How to Start a Delivery or Courier Business from Home
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Tips for Starting a Delivery Business
If you want to start your own delivery business and you have a vehicle, you can get started for very little
cost. Advertising is going to be your main expense, but you can also promote your deliver service through word
of mouth advertising - minimizing your cost significantly.
Delivery businesses provide service for both companies and individuals. More consistent, stable income will
generally come from companies who need long-term service on a routine basis.
Short-term jobs or working for individuals should not be overlooked either, since there may be less
competition and therefore easier to find work. Making connections with local organizations in your area like
the Chamber of Commerce can turn into a great source of leads.
Look at what other delivery services in your area are charging. Find ways that you can improve on what they
offer, like faster delivery, after-hours service, cheaper rates, friendlier service, etc..If you are going to
charge less money to clients, see if you can combine jobs so that you can still pay yourself what you're
worth.
Start a Courier, Delivery or Driver Service 
Starting a Delivery or Courier Business Business Checklist:
1. Get a business license. Requirements vary by location, so check with your city or county
government office (office listings by state).
2. Register your business name with the city
or county clerk. If you decide to operate your business by a name other than your personal name, you'll
need to register that name.
3. Get a separate business bank account with your local bank. Make sure that the bank is FDIC is insured,
and it's a good idea to interview a few different banks to find out which one offers the best services for
your business.
4. Arrange a meeting with an accountant to discuss tax strategies and ways
to maximize your business tax deductions. Tax deductions can greatly maximize your income, so it's
important to know which ones to take. You can also get more information from a book about business tax
deductions - sometimes at your local library or bookstore.
5. Meet with an insurance agent to discuss insurance you may need for your
delivery business. The IIABA (Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America) is a good place to
start. You can also get free quotes online for business insurance.
6. Set up your business phone system. Whether you use a toll-free 800 phone number, a multi-line phone system, VoIP or simply add an additional
phone number to your existing service, you'll want a designated line to establish a professional business
image.
7. Order Business Cards. Business cards are often the first impression a prospect gets of
your business, so it's a good idea to have them on hand. You can design your own business cards online with
professional design tools and cut the cost significantly
8. Advertise with
Signs. Use a car magnet to advertise your business while you are on the road. You can design and
create your own signs cheaply online using SignsBannersDecals.com.
9. Build your own website using a free website builder. A website
can be a great tool for selling your service to clients. Post your service area, rates, hours,
information about you, testimonials from previous customers, etc. Your website can work for you 24 hours
a day, and you can include the website address on your business cards, ads, etc..
10. Want people to find your website in the search engines? Get listed in 20 search engines for free or
in 300 search engines for $4.
Advertising Your Delivery Business
Get Free Publicity
Besides advertising in your local yellow pages and running ads, you can save money by writing a brief press
release or "letter" to your local paper announcing the launch of your delivery service. You can also use press
releases on an ongoing basis to publicize events, news and activities happening with your business.
Offer a special discount or free offer for first-time customers, and publications will find this more
newsworthy. This means that they're more likely to publish news about your company. You can write your own
press release - you can find press release samples here: How to Get Free Press.
Advertise your business simply by driving your vehicle. See: custom car door
magnets
.
Postcard
Marketing
Do a postcard mailing to introduce your delivery service to the neighborhood (businesses and/or individuals).
Using low-cost online services makes this an easy marketing task. First, choose a special offer that you want
to announce to potential customers. Second, design your postcards online using professional postcard
templates with VistaPrint (you
can get 50% off here). And third, get targeted leads from a lead generation company like Resource Nation.
Finding Delivery Jobs & Customers
Whether you want to find customers or do freelance work as an independent contractor, online job sites can
be a good way to find work and clients.
Why? Some companies looking to hire may be open to outsource to an independent contractor
because they don't have to incur hiring fees. You can also set up a partnership where you pay them a referral
fee for any customers they send you.
