Starting a Courier Business

Businesses often need an urgent door to door delivery service and sometimes the mail service either can not do what is required or is far too expensive. This is the niche that the local courier company occupies; delivering parcels, valuable documents, boxes of files, hazardous material & office furniture safely and quickly to their destination.

If you like driving and being outdoors then a courier business could be ideal for you, but before you even think about getting started, you will have to decide what kind of delivery service you want to offer.

Target Market

Are you going to deliver locally or further a field? Once you have decided how many kilometers you are willing to travel it's a simple matter of drawing a circle on a map to identify your market place.

Then you have to examine the types of goods that you are going to deliver. Are you going to focus on small packages, fragile goods, pallets or full loads? Your decision will dictate the kind of transport that you need. Motor bikes are great for delivering urgent documents but a van will be required for anything larger.

Is this going to be one person business or are you thinking about employing drivers? It is possible to run a small local courier business single handed but if you are targeting a larger area then you will need to get decent drivers that are fit and reliable.

Research

Now it is time to research your competition. What kind of services do they provide and what is the going rate for their deliver service. Initially you will need to undercut the competition to get started but in the longer term quality of service is much more important than just price alone. Once you get a reputation for providing a great delivery service then word of mouth will spread and a lot of your business will come from recommendations.

Marketing

Your target market place will dictate how you advertise. For a local delivery service it is a good idea to deliver leaflets to all the businesses in your area followed by a phone call with the intention of getting in front of the decision maker. Often the person that you need to speak to in a small business is the owner but in a larger company it could be the secretary or warehouse manager that makes the decision.

Other cost effective ways of getting your message across include advertising in your online business directories and placing small adverts in the paper.

Learn the Ropes

It is a good idea to work for a courier business delivering parcels to learn the ropes before you start on your own. This will help you to achieve a lot. You get to meet a lot of potential customers, see how the delivery service operates and finally decide if a courier business is right for you.

Communication

Communication is vital in this business and sometimes a mobile phone is just not good enough. It is a good idea to have multiple communication devices like pagers and radios to back up the two way communication so that you can always keep in touch with your base and your customers.

Summary

The way to make money in this business is to deliver the maximum number of parcels whilst driving the minimum number of kilometers so plan your journeys accordingly. You can get great software that will help in this manner as will a good satellite navigation system for all your drivers.

If you are not sure about starting the business on your own why not consider a courier franchise? There are many available that offer full training and support. You can also count on the network of franchisees to get your parcels delivered on time.

Is it a bird... is it a plane... no... it's your local courier, delivering your urgent parcels quickly and efficiently to the final destination in pristine condition.