’t have an age or size limit in our contract (perhaps we should!). But we tell people when they hire the bouncer is for kids 10 years and under, and ideally do not mix big kids and little kids. Absolutely no adults.
I hope that helps.
You’ll have to comment on here if you get one with some pics!!
cheers
Lisa
I will let you know if I get one! I love the idea of the client coming to pick it up and drop it off! Less work for me! Thank you for the link.
MJ