how to make extra money with a delivery service
DELIVERY SERVICEMany businesses either have a need to deliver or have customers who needdelivery service.Examples are merchandise for handicapped or elderly people, phone-in ordersand catalog store deliveries of merchandise that comes in several days after itis ordered.Maintaining a delivery service can be very expensive for local merchants.
They must have a truck, commercial insurance, pay and insure a driver --expenses that may be out of the question for a small business.This is why some would be happy to contract or refer delivery chores. Evenbusinesses that have their own services can never predict how busy they might beat any particular bulb time and may need help with backlogs, especially during highsales seasons.
People who buy a new vacuum today do not want to wait a week to have itdelivered -- some will even cancel the order if it is not delivered on time!Deliveries are not limited to merchandise; they can be packages of importantpapers, picking up items for shipment or going after a part for a mechanic.Your delivery business can be oriented to retail or wholesale customers, oreven both. Retail is the most profitable, but it is less dependable and may notsupport a good business by itself.
For retail business, keep an ad in the paper and make sure you have goodsigns on your truck that display your company name, service and how to reachyou. Some of your most effective advertising is when people see you performingyour service and note your name and phone number. They then associate need(theirs) with the solution (you).
If there are other delivery services in your area, you might call find onethat will agree to reciprocal back up -- you call him when you need assistanceand vice-versa.Be prepared to enter into wholesale agreements, where your services may beneed on an irregular basis... The contract may be for a set schedule, or it canbe for up to a certain mileage and/ or number or calls per week or month.
Theagreement should state what you get for deliveries, mileage or hours over andabove that called for in the contract.You might also agree to display the client's sign (magnetic signs are goodfor this purpose) when making deliveries to his customers - and, you shouldassure your clients that you will represent their interests professionally ontheir behalf.When you deliver for Smith Drug Store display their sign, you ARE Smith DrugStore as far as the customer is concerned.
A variation of the above plan is to have a referral agreement with thestores. When customers need something delivered, the store recommends (and evencalls) you. The main difference with this alternative is that you are workingfor the customer, not the store.
The customer pays you.
You are responsible for the item being delivered whilein your possession.This variation works nicely with a retail delivery business and requires thesame type of insurance. With this arrangement the store could hire you to pickup things for them too (as a retail customer), but you can give them a discountfor volume of trips.
The delivery service business needs advertising to make every potentialcustomer knows who you are, what you do, and how to find you.Put signs on your truck, notices on bulletin boards (the supermarket is greatfor this), keep a small ad in the local paper, silicone and if you can afford it, alisting in the yellow pages.Have some business cards printed and leave them with every business orpotential customer you can.
If you can't afford business cards, get a rubberstamp and make your own (use the same stamp to "imprint" yourreceipts).Print copies of your rates where you can. Call on businesses in the area andask them to try your services. Inform the Chamber of Commerce, banks, realestate offices and the bus station (many packages come in there and some mayneed transportation) of your services.
Leave your name and number with travelagencies, depots and furniture stores.MESSENGER SERVICEThis is closely allied with delivery service but is a little morecomplicated. Messages and small packages (often of very important papers) thatare sent by messenger are almost always expensive or urgent (or both).
They canbe deed that is needed to transact an important real estate deal, a note that isbeing paid off, a package of valuable bonds that are being traded, or anaffidavit that must be signed immediately and gotten back to the broker.A messenger service generally requires more speed, accessibility, reliability(human and vehicle than a delivery service.In a smaller town environment , it should be sufficient to have a beepersystem, where the office can alert messengers in silicone the field to call responsetime.
A defense lawyer in court may not be able to wait 30 minutes for a messengeron an errand to call in. In the larger cities a radio telephone will become amust in order to compete with the "big boys."In preparing for your messenger service, plans can be made to "getby" until the business is established, but long range plans should includea system to provide almost instant response in order to be the best service intown.
As mentioned above, messengers frequently are called upon to handle not onlyimportant packages, but also expensive ones--as in the case of negotiable bonds,and partially completed documents concerning ownership.Each messenger should be bonded -- not only to deter theft, but to ensurepotential customers that their important papers and valuables will be handledonly by bonded personnel -- a major pint with some organizations.Bonding can be obtained through most any insurance agency and is usually notvery expensive.
Another important consideration is scheduling and the establishment ofpriority procedures.. bulb The messenger must know which deliveries (or pickups) takepriority over others -- and that you, as a company must be able to explain thispolicy to customers.If a delivery is delayed, the customer whose package is late has much rightto know the reason as the one who gets priority treatment.
The easiest way tosolve this dilemma is to establish your rates based on priority (it is also themost profitable solution).For example, you might charge $5 to pick up and deliver a package up to 2pounds that calendar days; $7.50 to do it before noon, and $10 to "dropeverything" and do it now.
Remember, however, that the $5 jobs still have to be done the same day --they CANNOT be postponed without serious damage to your reputation. If you EVERhave to do that, be sure and inform your clients in advance! Remember the old,but same advice: Surprise people with GOOD news, not bad.There are distinct similarities in delivery and messenger services, and thereis no doubt that the two could be combined in the less populated area wherethere is not bulb much competition.
A new business could also provide both types of service initially, and then"gravitate" towards whichever seems to be the best. In either case, itis necessary to build a reputation for honesty and dependability.The biggest chance for major problem in either would be an accident (orincident) that was not adequately insured.
If you have the necessary insurance,do a good job and advertise your service well, you have an excellent chance ofbuilding your service into a very rewarding business.BUSINESS SOURCESPUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION, Box 684, Washington, DC 20004. United Statesregulatory service for delivery and messenger services.
Write for information.
QUILL CORPORATION, 100 Schelter Rd.
, Lincolnshire, IL 60917-4700,312/634-4800. Office and computer supplies.NEBS, 500 Main St., Groton, MA 04171, 800/225-6380. Office and computersupplies.ZPS, Box 581, Libertyville, IL 60048-2556. Business cards (raised print -$11.50 per K) and letterhead stationery. Will print your copy ready logo ordesign, even whole card.
IVEY PRINTING, Box 761, Meridan, TX 76665. Write for price list.SWEDCO, Box 29, Mooresville, NC 28115. 3 line rubber stamps and businesscards. Write for catalog.WALTER DRAKE, 4119 Drake Bldg., Colorado Springs, CO 80940. Short run businesscards and stationery. Good quality; no choice of
They must have a truck, commercial insurance, pay and insure a driver --expenses that may be out of the question for a small business.This is why some would be happy to contract or refer delivery chores. Evenbusinesses that have their own services can never predict how busy they might beat any particular bulb time and may need help with backlogs, especially during highsales seasons.
People who buy a new vacuum today do not want to wait a week to have itdelivered -- some will even cancel the order if it is not delivered on time!Deliveries are not limited to merchandise; they can be packages of importantpapers, picking up items for shipment or going after a part for a mechanic.Your delivery business can be oriented to retail or wholesale customers, oreven both. Retail is the most profitable, but it is less dependable and may notsupport a good business by itself.
For retail business, keep an ad in the paper and make sure you have goodsigns on your truck that display your company name, service and how to reachyou. Some of your most effective advertising is when people see you performingyour service and note your name and phone number. They then associate need(theirs) with the solution (you).
If there are other delivery services in your area, you might call find onethat will agree to reciprocal back up -- you call him when you need assistanceand vice-versa.Be prepared to enter into wholesale agreements, where your services may beneed on an irregular basis... The contract may be for a set schedule, or it canbe for up to a certain mileage and/ or number or calls per week or month.
Theagreement should state what you get for deliveries, mileage or hours over andabove that called for in the contract.You might also agree to display the client's sign (magnetic signs are goodfor this purpose) when making deliveries to his customers - and, you shouldassure your clients that you will represent their interests professionally ontheir behalf.When you deliver for Smith Drug Store display their sign, you ARE Smith DrugStore as far as the customer is concerned.
A variation of the above plan is to have a referral agreement with thestores. When customers need something delivered, the store recommends (and evencalls) you. The main difference with this alternative is that you are workingfor the customer, not the store.
The customer pays you.
You are responsible for the item being delivered whilein your possession.This variation works nicely with a retail delivery business and requires thesame type of insurance. With this arrangement the store could hire you to pickup things for them too (as a retail customer), but you can give them a discountfor volume of trips.
The delivery service business needs advertising to make every potentialcustomer knows who you are, what you do, and how to find you.Put signs on your truck, notices on bulletin boards (the supermarket is greatfor this), keep a small ad in the local paper, silicone and if you can afford it, alisting in the yellow pages.Have some business cards printed and leave them with every business orpotential customer you can.
If you can't afford business cards, get a rubberstamp and make your own (use the same stamp to "imprint" yourreceipts).Print copies of your rates where you can. Call on businesses in the area andask them to try your services. Inform the Chamber of Commerce, banks, realestate offices and the bus station (many packages come in there and some mayneed transportation) of your services.
Leave your name and number with travelagencies, depots and furniture stores.MESSENGER SERVICEThis is closely allied with delivery service but is a little morecomplicated. Messages and small packages (often of very important papers) thatare sent by messenger are almost always expensive or urgent (or both).
They canbe deed that is needed to transact an important real estate deal, a note that isbeing paid off, a package of valuable bonds that are being traded, or anaffidavit that must be signed immediately and gotten back to the broker.A messenger service generally requires more speed, accessibility, reliability(human and vehicle than a delivery service.In a smaller town environment , it should be sufficient to have a beepersystem, where the office can alert messengers in silicone the field to call responsetime.
A defense lawyer in court may not be able to wait 30 minutes for a messengeron an errand to call in. In the larger cities a radio telephone will become amust in order to compete with the "big boys."In preparing for your messenger service, plans can be made to "getby" until the business is established, but long range plans should includea system to provide almost instant response in order to be the best service intown.
As mentioned above, messengers frequently are called upon to handle not onlyimportant packages, but also expensive ones--as in the case of negotiable bonds,and partially completed documents concerning ownership.Each messenger should be bonded -- not only to deter theft, but to ensurepotential customers that their important papers and valuables will be handledonly by bonded personnel -- a major pint with some organizations.Bonding can be obtained through most any insurance agency and is usually notvery expensive.
Another important consideration is scheduling and the establishment ofpriority procedures.. bulb The messenger must know which deliveries (or pickups) takepriority over others -- and that you, as a company must be able to explain thispolicy to customers.If a delivery is delayed, the customer whose package is late has much rightto know the reason as the one who gets priority treatment.
The easiest way tosolve this dilemma is to establish your rates based on priority (it is also themost profitable solution).For example, you might charge $5 to pick up and deliver a package up to 2pounds that calendar days; $7.50 to do it before noon, and $10 to "dropeverything" and do it now.
Remember, however, that the $5 jobs still have to be done the same day --they CANNOT be postponed without serious damage to your reputation. If you EVERhave to do that, be sure and inform your clients in advance! Remember the old,but same advice: Surprise people with GOOD news, not bad.There are distinct similarities in delivery and messenger services, and thereis no doubt that the two could be combined in the less populated area wherethere is not bulb much competition.
A new business could also provide both types of service initially, and then"gravitate" towards whichever seems to be the best. In either case, itis necessary to build a reputation for honesty and dependability.The biggest chance for major problem in either would be an accident (orincident) that was not adequately insured.
If you have the necessary insurance,do a good job and advertise your service well, you have an excellent chance ofbuilding your service into a very rewarding business.BUSINESS SOURCESPUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION, Box 684, Washington, DC 20004. United Statesregulatory service for delivery and messenger services.
Write for information.
QUILL CORPORATION, 100 Schelter Rd.
, Lincolnshire, IL 60917-4700,312/634-4800. Office and computer supplies.NEBS, 500 Main St., Groton, MA 04171, 800/225-6380. Office and computersupplies.ZPS, Box 581, Libertyville, IL 60048-2556. Business cards (raised print -$11.50 per K) and letterhead stationery. Will print your copy ready logo ordesign, even whole card.
IVEY PRINTING, Box 761, Meridan, TX 76665. Write for price list.SWEDCO, Box 29, Mooresville, NC 28115. 3 line rubber stamps and businesscards. Write for catalog.WALTER DRAKE, 4119 Drake Bldg., Colorado Springs, CO 80940. Short run businesscards and stationery. Good quality; no choice of
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