All businesses / Event equipment hire

Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Start a event equipment hire: the real numbers

Furniture, marquees, lighting. Below is what it actually costs, how long before money arrives, and the part most guides leave out.

Startup capital

€15,000–€70,000

Hours / week

20–50

First income

~12 wks

Net margin

55%

Saturation

medium

Realistic ceiling

€900–€5,000+

This ceiling is not a wall

The figure above is what this earns in the shape described — you, running it. Past that it keeps going, but by hiring people or adding units, not by you working more hours. That is a different job from the one you would be starting, and worth knowing before you start it.

What nobody usually tells you

The same stock earns for years, and one wedding season can repay a purchase. The work is loading and unloading vans at antisocial hours, and the capital sits idle for the five quiet months.

The route, in five steps

  1. Buy one category deep, not five categories shallow
  2. Storage and a van are unavoidable — cost them before you buy stock
  3. Quote delivered, set up and collected as one price
  4. Weekend rates and a weekday minimum
  5. Sell to planners and venues, not to couples

What you'll need to buy

These are the categories every event equipment hire pays for in the first month. We break down what each one actually costs at this size on the tools page.

stock of equipmentstorage unitvaninsurancebooking system

Does it hold up for you?

These numbers are the average case. Whether this business clears your target depends on your capital, your hours and how long you can wait — put them in and see.

Run my numbers → See the tool stack