Before I moved to the mountains, I never thought much about propane. Sure, I occasionally had to go to Walmart to swap my barbecue’s empty propane tank for full one, but otherwise all of the gas we used in our home was natural gas and was delivered via pipes under the streets.
Now that I live in a much more rural place, I’ve come to rely on propane. Even more important than the propane, though, is the company that delivers it. Unlike natural gas that is pumped via pipe into every home on a suburban block, propane is delivered via truck into a 250 – 500 gallon holding tank on the owner’s property.
Propane delivery is a true natural market. My propane is delivered by one company, while my two neighbors each have a different company that delivers theirs. If they are competitive on price and service, an area can support a large number of different propane companies.
I stumbled on a propane delivery franchise this morning called 1st Propane. Although startup is expensive because of all of the tanks and trucks you’ll need, if you’re looking for a business that you could operate in a rural area this could be the one.