How To Run Your Own Courier Service

FAST MOVING, FAST PROFITS

Courier services are one of those businesses that have been

available in the capital city for years.  Rushing urgent

documents and packages around is a major service there.  In

fact, a multi-million pound business just in one city alone.

However, out in the provincial areas of the country it's not

that easy to find a courier service.  They do exist, but they

are quite rare and when they do exist, quite busy.

Hence, potential to start in most areas.  Even some of our

largest cities require more courier services, and there are

certainly plenty of towns.  Of course, in country areas there

won't be a lot of demand, but it's still a service that could

be added on to something else.

A courier service is effectively a taxi service for important

documents and packages.  But the interesting thing is that

it's far less regulated than taxis.  You don't need any sort

of licence or consent.

SETTING UP AS A COURIER

You can operate as a one-man (or woman) courier service. 

That is, taking all the enquiries and doing all the jobs

yourself.  However, the best way is to just do the selling of

the service and appoint agents to do the running about.  This

is the way to make it a really profitable service and it

means it can be a full time income for part time work!

In most cases, the business can be operated from home.  This

is an advantage, not a disadvantage, because you can offer a

more efficient service.  If you can offer a 24 hour service

then this will be a big selling point, but it's not necessary

if you don't want to be on 24 hour call.

You will certainly need a home telephone.  If you run the

business yourself, a mobile telephone would be helpful.  If

possible, have a control centre, perhaps in a spare bedroom,

where you can answer and make calls.  Apart from this, your

main requirement is a notepad.  Perhaps have some special

despatch forms made up and photocopies giving details of each

job.

Vehicles - As you might expect, the ideal sort of vehicle to

operate a courier service is a motorcycle.  These are cheaper

to run and faster, especially in heavy traffic.  If a

motorcycle is not available, then you can use a car - the

smaller and more economical the better.  But watch the

running costs as these can be much higher than you might

think - not just the cost of petrol.

Some courier services confined to towns or cities etc. could

use a moped or even a push bike.  Ideal, because it makes

your service cheaper than anyone else's and gets through

crowded streets!

All in all, it's not worth buying a special vehicle when you

first start the service.  Unless, of course, you don't

currently have anything!

If using your own vehicle, check that your insurance policy

covers your new use of the vehicle - it may well not and may

need changing.

If you are going to use agents then this is simplicity

itself, because it will be up to the agents to provide and

pay for the transport, so you don't have to cover this

yourself.  Many agents would be pleased to work on quite

modest per mile fees as this helps towards the running costs

of their private vehicles.

Advertise in local newspapers and perhaps Job Centres, for

agents to operate your service.  You'll probably need two or

three to start with so that you can operate the service all

day.

Try to find someone reliable.  It's ideal for pensioners or

even housewives.  Plus students at certain times of the year

or after school.  If you live near a college of some kind

this could be ideal.

Pay your couriers by mileage.  You can find out the going

rate from a London courier service (ring some to find out). 

Provincial prices will be a little less.  The usual charges

are so much per mile with a minimum for each call out.  Wages

are not high, but worthwhile.

You will also need a controller.  This is ideally you, or

ideal for a housewife.  If not however, you can appoint

someone who lives nearby to receive bookings and despatch

riders.  Pay a small hourly rate.  It is best however if you

can do it yourself as this cuts into your profits.

GETTING BUSINESS

To have a profitably courier service, you shouldn't just sit

at home waiting for people to call you out like a taxi,

getting a few odd jobs.  This almost certainly won't make any

money at all.

What you need is regular contracts for courier work.  That

is, customers who regularly have things to send to other

places in the same region.  Perhaps several a day, or at

least several a week.

We're thinking here of estate agents sending printing, or

solicitors with important documents, or academic users.  Even

urgent machines or car parts.  The post is too slow and you

can't fax everything, good though it is.

You might want to advertise the service in newspapers etc,

but this is slow and will take a long time to get

established.

The best thing is to think up all the types of users in your

area and give them a ring (or you could write them a letter). 

Explain the service and ask if they are interested.  Many

won't be, but some are sure to be.  You only need a handful

of regular customers to have a good small business.

When you get an interested customer, sign a user contract

with them.  For this they'll pay a user licence fee of about

$50 per year.  This is to have you on call during your

working hours.  On top of this, charge them a mileage charge

for every mile your operator travels from your base, to

customers, to drop off point and back again.

Obviously this price will be higher than the rate you pay

your drivers, hence your profit.  It is best to charge a high

rate, even one that seems ridiculously high, because you must

give a good quality service.  Firms will pay for a good

service.

Keep on signing up customers until you have as many as

necessary for a suitable income.  This could bring several

dozen or several hundred jobs per week depending on what you

want.

OPERATING THE SERVICE

Setting up and selling the service is really the difficult

part.  Operating it is easier.

All you do is get calls from the customer.  Be sure to write

down what is to be moved, from where and to where.  Get an

authorisation number from the customer (a number which you

can quote on your bill to show that the trip was properly

authorised).

Then get on to your driver by phone or mobile phone, and send

him/her out to do the job.  When the job is completed, the

driver should report back to you with a mileage and

confirmation that the job has been done.

It's a good idea to telephone your customer and tell them

that the job has been completed - a personal touch.

Each week, calculate the mileage due to each company and send

them an invoice.  You could make it a condition that payment

is made within seven days, though some might expect thirty

days credit.

Pay your drivers on a weekly basis, or a monthly basis if

they will accept it.  One problem is that you might have to

pay your drivers before you get paid.

Sometimes you might get customers who aren't registered with

you just wanting a 'one off' job.  If this is the case,

charge them about double your normal rate to make up for the

fact that they are not regular users.

Efficiency is the thing at all times.  It has to be quicker

than using the post and more convenient than the customer

doing the job themselves.  This done, you can get very high

fees - $2 per mile is possible for a good service.

EXPANSION

The obvious way to expand the service is just to keep on

getting more and more customers!  Or getting more work from

the same customers.  You can also expand into other areas

with small area offices.

However, you can make much higher profits by increasing

prices and cutting costs.  If you can offer a 24 hour service

you can charge more for out of normal hours working.  Long

distance couriers are also required and this can be done in

connection with other firms.  If you have plenty of work, you

could pay a courier a weekly wage, no matter how much or how

little he does.  This will work out cheaper in the long run

and so boost your profits.

That said, although there are big profits in couriering, it

is ideal as a business that you can start at a very low

level.  This is ideal in provincial areas as business is not

that busy right now, but is something that will grow.