Operating a fuel station is no laughing matter. While it might seem simple on the surface, it’s a lot more of a challenge than many would give it credit for. As you provide the lifeblood of vehicles across the country, you’re also responsible for ensuring that none of the volatile liquids and gases you have on your property can pose a harm to people. In order to better perform your duties, here are three tips for running a successful and safe fuel station.

1. Regular Maintenance

No matter how well you run your fuel station, things will eventually break down. Whether that’s due to negligent customers or the simple wear and tear that comes with life, the various parts of your operation will stop working as they should sooner or later. Regular maintenance and inspection is the best avenue to prevent this. Things like gas pump maintenance, fuel line inspections, tank integrity checks, and the like are all things you should be doing annually if not more often.

2. Set Goals

Every business needs a plan if it wants to be successful. A big part of those plans, though, should be the intended goals of your operation. Having a set of accomplishments to work towards helps focus you on what’s important, the progress made on attaining those goals being a good benchmark for success. Try to think in terms of years, finishing one set of goals over the course of it and making new ones while examining your business the following year.

3. Hire Help

As good as you might be at your job, you generally can’t do it alone. Hiring help should be a no brainer, but whether it’s to cut costs or a simple lack of trust in employees, a lot of small business owners are averse to the idea. This is especially true when hiring for positions with skills you yourself don’t possess, including those related to maintenance jobs.

Keeping in mind these three tips, you should be well on your way to running a safe and successful fuel station in no time at all.