Remote Control (RC) Business
Online you would see articles with headlines commonly title: “Is the RC business dying?” There are other similar headlines but one thing is common. They all say that there are many RC businesses which are closing. If you are interested in this business it is advisable to read these articles before starting your own RC business.
Drones and RC vehicles
I have discussed before drones specifically aerial drones in my article titled: What Can an Aerial Drone Do For Me?. I basically stated that aerial drones and RC vehicles are similar in that they are both operated remotely using remote controllers. The basic difference is that for most people the term drones resemble a helicopter with multiple rotors and blades.
RC vehicles are for the most part scale model “toys” that resemble real life vehicles. There would be RC enthusiasts that would protest regarding the use of the word “toy” I am sure. For them their RC vehicle is more than a toy but a rather sophisticated machine for adult people.
This article is entirely devoted to RC vehicles and would not talk about drones.
What RC Type Interests You?
There are several RC vehicle types being sold in the market. There is a segment devoted to land based vehicles like cars, trucks, 4WDs, buses and so on. There would be a segment devoted to aerial vehicles which is almost composed entirely of planes and helicopters but there are other vehicles in between like RC toy blimps.
So far I have discussed land based RC vehicles and air based RC vehicles so you might have guessed by now that the third type are the water based RC vehicles. RC Motorboats, submarines, battleships and galleons are just some examples of this group.
What Land Based RC Activity are You Into?
Though many would assume that land based RC hobbies are all about racing RC vehicles there is more into it. Here is the list I gathered so far:
Racing
This is one of the most common activity by RC enthusiasts. They race their RC in usually smoothened surfaces. These smoothened surfaces can be paved with concrete or just plain smoothened ground soil and anything in between.
Just like their real world counterparts the races can be in miniature race tracks or drag strips. The race can be held anywhere from someone’s smoothened backyard to a professional indoor racing circuit.
The RC vehicles that are mostly used are sports cars. Ordinary RC vehicles that are used have normally low ground clearances. However any appearance of RC vehicle will do. There are for example RC trucks races, RC bus races and so on.
If you are a good promoter you can make good money organizing legal competitions. The competitions can be held anywhere there is a smooth area. All you need are racers and audiences. One way you can earn is by getting a commission based off the profits from the event.
Drifting
With the popularity of drifting this style of driving has also transferred to RC races. Instead of race tracks built for speed racing we see wide race tracks to accommodate drifting. You can also earn by getting a commission similar to racing events.
4WD Driving or Crawling
Instead of track driving racing skills this time you drive RC vehicles into mostly natural obstacles like clumps of rocks, woodland, mud and so on. RC vehicles most used for such events have very high ground clearances and are usually big.
The event winner or winners are usually the RC vehicles that pass thru these obstacles and time is a secondary factors. You again can earn by getting a commission organizing such events. Since the obstacles are one attraction of the event you can also promote the event area.
For example if the area is rocky and full of mud you can also promote the area as a site for dirt bike competitions, hiking, camping and so on. You can also promote the area as both a site for RC vehicle crawling and camping for children. Your imagination is the key.
Stunt driving
RC vehicles used for these event are usually very fast and tough. They should be very fast to allow them to jump over ramps. They should also be very tough since there is a high likelihood that they would crash plenty of times. The tracks for these kinds of events are difficult to setup as compared to the others.
Since the tracks require plenty of ramps these tracks are usually custom built indoors. Again you can earn by organizing racing events. You are also more likely to earn by offering repair services from RC vehicles that gets damaged during the races.
Tug of War
This are events where RC vehicles display the pushing and pulling powers of their motors and the grip of their wheels. RC vehicles owners will play a game of tug of war between their vehicles across many surfaces. These surfaces can be paved concrete, ground soil, rocky surfaces and so on.
The appearance of the RC vehicle does not matter much but the motor’s power is especially well regarded. Besides the game of tug of war between RC vehicles the RC vehicles may also have to push or pull a heavy object across surfaces with or without obstacles.
Besides earning a commission from organizing such events one can also earn if they know how to customize RC vehicles to give them more power for both pushing and pulling. A knowledge of RC motors is one of the required skills.
Hiking
You can organize hiking events with RC vehicles. Your customers can bring their own RC vehicle or you can supply them with RC vehicles. You can organize a packaged tour where the hiking with RC vehicles is done across several hiking trails.
I do not know if this has been done but you can organize impromptu RC vehicle driving events. For example if you live in a tourism area near grasslands you can offer tourists the chance to drive RC vehicles along the grasslands while you supervise.
Construction
There are also people who like to operate RC construction vehicles like cranes. Similar to crawling these RC enthusiasts love to operate their RC vehicles across rough terrain but this time in a construction setting.
You can offer activities where RC cranes for example would pick up soil, twigs, rocks and so on. The RC vehicles themselves do not race based on distance traveled but can still race by doing tasks under time pressure. You probably would earn via selling this as a recreation rather than a racing event.
Assembly, Tuning and Bodywork
Besides offering events and recreation you can assemble as well as tune RC vehicles. You can also sell products and services related to bodywork. You for example can sell paints, stickers and accessories for RC vehicles as well as repairing and creating bodywork.
What Air Based RC Activity are You Into?
Air based RC activities are somewhat more restrictive than land based RC vehicle activities due mainly to the fact that air based RC vehicles are more delicate. For example they travel at high speeds in the air to make them fly which means any collisions could be very damaging to them.
The events are mostly flying activities. They can be air races with or without obstacles. The RC vehicles used are commonly planes, helicopter with a variation of RC rocket planes. There are also RC planes that fly like bird complete with flapping wings. Again earning can be done by profiting from organizing flying events.
Creating flying RC vehicles is greatly more complex than RC land vehicles. This is the reason why there is good money to be made for the assembly, tuning and bodywork of flying RC vehicles. There are many people who own custom built flying RC vehicles.
However not all of them created their flying vehicle by themselves alone. Many got help or custom ordered them including their parts and body. To go into this business requires good knowledge of aeronautics even though one is just building scale models.
What Water Based RC Activity are You Into?
RC vehicles in this category of course resemble sea going vehicles but most important is that they are waterproof and buoyant even though there are vehicles that have the capability to submerge in water.
Sailing
The activity involves the RC water vehicle traveling across bodies of water. They can be as simple as a bathtub or a swimming pool to more complex like rivers and streams where the probability of losing them due to water currents increases significantly.
Racing RC water vehicles is also done. The size or power of the vehicle is not usually an issue but the sailing skills of the operator is. Again just like all kinds of racing one can earn by profiting from organizing the racing events.
Underwater Viewing
Many people are especially getting interested in underwater RC navigation. People buy RC vehicles with built-in cameras or attach waterproof cameras like GoPros to their submersible RC vehicles.
Although I have not seen one yet underwater RC racing is very much possible especially with underwater cameras attached to them for navigation. There is also the possibility of offering underwater viewing services using RC water vehicles. This could especially be profitable in tourism areas near bodies of water like lakes, rivers and streams.
About the RC Business Dying
Now let us go back to the issue of the RC business or industry dying. If you Google the search keywords “market outlook for remote controlled vehicles” there would be plenty of article which would report that the market is healthy and is even growing.
There are many factors stated like children getting interested in toys with a high degree of technology in them. Whatever the reason what is important is that the industry especially the RC land vehicle category is growing.
Just like many businesses there are up and downs and there would be businesses that succeed while many others fail even in the same industry. The RC industry is no exception. There are many videos in YouTube that shows thriving RC stores. I even saw a video about an RC business owner who has been in the business for 30 years and still thriving.
What Does an RC Shop Do?
They sell RC vehicles
This is a no brainer. Besides this they also sell accessories such as parts, paints and so on. Not all of them do this but there are those that also repair tune, and custom built RC vehicles.
They Offer Track Facilities
There are big stores that have track facilities in them for races, drifting, crawling and so on. These track facilities can be used by the customers to test out their vehicles or they can rented by the store owner for customers who want to race for example.
There are store owners who conduct racing competitions not only from their customers but to anyone using these facilities. They are used to build a community of enthusiasts which could translate to paying customers later.
They Offer Event Management
There are store owners who rent out their facilities especially the track facilities for events. These events could be birthdays, team building events for a company and so on. RC racing events are used as entertainment as well as props for the events.
They Offer Workshops
There are also RC stores that offer RC vehicle building workshops especially for children. Associated activities might be included like painting RC vehicles or even just plain activities for children like indoor basketball and games.
I guess the idea is to morph RC stores into entertainment centers primarily for children. This could come with other play and gaming activities besides RC vehicle entertainment. These stores could also offer snacks indoors while the play and gaming activities are being done.
How to start your own RC Business
RC stores are a big investment. Even RC vehicles themselves could be big investments on their own. However one could start by repairing and customizing the RC vehicles of their clients.
I have also seen several YouTube videos about RC vehicles especially the racing and entertainment part. A couple of them even have millions of views. You could also do this. You can make entertaining videos while showing your RC vehicle race, do stunts, crawl and so on.
If you are also in high traffic areas especially tourism areas you can rent out your RC vehicles for your customer to play with. All you need is a smooth surface for racing or an obstacle riddled location for RC vehicle crawling and hiking activities.
Conclusion
Far from dying the RC industry is thriving. This may be because many children are getting more and more interested in toys with sophisticated technology built in them. It is also a step up from mobile or console racing games where they also have to use buttons and levers to operate a vehicle.
It is but natural that many RC businesses fail. It is natural in business. There are always many failed businesses for every business that succeeds. There are also many ways you can earn by concentrating on a segment in the RC business. You can choose between land, air and water based vehicles or with a combination. You can also concentrate on a specific customer activity like racing, crawling, hiking, assembly and so on.