Business plan
Sample plan · fictional businessA complete welding business plan: Ridgeline Mobile Welding
Tulsa, OK · Startup plan · a fictional welding business, written by the free generator from five answers
Executive summary
Ridgeline Mobile Welding is a new welding business in Tulsa, OK offering mobile welding repairs on site; trailer, hitch and truck-bed repair; farm and ranch equipment repair; custom gates, railings and handrails; and contractor and light structural welding. The model is one well-equipped mobile rig, a minimum and an hourly rate on every call, fabrication quoted as whole jobs for the quiet days, and contractor and farm accounts as the steady base.
Startup budget: $17,279 across 15 items, funded from savings. Target: $12,000 in monthly sales.
Twelve months from now, success looks like this: The rig booked four days a week, three contractor or farm accounts on call, and gates and trailers quoted as whole jobs
Products and services
Ridgeline Mobile Welding's core service is mobile welding repairs on site. Every mobile call carries a minimum or a trip fee and the hourly rate from the first arc; every fabrication job is quoted whole — materials, hours and finish — with a deposit before the steel is bought; and every finished weld is photographed for the customer.
- Mobile welding repairs on site
- Trailer, hitch and truck-bed repair
- Farm and ranch equipment repair
- Custom gates, railings and handrails
- Contractor and light structural welding
Market analysis
The customers are farmers and ranchers with equipment that can't be hauled to a shop, the contractors and fab shops who need a welder on site, and the homeowners who want a gate, a railing or a trailer built or repaired.
- Farmers and ranchers with broken equipment that can't be hauled to a shop
- General contractors, fab shops and builders who need a welder on site for a day
- Homeowners who want a gate, a railing or a trailer repaired or built
- Trucking companies, equipment rental yards and local businesses with repairs that can't wait
Marketing strategy
Most work will come from Google and from word of mouth — someone with a broken machine searches “mobile welder near me” and calls the first welder they trust, so the Google Business Profile, the reviews and a website with photos of real welds decide who gets the call. Contractors, equipment dealers and farm-supply stores, visited in person, bring the accounts that call back every month.
- Google Business Profile and Google — “mobile welder near me” is searched by someone with a broken machine and a deadline
- Word of mouth from farmers, contractors and fab shops who pass on the jobs they can't take
- Contractors, equipment dealers and rental yards, visited in person with a card and a list of what you can weld
- Local groups and farm-supply bulletin boards for gates, trailers and custom work
- A website with your number, your service area, your starting rate, photos of your welds and your certifications
Operations plan
The owner welds, quotes and drives in year one, keeps the rig, the welder and the cylinder ready for a same-day call, tracks consumables and hours per job, and keeps certifications current — adding a helper or a small shop only when the calendar and the fabrication work justify it.
- A minimum or a trip fee on every mobile call, then the hourly rate from the moment the welder starts
- Fabrication quoted as a whole job — materials, hours and finish — with a deposit before the steel is bought
- Consumables, gas and grinding discs tracked per job so the rate covers them
- Hot-work safety on every call: combustibles moved 35 feet, an extinguisher on the rig, and a fire watch for at least the half hour OSHA requires
- Photos of every finished weld for the customer, the website and the next quote
- Certifications kept current with the six-monthly continuity record, and copies on the phone for the contractor who asks
Startup costs
What it will take to open the doors, funded from savings.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Engine-driven welder/generator for the rig | $8,202 |
| A double lead reel for the truck | $359 |
| Leads, stinger, ground clamp, bottle rack and toolboxes | $650 |
| Grinders, a chop saw or cutting torch, clamps, table and hand tools | $1,000 |
| Auto-darkening welding helmet | $413 |
| Flame-resistant jacket, gloves, respirator and a fire extinguisher | $275 |
| A full 125 cubic foot argon/CO2 cylinder, bought | $249 |
| First wire, rod, discs and contact tips | $275 |
| General liability insurance (first year) | $2,000 |
| State contractor license or registration, exam and bond premium | $381 |
| Business registration, LLC and EIN | $465 |
| City business license | $110 |
| Website and Google Business Profile | $0 |
| Quoting, invoicing and customer records (first year) | $0 |
| Working capital: two months of fuel, consumables, phone and marketing | $2,900 |
| Total | $17,279 |
Typical range to start a welding business in the US: $13,757–$22,901. Your list is what you decided to spend — replace estimates with real quotes as you get them. Website and Google Business Profile: Your Zarla plan includes the website — a call button at the top, your services and starting prices, and a quote request form — and walks you through your Google Business Profile; a designer typically charges $1,500 or more to build one. Quoting, invoicing and customer records (first year): Your Zarla plan includes quote requests, invoicing and customer management with the website — no separate subscriptions for those.
Financial plan
The numbers below come from your own startup list and typical monthly costs for a mobile welding business in the US. Startup is mostly the engine drive and the rig; the numbers that decide the year are the billable hours a week, the rate and the minimum, and how much fabrication fills the quiet days.
Typical monthly operating costs for a welding business: $873–$2,617 a month, before the owner's own pay.
At $12,000 in monthly sales, Ridgeline Mobile Welding would clear $9,383–$11,127 a month before owner pay and tax, and recover the $17,279 startup budget in roughly 2 months.
| Cost | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Fuel for the truck and the welder | $300–$800 |
| Wire, rod, gas refills, discs and tips | $200–$600 |
| General liability, plus workers' compensation once you hire | $167–$342 |
| Gas cylinder lease | $6–$25 |
| Truck and welder maintenance and tool replacement | $100–$400 |
| Quoting, invoicing and customer records (included with Zarla) | $0–$50 |
| Phone, bookkeeping and marketing | $100–$400 |
US ranges for a small operation; replace with your own figures as you learn them. Lines marked (included with Zarla) are what those tools cost separately — with Zarla they are part of one monthly plan.
Risks and honest downsides
Every welding business plan should say out loud what can go wrong. For Ridgeline Mobile Welding, the real risks are:
- A fire caused by hot work is the claim that can end the business — which is why the insurance, the fire watch and the extinguisher are not optional
- Welding fume is a proven carcinogen; the respirator and the ventilation are the long-term risk, not the burn
- Slow weeks happen: without a minimum and fabrication work for the quiet days, the rig sits and the truck payment doesn't
- Contractor and farm accounts can pay in 30 days or more while fuel, gas and steel are paid today
- Quoting fabrication by guesswork turns a gate into a loss — the materials and the hours need to be priced before the deposit
- One welder is one point of failure: an injury, a burn or an eye injury stops the income
- One failed weld travels fast in a local trade community, and weld quality is the whole reputation
Licenses, permits and insurance
What Ridgeline Mobile Welding needs before it can legally trade in the US. Rules vary by state and city — confirm each item with your local licensing office and an accountant.
- Business registration and EIN — In the US most welders form an LLC — $40 in Kentucky, $300 in Texas, $70 in California plus a $20 statement of information and an $800 yearly tax. The EIN from the IRS is free, and contractors will ask for it on a W-9 before they pay you. Many US cities and counties also require a general business license — Seattle's is $73 to $147 a year.
- Contractor license where your state licenses welding on structures — In the US it depends on the state and on what you weld to. California's C-60 Welding contractor license (a $450 application, a $200 license, a $25,000 bond, four years' experience and an exam) is required for jobs over $1,000 that need a permit and for any business with employees; Washington registers every construction contractor, with welding and ornamental metal as specialty 61, a $15,000 bond and a $150.20 fee; Florida names no welding category but puts structural steel work in a specialty license; Georgia lists decorative metals, fencing and structural steel among the specialty trades that need no state license. Repairing a trailer or a gate is a service, not contracting, in those states. Check your state contractor board before you bid on a building.
- AWS Certified Welder for structural and pipe work — In the US, structural steel welded to the AWS D1.1 code and pressure piping welded to ASME rules must be done by a welder qualified by test for that process and position, and contractors and inspectors ask to see the certification. The AWS program has no educational prerequisite: a plate test at an accredited facility ($300 to $450 at one public college, plus a $35 AWS fee per document) and a continuity record every six months. Repair and ornamental work usually needs none.
- Hot-work permits where the fire code requires them — In the US, OSHA's welding standard (29 CFR 1910.252) requires movable fire hazards moved, guards for the rest, a fire watch where combustibles are within 35 feet of the work and for at least a half hour after, and an inspection before the work is authorized; many fire departments issue a hot-work permit under NFPA 51B with a fire watch for an hour after — two hours in wood-frame buildings in one Massachusetts town, whose permit is $25. Plants, general contractors and farms issue their own permit before you strike an arc. Check with the local fire marshal and the site.
- General liability insurance written for hot work — In the US it is a condition of contractor registration in Washington and expected everywhere: contractors, farms and property owners ask for a certificate, and a fire caused by hot work is the claim that ends a welding business. Insureon's average for welders is $167 a month; commercial auto for a business-owned truck averages $268 a month.
- OSHA welding rules and workers' compensation once you hire — In the US, OSHA's welding, cutting and brazing standards apply to employers — OSHA lists self-employed workers among those the Act doesn't cover — and workers' comp is required once you have employees in most states: California from the first employee, Texas optional for most private employers. Insureon's average for construction businesses including welders is $175 a month.
Milestones: the next 30 days
The first month's to-do list for Ridgeline Mobile Welding, in order:
- Pick your lane — mobile repair first, fabrication and shop work as the quiet-day filler
- Register the business, take the free EIN and open a business bank account
- Check your state contractor board for welding on buildings and your city's business license and hot-work permit
- Get general liability quotes written for hot work and mobile work before your first paid job
- Set up the rig: the engine-driven welder, the lead reel, a full cylinder, and a fire extinguisher
- Set a minimum and an hourly rate from your real costs and the rate pages local companies print
- Set up a free Google Business Profile with your service area and put your website live with photos of your welds
- Visit every contractor, fab shop, equipment dealer and farm-supply store in your area with a card and a list of what you can weld
- Ask every happy customer for a Google review and a referral
Appendix: what a lender will ask for
This plan tells the story and shows the numbers. If you take it to a bank, expect to be asked for these documents as well:
- Two years of personal tax returns and a personal financial statement
- A month-by-month 12-month cash-flow projection built from billable hours and your rate
- Quotes for the welder, the rig setup and any truck you're financing — the equipment is the collateral
- Proof of insurance, business registration and any certifications
- Letters or a list from contractors, farms or shops who will send you work
- Your credit report