Removals start up, please advice

[Avalonn]

Dear all
I am thinking in going to the removal business, thinking of buying a Large Van(sprinter, transit) and start from there.
My questions are please
1. Do I have to have a website?
2. Prices, how to address them correctly?
3. Cash only or clients can pay by card or Paypal is a good thing?

Thank you all in advance

 

[create]

How are you going to get customers?

 

[create]

To answer your questions.
1. I think if you are going to do it properly you need a website and a Facebook page etc.
2. I would think you need to either charge a flat fee per day that will cover all your expenses. Wages, insurance, fuel, vehicle repairs etc or charge a smaller set fee to all customers and charge on a per mile basis.
3. When I started I took the decision to take card payments using izettle. We take payments for any amount and don't force customers to have to spend £5.
For us we couldn't imagine not taking card payments and for a mobile business such as yours I would think it's essential. What you going to do if the customer doesn't have cash?

 

[Avalonn]

Thanks for reply create, yes I think it's a good thing about the payment, getting customers is the hard but I guess?
What would you say the a good rate is per mile? I live in the midlands, to attract customers I think going high on the price will cause problems as everyone would look for cheapest option, maybe not everyone but the majority I mean, am I right?

 

[ethical PR]

What research have you done on your competitors to see what services they provide and how they charge?

What research have you done on what your costs will be (fixed and variable) and what net profit you want to make each year?

What research have you done on how you might want to position yourself in the market, the sort of customers you would want to attract and how you would market yourself.

What experience do you have of running this type of business.

I moved recently and looked at their websites, costs and references and the services they provided.

Social media was irrelevant - don't waste your time with having a FB

 

[MBE1]

Dear all
I am thinking in going to the removal business, thinking of buying a Large Van(sprinter, transit) and start from there.
My questions are please
1. Do I have to have a website?
2. Prices, how to address them correctly?
3. Cash only or clients can pay by card or Paypal is a good thing?

Thank you all in advance

Having had exactly the same business in the past my advice would be...

On the van make sure you buy either a high top or box van. The High top is much easier to manouver and park, cheaper to run and easier to load, the box van with a tail lift is a boon on larger moves.

On a website, yes definetly have one, it only has to be a very simple one.

Pricing is down to yourself, clients tend to like a set price, but they also then tend to not be ready when you turn up, and can run many hours over the allocated time, so personally I used to charge by the hour, exactly the same whether packing or driving.

I used to take payments up front through paypal, and credit anything left over back to the client at the end, whatever you do NEVER accept cheques on the day, they will bounce, so cash or card in advance would be my advice.

You need to tailor your offering to your clients, so do your research accordingly.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

quality sells so make your transport and staff look the best, worth investing in good signwriting, have lots of the cushion blankets they use nowadays to protect the goods

Work with all local estate agents and auction houses for work, photo's of before may be handy if customer agrees to prove you did not damage the goods

 

[tony84]

I agree with @Chris Ashdown.
You have 2 options in most industries, cheap and cheerful or quality.

I hired some removal company late last year, it was to remove asbestos so not quite the same market as you but I went with a company that prmoted that they had an asbestos license, the full removal gear and all the rest of it. The main reason was because I did not want 2 cowboys turning up smashing it to pieces in my back garden. I also knew if they damaged the rest of my garage or anything else, they had insurance.

Not everyone goes for cheap and cheerful, it has its place. But if you want to charge that little bit more you need to promote why you charge more - ie, you have full insured, you will take care not to damage anything when removing items, you will clean up after yourselves etc etc. If I had a load of rubbish in the front garden of a house I am renovating then chances are you would not win that job by charging more but it is a different part of the market.

In my job, I know full well I will never be the cheapest and I do lose business because I charge fees (some brokers do not charge at all). BUT I also know everyone of my clients, I am around 90% of the day and I am in a position more often than not to drop everything to rectify a problem - I can do that because I charge a fee and I do not need to pile my clients high in order to make a living.

Decide which market you want and go for that, do not try to be a jack of all trades as you will likely over charge for the cheap end and under charge for the expensive end.

 

[Avalonn]

Well, thank you all for taking the time in replying and I take all your advices on board.

Research wise I have done lots on it, called local vans and removal companies, some say £40 for a job some said more and some said £15 per hour. With this I found that the guys with more jobs gives higher prices tend to not really bothered and the guys are with less jobs would settle for less, you agree?

 

[Avalonn]

I will definitely think about setting up a website, take card and PayPal payments.

 

[Avalonn]

But, shall I introduce myself as a van and man or a removal service??
I really want to do this properly and professionally, I like a nice and tidy job as I would expect from a removal people if I had to use them.

 

[Avalonn]

I think for me for start up I got to be very careful about the prices I give to customers until gradually I earn more experience and more jobs then I could probably look at my prices again in a year time looking to increase slightly. Am I right or I should just start heavily on the prices ?

 

[Avalonn]

I want to be friendly but professional and not over friendly, I want to help lifting items and just be helpful rather than be lazy and just push to get it over done with and get my money, not me

 

[stevekay]

In my opinion, Removal Service seems more professional than Man & Van and also clearly describes the type of work you do. However if you were happy to carry out deliveries or do small odd jobs for people in you local area then advertising yourself as Man & Van service may be more appropriate.
I guess it all depends on who your target audience is.

 

[Avalonn]

Also, I don't expect this job to be picking up from the start and have lots of jobs straight away, I understand it need time and trust and reputation to be in everyone's phone and be the favorite removal guy.

 

[Avalonn]

In my opinion, Removal Service seems more professional than Man & Van and also clearly describes the type of work you do. However if you were happy to carry out deliveries or do small odd jobs for people in you local area then advertising yourself as Man & Van service may be more appropriate.
I guess it all depends on who your target audience is.

Thank you for your reply,
How would I know what's the best one before I start? The van man or the removal service, I mean what's stopping me from doing both? Cheers

 

[stevekay]

Nothing is stopping you from doing both. I guess only market research will allow you to decide for yourself how & what to advertise you business as. You could advertise it as both. In my opinion, businesses such as estate agents etc. would more than likely search for a removal company over a man & van service, yet the general public wanting one off items moved or disposed of would be more likely to search for a van & man service. I guess it is up to you whether to advertise your company as both or whether to pin down your target audience and head down a single route.

 

[Avalonn]

Thank you all for the tips & advices.
Much appreciated

 

[MBE1]

As mentioned several times, you need to decide on who you want as clients and market to them.

It will also depend on your own abilities, do you have the funds to employ staff, large vehicles etc or are you working by yourself? No point pretending you are a large removal company doing international removals with a small transit van working by yourself.

 

[Avalonn]

As mentioned several times, you need to decide on who you want as clients and market to them.

It will also depend on your own abilities, do you have the funds to employ staff, large vehicles etc or are you working by yourself? No point pretending you are a large removal company doing international removals with a small transit van working by yourself.

It would be just me to start with a long wheel base van.
I have the fund to buy the van and other required equipment. I don't want to lease it or buy stuff with bank loans when I can buy them outright.
I would like to start locally, I could do a full house removal that might take couple of days or international movements, that's the plan anyway. Thanks in advance

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Business will not fly from the start it will take many months to get into taking a wage if you are lucky

I would suggest you hire a van for say three months to try out the plan and then if it looks good go ahead and get your own van

There are many hire vans without any signs on and you can get magnetic ones or get it covered on the panels etc for a reasonable amount and always take them off when you give it back

Cashflow is the killer to most companies

Working on your own then I think a van with a tail lift would be a huge benifit

 

[MBE1]

In your position I would look for small removal type jobs, up to 2-3 bedroom houses, courier work plus man in van type work. I would still buy the van since it can be sold anytime, most import is to obtain testimonials after each job and put them on your website, that will build confidence in your service.

Advertise at the storage facilities, estate agents, college halls of residence, online directories, ebay etc. All can be done for a small figure, make sure you turn up when you say you will and do the job to perfection. Always over deliver, people will soon start calling you, they will pass your name around.

 

[Avalonn]

That's actually a good idea about the hiring for three month but the down side is that in three month I won't be able to decide as i might not have many jobs and that puts me off, it's hard for a start up business.
Do these hired van come with insurance do you know??

 

[Chris Ashdown]

They come with insurance but you have to have your own third party and cover for your customers

The point is if you buy a van then how much are you going to lose selling it and you can always extend a rental by the Day,week, month, year and service etc are not your problem

 

[Alex77789]

It's not necessary to have a website, but It's a huge plus if you do)
you need to promote your business and it's a great oppurtunity to do that)))
here are some useful facts, if you're interested)

 

[Global Igloo]

Hi,

Website
Yes, it's your brand online. Start simple - a single page, or 'cover page' will start you off and could contain links to your email, social media accounts etc.

To keep costs down but quality up get a designer to create one using one of the code-free systems that will then also host it for you all for a low monthly fee. Once done you can have access to make any changes to the website for free without paying for every little change. Make sure any images are either your own (or photographs you paid for), or are royalty free for use on your site.

Prices
Don't compete on price as it's a slippery slope down. I would think about your capabilities and what you could offer (within removals) to set yourself apart.

Maybe specialise in high value items, piano's… People will less likely be buying on price for something they value. Odd sized items, heavy loads etc. Or maybe there's a niche in overnight or weekend office removals? Time is money for companies. Work when the rest are sleeping - plus the roads are emptier!

Name and brand
If you haven't already got a name for your business, your chosen niche could help with naming your new company.

Then get a brand designed for your company that is a reflection of your offer. This will influence everything you do, look like, say etc. Your van is your mobile billboard. Make it look good. Vehicle wrapping can be cost effective if you decide to cover the full van.

An obvious point, but make sure your van is always clean and in good condition - it's your brand on wheels! Would you trust a removal company with a dirty van with dented doors?

Marketing
Your specialisation will also help you focus your marketing efforts in one area to start off with. If you do offices, then your focus would be facilities management people/office managers. If you do pianos, then shops that sell piano's, eBay buyers/sellers of piano's who have bought one but need to have it collected.

If you're starting up with no budget see what you can do to get your name out there. Park your van in places that gets seen. I used to see a van one parked over a motorway near me for years.

Anyway, hope that helps.
Good luck!