How to Start an Event Rental Business 0-500k in 5 Years Guide

A guide to how I Started my Event Rental Business 0-500k in 5 Years. This guide is unique because there is a completely different method involved for every step of your journey if you are starting with nothing. These are concepts that are not properly covered this thoroughly anywhere else. Thanks for watching!
Years ago, I started a party rental business in my garage and have grown it into the business that you see in this video. Welcome to my event rental business warehouse. This channel is dedicated to my journey running an event rental business starting from the beginning in my garage (see how far I've come along from the beginning so far). I'll show you tips along the way! Watch me grow subscribe and comment often!
Here are my Links:
linktr.ee/TBPRG
My blueprint store: www.etsy.com/m...
Here are some of my popular sets of videos:
Event Rental Vlogs:
• Party Rental Business ...
DIY Photo Booth Builds:
• DIY PHOTOBOOTH BUILDS
Once You Make The DIY Photo Booth Learn How To Market Them
Photo Booth Business How To (Weekly Videos):
• How To Start A Photo B...
Everything Tents:
• Everything Tents
Event Business Startup Ideas:
• Event Business Startup...
Check out all of my yard game videos 👉🏻 Start A Yard Game Rental Business
• Start A Yard Game Rent...
Check out 2 guys that inspired me to create this channel they started out as my mentors and now they are my friends: (go give their channels some love and learn from their videos)
1. @TRBVLOGS
/ gorothbal
2. Tent Guy And Other Entrepreneur Stuff:
/ @thetentguy
Check out his course on how to start a party rental business:
www.startapart...
For Rental Software:
I recommend: Booqable (Rental Company Booking Software):
booqable.com/?...
This is what I use to automate my rental bookings track my inventory, take credit card payments and more. I barley have to do customer quotes anymore. Bookings literally come in while I sleep at night!
Here's my video review of Booqable:
• Booqable Rental Compan...
For business inquiries: [e-mail]

[@therentalguy]

If you like this video you might be interested in the softwares that I currently use. 👉🏻 5 Must Have Event Rental Software Apps That I Use To Run My Party Rental Business kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXzKcoeGhM6XhZo

[@paulmarion7578]

Great video ! Do you know if tent and table make good quality tents ? I’m looking at there 30X30 high peak frame tent it would be my first tent .also have you ever had a problem with mice chewing on the tents when there in storage over the winter ? We have lots of mice in Maine in the winter .

[@paulkelly6034]

I am based in the United States. I wish to inquire about the person who did your website. It is very nice

[@JoeSmith-xu8bn]

I just built my business page, started running ads and taking bookings. No bookings yet but I have hope 🤞🤞🤞

[@therentalguy]

What types of products are you renting?

[@JesusArellano]

Any update?

[@littlejoshy1174]

Update?

[@sergiobaltazar4717]

Update?

[@Augustin54]

Update???

[@anacondre123]

My wife and I started our rental business a year ago as a side hustle. 2023 was all about re-investing after expenses. Made about 40K USD mainly weekends. I gotta tell you, you have been an inspiration man. Thank you so much for your videos. Every time I want to learn something about party rentals or need a refresher, I come to your videos. P.s we started using booqable thanks to you too.

[@therentalguy]

That is fantastic! You keep on reinvesting and watching my videos, I’ll keep reinvesting and making the videos!!

[@ethelstandifer8569]

How did you fit into the market place

[@JenniDavis-uj3qq]

I built my first booth right before covid kicked in and we were all locked down. I've slowly been building more and more items. I now have a few booths, a couple of jukeboxes, a heap of yard games. From watching your videos I have a website, which I'm currently re-doing to enable online bookings, I've got a few items on there that I don't even own yet. lol And thanks to you, I'm now the proud owner of a heap of tables, chairs, cutlery, crockery, glassware, linens. Go hard or go home!

[@ernestasuktveris1401]

And how is it going for you? I started by renting cheap cars, but it cought up to me very quickly with damages so now I'm looking to transfer to renting stuff like this, any advice for first items?

[@olamideabiodun123]

I was looking for a business to make some extra money, I had a memory block thinking of what to do, I already work in the entertainment industry but I was looking for extra service to render aside from what I already do, and then boom I stumbled on your page and everything became clear now I know what to do, thanks so much for the video.

[@mommayvette]

Hi Rental Guy, my husband and I started our own party rental business March 2023, we are doing good so far because I followed what you did and it continue to grow this year. We are hoping to get more clients this year and hopefully to get our own warehouse too.

[@therentalguy]

That is awesome! I hope that you do great. Remember that a strong Google page with your products listed using links on each product forwarded to the coorisponding website landing page will help get more eyes on your products and eventually more customers. Before you know it you will have a warehouse.

[@RonHeartt]

Ay brother love this video. You break everything down so well and your success is well deserved!

[@vitaliykoblyukvideography4448]

I've been watching you and decided last summer to start my business. You are a big inspiration. I am pumped for 2024 and hoping for a good year. Thank you for always sharing your knowledge and experiences!

[@therentalguy]

That is awesome! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

[@oscarmendez3300]

Lee, you are an amazing spokesperson for your company and for start up owners like us! Great job and thanks! We started down here in MI in August with almost nothing and in just four months, secured 14 bookings, four of which are for 2024 grad parties! I did invest $6/day on Google ads and I believe that makes a difference. I'm fully convinced that you'll be in that building soon bro! Sending positive vibes north, thanks again!

[@therentalguy]

That’s fantastic. Keep getting seen by customers and reinvesting and I will too!

[@paulkelly6034]

Thank you for making this video. I am inspired. I am in Chicago, Illinois, and i just started working on building my own event rental business. I had this idea in 2019 but never followed through. I bought a few chairs back then, but they are still in storage. I am about to take action. Please, i wish to inquire who did your website, it is very nice

[@muhammadzuberi5118]

Im based chicago too. Hows things at your end?

[@elviradoe4121]

I been researching this business for years now and I don't know why I am so afraid to start, I need some encouragement business i don't get that from people around me.

[@CALF1N3ST323]

I just started my rental business in the end of 2023 in Los Angeles Ca. The biggest challenge I have right now is finding an insurance company to cover by business. I’m stuck on residential rentals only. I’ve been missing out on parks events because parks ask for insurance. Do you have any recommendations? Thanks by the way for your videos they are very helpful when I have questions

[@LyubomirStoyanov]

Are you thinking about affiliate program with wedding planners, photographers, videographers? As a side hustle in your new space (the big building) you can put some “creative space stuff” for photosoots. You will have good looking inventory like arches, flowers, pipe and drape. Keep up the vlogs. Respect!

[@therentalguy]

That is definitely one of the plans. I have 20 months left on the lease at my current location. If I want to continue to ensure fast growth I will have to make some big moves or be stuck in limbo for another lease term. So, if I can secure the proper partnerships, inventory, and affiliates to help move my products then I may have a chance. So yes, it’s my plan.

[@donavanhilaire521]

This is such a good information video if only every video was step by step like this

[@heidipreslicka6855]

Love your videos! Plus you look like Sean Spencer from the tv show Psych :)

[@buymypartyrentalbusiness]

So classy. I’ve been following for a long time and still watched this entire thing like I didn’t know who you were. Haha. Thank you as always for sharing the journey. It makes a difference.

[@flexandstaticdnb]

So me and my friend have been DJing events for a while now and have decided to step into the rental market. Thanks bro for these videos they are so informative, you absolute gem ❤️

[@slycooper7541]

wow man this video was amazing i felt like i went on the journey with you

[@therentalguy]

Awesome, thank you!

[@kendallcross928]

Hey Rental Guy! Hope all is well. Any advice for someone in my position? I have 5k in my budget to get things up and going I have decided on 15 rectangle 6ft tables and 120 White resin chairs. I also have purchased 1 20x40 Chiffon Tent and a 20x20... Am I missing anything that could really get me going? I am based in San Antonio, Texas. Since it does not snow here I've noticed lot's of competition through the year. Thank you so much and Many blessings to you and your family!

[@DanBurroso]

so some aspects of your business include having the customer come and pick up and set up on their own. Did you have insurance from the beginning? or did you wait til you started working with tents before you got the insurance

[@jonathanm5202]

I’m in la and been doing research I’m going to launch my party rentals maybe next month or 2-3 months from now . I’m just trying to go secure inventory and make a website before launch and have prices set . I am based in los Ángeles . any other things I am missing ? I’d appreciate any feedback ! Thank you 🤘

[@TheMojoHirerentalguy]

The Rental Guy, Hello you might not remember me from 6 months ago! but im going strong 6 months in at 13k revenue... chrissy was crazy lol so many deliverys... everything went out.... im hoping for first year ill have 100 Resin chairs 120 Foldable 2$ chairs. and 40 tables and 4-5 marquees the 3x6 size.. at that point ill move to keep 1000$ aside to go into Outdoor Games. but only buy if theirs a order. and then push into frame tents etc as it looks like thats when u get more booking for the wedding resin chairs.

[@TheMojoHirerentalguy]

Year 2 will be my Year ill be focusing on Tents tents tents, just have no idea what tents yet lol we live in australia so its more all year round for us

[@TheMojoHirerentalguy]

also do you think it be good idea to use google ads to focus on gazebo hire once u get 5-10 of them

[@lifesjourneyunscripted]

Thanks great video. I am just at the point of starting to get things together to get insurance and llc, back account and rental inventory. Enjoy your videos . Also getting my marquee letters finished up from your blueprints on easy. Keep up the great work

[@therentalguy]

Great work!

[@marilynfoley4961]

Thanks for all the videos! We have a wedding venue in our barn an we are starting to branch out into rentals. I found booqable first then you. So super excited I am on the right path. Love watching you and your family grow and can not wait to see the future.

[@therentalguy]

Rentals and a venue can be powerful! Based on the information that you just gave me, you might have a unique opportunity. If you can do me a favour and look into www.bemerri.com. This is software that can 3d map your venue. So that you can either have wedding planners make design for their clients with your inventory. Or you can make setups with different rentals that you own inside your venue and use the screenshots to make some interesting packages for clients. Anyways, I’m sure that you have a handle on all of it. But in case you’re interested. Merri can be a powerful tool for a business just like yours! Good luck with everything!!

[@mrgrip2010]

Bless you Sir. thank you so much for doing the videos for us. absolutely GOLD. I can listen to you talking all day. Bless you.

[@SandraSalazar]

What are your tips on reaching out to existing companies for sub rentals? We have no inventory, but want to start this business. Any tips?

[@CJS0614]

When you first started Did you need to have any kind of business insurance or licenses?

[@ametheieushamlet5774]

Great content!

[@muhammadzuberi5118]

So inspiring

[@YourBFFStef]

Great video! I’m so excited to really get into my analytics and watch my biz grow this year! Wishing you more seasons of success! ✨

[@therentalguy]

Thank you! You too!

[@princejowen30]

i just love this guy. ❤

[@therentalguy]

Thank for watching!

[@TheSouthernSkunk]

Fantastic video. Thanks for the content!

[@Flip246]

Hey, appreciate the content. Any chance you'd be willing to share the template for your contract that you send to customers? Also, if I'm just using wave, how can I not take a deposit but charge someone if there is damage to an item?

[@johnibrahim4714]

This is great, thank you for sharing all this. I am wondering how did you reach your customers? Besides Facebook Marketplace?

[@tahnesha]

Appreciate these videos 🙏

[@Thatjuice1]

You are awesome for posting this. Thank you!

[@joeygraczyk2264]

Thanks for the great open and honest content as always, appreciate it!

[@therentalguy]

My pleasure!

[@junkmailaccount99]

Congrats on your success!!!!!

[@therentalguy]

Thank you!!

[@TruckPirate1]

Thanks for your videos. I purchased 100 chairs and 15 tables after a few months of research. I put a few FB post up just before Christmas and was able to rent out 80% of my chairs and a few tables. Now that it's the slow season I am working on getting my website up, the biggest problem I have is I don't have any pictures to put on the website. Once I get some tents I will put them up in the backyard and post those to the website. Thanks to you, Les and the tent guy I might have a new career. Is Super Bowl a good day for tables and chair rentals?

[@therentalguy]

Having the stock photos of the product behind a white background will suffice. The big part is getting the website up so it’s one more place that you can be seen. Any date can be busy if you’re reaching the right customer.

[@MindfulMusings101]

Seems like a great business model, but do you have work life balance with this business? Are you working every weekend?

[@littlejoshy1174]

I’m still super small I have like 100 chairs 30 tables 3 gazebos 😂 Cost soooo much to grow lol

[@therentalguy]

It starts slow, but if you constantly reinvest it starts to snowball! I wish the best for your small business!

[@TheSouthernSkunk]

What marketing did you use to get it started? FB ads, marketplace, google ads?

[@taniaspartyrentals1565]

Great Video! We have now been in our warehouse a year and still debating if we should offer customer pickup/drop off. I hear more cons than pros; what is your perspective? Any videos on that or forms to follow on what should state on contracts? What items do you have customers pickup/drop off? Thank you!

[@therentalguy]

Pickups and drop offs by the customer is vital to our success. Customers can pickup and drop off all of our items except for our big tents. We can facilitate 15-20 customers in the time that we can deliver 2-3 in the same time frame. We make it so that customers have a 10AM-1PM window to pickup and dropoff. If the customer is late we send them a notice to call us right away. If they don’t call us back we send them another email at the end of the day that informs them they are getting a late charge. However if they call us back right away we then extend their rentals to the next day. Without a charge if they return on time. After 1pm - 5pm on MON-FRI that’s when we execute our deliveries. We never to our deliveries on the same day as an ever within our regular deliveries as we will then be constricted to meet their timelines. Instead we let them know when they book the delivery is coming and day prior and if the need an exact time we will come for an extra $175.00 each time (4:00AM - 6:35 SHARP / ANYTHING). This decides the tiers of customers to have options. People who need exact have to pay, people who are cheap will pickup. We are making sure we fit correctly into people’s budgets and manage our time wisely.

[@ethelstandifer8569]

Starting out how many Round 120 inch or 6 ft Rectangular tablecloths would you purchase

[@ignacioespinoza9325]

I’m coming with you!

[@big_country_9551]

Would love to get Into contact with you and share some ideas/ personal growth we've had. 10+ years in the industry and we are running multiple successful profitable businesses within said industry. Again would love to chat. Thank you

[@saj2871]

Hi. The $ amount you are stating on this video is that gross or net revenue?

[@UnblockedOne2]

I need to do this

[@therentalguy]

Yes, just do it. Don’t overthink it.

[@ethelstandifer8569]

How many 60 inch round tables are ordered the most from one customer

[@Vemy69]

Slowly everyone is doing tjis Job and it is growing like flies everywhere you can people doing party events ballrooms or decorating party planners ballon’s designers everywhere. I dont think is much profitable anymore at least in Florida where I live

[@claudiaherrera937]

Have tips for taxes or how it goes when running a business like this?

[@blackfox2739]

Started watching you 1 year ago . Made 20k in my first year thank you bro ! Had a few questions though . At what year did you begin dishes and table cloth? Also I Bought a 20x20 from ses. Do you suggest I buy more or should go pole tent route . Thanks !

[@therentalguy]

I sub rented dishes and tablecloths until I had the right space and staff to make it work. Regarding tents, only branch into bigger tents if you have corresponding table and chair amounts to go out with them. Think of each tent as the gateway to making your tables, chairs, dance floor, heaters, etc move constantly during busy season!

[@blackfox2739]

Thank you!

[@randrews103]

So you basically started this business during covid. Where businesses were going under, you were growing. I haven't seen anything in your videos addressing this. How did you grow while others were going under?

[@therentalguy]

I started a season before Covid. I thrived because I had no overhead, and people were being forced to downsize their events to the size that my business was tailored to due to government restrictions.

[@bbmdr7]

I just got my company logo made and created my instagram page. What do you suggest next besides buy inventory?

[@cj97523]

Can a 20 by 20 tent fit in a cargo van? For delivery

[@Actio83]

Is resin chairs something special or just plastic? we dont use the term here, and i struggle to find aa translation

[@Hardstyler981]

Idk abt 500k but ill be good with 50k as side money

[@ThisIsIsharSingh]

Where did you get your tents from?

[@selisiaverwey-frankly2498]

How do you deal with rental that come in broken?

[@stephaniethomas42]

Can you please caption your vids please 😊

[@OTPhotoBooths]

I have a customer wanting a dslr booth. (I only make ipad booths) I wanted to share your Etsy link with her. Can you tell me your Etsy store page please? UPDATE: Never mind. I'm an idiot. I just saw it on the top of your video post above.

[@christinagonsalves6602]

I’m just starting out I got my LLC ,two bounce houses,50 white chairs , and 10 tables . I’m not sure if I should start out with a cpa right now due to the fact starting a business is costing me so much and I still need to get insurance . In your opinion is that something that can wait or should get it .

[@bigcockedman714]

cash flow first

[@raquiyahrahman-aquil9468]

If you were starting out again in your garage, how many chairs, tables, and tents would you buy with a budget of $5000?

[@osmanyreyes8373]

Did you have someone develop your website outside of Booqable or did you make it in the website builder?

[@therentalguy]

I do all of my own website work with a Weebly drag and drop website.

[@moneciamenifee3603]

Is it still worth it to start a party rent business in 2024 (since it’s a saturated market, I want to but afraid it’s so many)

[@therentalguy]

Saturated market? I think not. It depends what you offer and what types of clients you cater to. Don’t be afraid. There is work for everyone in every market during peak season.

[@TheLadamaglasting]

Can this business run remotely? Like put a rental business in another state?

[@user-jd6bi9fm6o]

Hi! What app do you use for rental ???

[@dreamdayslocal7161]

When reinvesting so much how do you make sure you dont run out of cash in the off season? Or do you finance stuff? Obviously the off season is so unpredictable so how do you know when enough is enough when buying assets from cash flow?

[@therentalguy]

For the first few years I watched the buy and sells, auctions very closely. You would be surprised how much is out there if you make a habit of looking all the time or setting up alerts for keywords of items you are looking for. Once you build up a solid inventory the bookings don’t stop. People pre-book the big tents well in advance keeping the money rolling in.

[@dreamdayslocal7161]

Cool so just keep the process running. I'm in the UK and have only focused on Inflatables (bounce houses to you guys) but I have overspent on a number of occasions in peak season when you're flooded with money yet not held enough back for the winter when things go out a fraction of what they do during peak season. Anyway thanks for your reply. Keep up the awesome videos you've inspired me to go wide and invest in creating a one stop shop for all things fun with lots of other items that I'm sure my customers will love! Thanks

[@Devin1364]

what was your revenue year 2 and 3/4? and what is your profit margin? if you don't mind me asking

[@therentalguy]

Roughly $77,000.00 year 2, $188,000.000 year 3, $344,00.00 year 4, $505,000.00 year 5. I take no profits, still live on thin margins to reinvest in inventory.

[@Devin1364]

@@therentalguy Then how do you pay for living expenses? Right now that is something that I am trying to figure out

[@JSn00py]

@@Devin1364youtube

[@randrews103]

How hard is it to set up some of those large tents?

[@therentalguy]

The larger tents in this video are 20’x30’ tents placed side by side. Here is a video that shows setup of one. Then you just keep doing it over and over 👉🏻 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqPKYX2pesSof6Msi=siYFdEzY_mSmEa45

[@kuuftie]

When you say “made $xx” is that revenue or profit?

[@therentalguy]

It’s always revenue.

[@evelioexposito215]

What system did you use

[@erinallen5651]

What drone do you use to capture your footage ?

[@therentalguy]

DJI Mini Pro 3. There is lots of places that it can be flown due to its small size. However it does terrible in wind.

[@Ebaysellerinsider]

Do you have a course?

[@supremeking5817]

Can this be grown to 5 Mil revenue?

[@kemiadelekekfa]

Can I ask some questions regarding processes and software for crm

[@therentalguy]

I have lots of videos that go over the programs that I use. Here is a great video that goes over some software 👉🏻 kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXzKcoeGhM6XhZosi=PzipeVYmsPrs02Tz If you have questions that the video doesn’t cover, feel free to ask and I will help if I can.

[@fit-with-eaz2627]

690.....OH YHA!!!

[@randrews103]

At what point could you take a salary abd quit your previous job

[@therentalguy]

My other job was a bartending service. I managed to stop running that and go full time into rentals after 1 season. I take the bare bones minimum and will continue to do so during my excelerated growth phases. I plan to do no more labour in 9 years. At that point I also promised my wife that she would no longer need to do the same. I would be at the helm as a decision maker and purchaser.

[@ManMadeDust]

Do you think I can be successful in this business without getting into tenting ?

[@therentalguy]

You definitely can however my blueprint heavily relies on tents for the big money. There is tradeshows, bounce houses or just tables and chairs. I’ll tell you this right now, if you can afford a tent and have the man power or labour help, do not skip tents. It’s PROFITABLE!

[@philgreene2162]

​@@therentalguy do you still think pop up tents are the best way to go to start?

[@therentalguy]

It’s how I started because I couldn’t afford pole tents or marquee frame tents. So I wanted something quick and easy. The real money started coming in as soon as I transitioned. So I would say that you can’t get big with Popup tents only, it’s a way to transition to bigger and better.

[@ManMadeDust]

I understand; however, there are a few things. Firstly, I do not have the time or manpower for tents. Secondly, in Ontario, specifically in the GTA, the tent business is highly competitive for local events, with companies renting 2-3 20x20 high peak tents at $1500 for 3 days, which is exorbitant. Also, I don't want to personally get into tenting. I made a decent amount in my first year through platforms like Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, and Google without spending a single penny on advertising, although I plan to do so this year. I enjoy watching your videos, and while you emphasize tents, I believe I can still be a key player in rentals without them. I am currently in talks with a tent company that focuses solely on tents and thinking of leveraging this relationship. If I were to get your email, I would ask more detailed questions, as I am keen on building my business for indoor and outdoor rentals without tents. I may offer pop up tent pickup options for items like chairs and tables. However, I don't want to get into the tent setup business. Is that choice for my business model shooting myself in the foot? @@therentalguy

[@emilsvanags460]

How many employees do you have?

[@therentalguy]

Right now is off season. Just my wife and I. If work comes in during the off season I can use temp labour so I don’t have to keep full time staff. During summer (last season) (8) - 1 office, 1 manager, 1 front end prep (linens, dishes), 5 full time labour, and then we use temp labour to fill in the gaps.

[@SandraSalazar]

@@therentalguyHow do you balance work and family life? My husband and I are eager to start this business, but we know we will need extra set of hands since we have two kids under the age of two. Thanks for all the wonderful information!

[@user-qj7cd4iz7z]

You have an instagram??