Online Calculator | The Outdoor Billboard Business – Discovering Hidden Opportunities When Buying Existing Billboards

The Outdoor Billboard Business – Discovering Hidden Opportunities When Buying Existing Billboards

Outdoor billboards are a perfect way to earn extra income or even start a business. Contrary to popular belief, the outdoor billboard business still has plenty of opportunity and one area worth considering is buying existing billboards. After all, someone else has done the difficult work of scouting an appropriate location, negotiating the ground lease, and obtaining the appropriate permits.

How does one purchase existing billboards then?

If you’ve heard of people who rehabilitate property, the concept is very similar. With this strategy, you look for existing signs and billboards that can be fixed up with simple repairs and have them looking all new and attractive.

Most billboard startup entrepreneurs can attest to the fact that existing billboards can form a very strong and formidable foundation in one’s portfolio of billboards. However, few are willing to share their secrets to acquiring existing billboards until now. I have several ways to acquire existing billboards.

  • The first strategy in the acquisition of existing billboard is to seek out those old and obsolete signs which have been ignored. This might be the best way to get started in the outdoor billboard business. You can start with old signs in your area. For me, I went after a chain of old franchises that closed shop long time ago. To my surprise, no one has ever approached them about their old signs. The signs themselves were run down and dilapidated. However, every billboard that they operated came with a valid permit, which was the real goldmine. I rehabilitated each billboard and then rented them out to advertisers for a nice profit.
  • The other opportunity is to seek out the money-losers in an existing billboard company’s portfolio. I call these “dog” signs because they are considered unprofitable by the big billboard companies. Several reasons might have led to their dilapidated state. For instance, trees might obstruct some, in which case you only need to find a way to trim the trees on the immediate property or the neighbor’s property. Whatever the reason, think creatively because the larger billboard operators may decide to sell off a perfectly good sign due to a relatively minor issue that could be easily fixed. When pursuing this strategy, you’ll want to make sure you establish good relationships with the key people in these larger billboard companies so you have the opportunity to snatch up a billboard when the deal is offered to you.
  • Another seldom explored strategy when looking for sources of existing billboards is going for those signs that are lumped into bankruptcy or foreclosure proceedings. This will call for a lot of patience and establishing the right relationships, but the effort will eventually pay off. Acquiring billboards through this method can be very profitable because banks don’t always know how to value a billboard. In other words, this is a strategy where one could buy billboards for less than the replacement cost of the sign.
  • The last existing billboard source is to purchase at full retail. This strategy pertains to billboards that have long-term potential because you’re already paying a premium for it. I would exercise caution with this strategy because rents might fluctuate if the market conditions deteriorate. In other words, you may purchase a sign for full retail at the peak of the market and then suddenly have challenges collecting the same rent from advertisers if the local economy takes a dip.

Billboards are investments that can be very profitable if done in the correct way. Buying existing billboards is just one way of getting a foothold in the industry. I know this from first-hand experience because approximately 30% of my billboards were obtained through the various strategies I have just shared with you.

About Frank Rolfe

Frank Rolfe became the one of the largest private billboard operators in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He eventually sold his billboard empire to a public company 14 years later and is now sharing his expertise to anyone interested in getting involved with outdoor billboards.

Rolfe is the author of the Billboard Home Study Course, which teaches you the secrets of building a successful outdoor billboard business. For more information, go to www.outdoorbillboardsecrets.com.

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