Second income, Courier????

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stevie040

Free Member
Jun 16, 2010
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  • #1
    Due to my shifts and the hours i work per shift i get a reasonable amount of rest days. Therefor i am looking at doing something to pull in a second income especially as im saving for a house.
    I have looked at the possibiliy of courier work as i really enjoy working. I have searched google and get all the web sites promising £300 a day if you buy there guide. Therefor im after some advice about how i go abour getting work, setting up, if its wise to go into courier work at the moment and any advice you are willing to give really :)
    As i wont be reliant on this as my income it will be just be a bit of etra cash to fill my isa up im not overly fussed if work wont be there day in day out, just want to know that the short notice work is still out there so when im off i could get a call then ill do the work :)
    Any advice woul dbe very much appreciated
     
    M

    Mpg

    Free Member
    Aug 18, 2009
    1,514
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  • #2
    stevie040 said:
    Due to my shifts and the hours i work per shift i get a reasonable amount of rest days. Therefor i am looking at doing something to pull in a second income especially as im saving for a house.
    I have looked at the possibiliy of courier work as i really enjoy working. I have searched google and get all the web sites promising £300 a day if you buy there guide. Therefor im after some advice about how i go abour getting work, setting up, if its wise to go into courier work at the moment and any advice you are willing to give really :)
    As i wont be reliant on this as my income it will be just be a bit of etra cash to fill my isa up im not overly fussed if work wont be there day in day out, just want to know that the short notice work is still out there so when im off i could get a call then ill do the work :)
    Any advice woul dbe very much appreciated
    Click to expand...


    The Guide is a con I can tell you how to make £300 per day easy for nothing.

    Simple.

    Go get 10 jobs per day earning £30 each and your there.

    Thats the kind of info in that guide you have seen.



    Where are you based??
     
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    M

    MH1

  • #3
    Whatever you do do not think these guides are anywhere near correct, many couriers are having trouble simply breaking even, let alone making decent money.

    You will need expensive trade insurance or no-one will give you any work, budget between £1-2k for the insurance, a decent vehicle, plus expect to wait 1-2 months for payment.

    There are several courier sites on the web, have a good read and get a dose of reality, the main problem with this work is ANYONE can start and as such the rates for work are always being pushed down, many guys will do deliveries for the cost of diesel on return trips.
     
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    S

    smallbusiness-uk

  • #4
    MH1 said:
    Whatever you do do not think these guides are anywhere near correct, many couriers are having trouble simply breaking even, let alone making decent money.

    You will need expensive trade insurance or no-one will give you any work, budget between £1-2k for the insurance, a decent vehicle, plus expect to wait 1-2 months for payment.

    There are several courier sites on the web, have a good read and get a dose of reality, the main problem with this work is ANYONE can start and as such the rates for work are always being pushed down, many guys will do deliveries for the cost of diesel on return trips.
    Click to expand...


    MH1 is right, and it's not just this guide there are hundreds of thousands of pathetic items like these all over the web, avoid at all costs.
     
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    KidsBeeHappy

    KidsBeeHappy

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    Oct 9, 2007
    7,371
    1,573
    Sunny Troon
  • #6
    You can make £300 per day, with hard work. But what they don't tell you is that it will cost you £250 to make that £300. The £300 is based in finding full rates work for a same day job (which in itself is a much rarer thing to find). So, say you're getting £1 a mile, it's going to cost you 40pish minimum in van running costs per mile, and you're coming back empty (although that return trip still costs you the same amout as the outgoing paying trip).

    And it's very hard to get the contracts that pay full rates. Many companies now use freight exchanges and to be honest you'd be at the bottom of the feeding pile, ending up subbing of subbies. Who are not the best of payers.

    Some of those guides are published and sold by companies that operate those subscription freight exchanges - no vested interest there, lol!

    Much better off to contact a local company, perhaps one that is contractor for one of the parcel carriers, and list yourself as holiday/sick relief etc. However, you will still need all the van, insurance, etc, and the work may not come in on the days you want it.
     
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    roydmoorian

    roydmoorian

    Free Member
    Nov 6, 2009
    1,990
    350
    Pontefract (West Yorks.)
  • #11
    You could always set yourself up as a specialist antiques carrier and claim that you can insure the un-insurable. Then get subbies or other companies to do the work for you and charge them out at £300 per day. Invoice your customer but neglect to pay your subbies.
    That way you can make £300 per day - but you will also end up with a string of CCJ's.
     
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    N

    nattie8522

  • #12
    Hi,

    I just thought I might chip in with another second income idea. A really good way to build up a second income is by becoming a utility distributor.     Every time your customers make a phone call, switch on a light, turn on the heating or surf the net, you get paid. The residual income that you create continues to be paid to you for as long as the customers use the service, so you can be earning long after you have built up the business.

    Hope this helps
     
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    D

    David Earle

  • #14
    You can make £300 doing affiliate marketing if you know what you are doing. It's all about content creation, that's the work you put in. Build a website, do your keyword research, find products to promote and then just write about them til you're blue in the face, posting articles on your site as well as on article directory sites. The traffic will come. Only problem is it's difficult to really get into and do well unless you're truly passionate about what you're writing about.

    Every time someone comes into my t-shirt printing shop saying they've just started a courier firm and they want their logo printed on a polo shirt or whatever, I have to hold back from telling them many times a week I get people coming in saying the same thing. It's a cut-throat business, there's too much competition.
     
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    J

    jncc

  • #15
    You've nothing to lose by putting an ad on Gumtree or something - quite a few times I've called up local men with ven from there, for local trips or 200 mile jobs.

    And there are lots of jobs advertised on boxby or shiply. I don't know how popular they are with other couriers, though.

    I was driving back with one once, £190 I had paid him for the trip - cash. I had previously told him about a bunch of other jobs he could have worked into this trip (hoping that I and they could have shared the cost), advertised on those websites, but he dismissed the idea entirely.

    "I've not heard of those sites, and if they were any good I'd have heard of them and would be using them, see."

    :|
     
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    M

    Mpg

    Free Member
    Aug 18, 2009
    1,514
    287
  • #16
    jncc said:
    You've nothing to lose by putting an ad on Gumtree or something - quite a few times I've called up local men with ven from there, for local trips or 200 mile jobs.

    And there are lots of jobs advertised on boxby or shiply. I don't know how popular they are with other couriers, though.

    I was driving back with one once, £190 I had paid him for the trip - cash. I had previously told him about a bunch of other jobs he could have worked into this trip (hoping that I and they could have shared the cost), advertised on those websites, but he dismissed the idea entirely.

    "I've not heard of those sites, and if they were any good I'd have heard of them and would be using them, see."

    :|
    Click to expand...

    That's the typical attitude of a lot of "seasoned" couriers/road captains.
     
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    R

    Rup1981

    Free Member
    Aug 12, 2010
    4
    1
    Plymouth
  • #18
    I set up a sameday courier company back in 2007 and today have a 2000 sq ft unit with 10 vans, with several major contracts. I agree with many of the reality checks people on this thread have given with regards to those get rich quick manuals. Total rubbish! Except for the motivation they give you, which for £40 may be worth it. If you want part time work / or test the water, my advice is to get yourself a cheap small van with relevant insurances (don't get scared by that, if you shop around it won't break the bank). Join THE website for subbies, CX (courier exchange). You don't need your own customers yet, so CX is your perfect tool. It won't keep you working every day, but for you that's fine! It's the best of it's kind out there by a million miles. Finally, get in touch (direct) with your local parcel depots (eg Parcelforce, DHL etc). September onwards volumes pick up right through until Boxing Day, so it's a good time to start. Just be prepared/willing/able to front a month's worth of fuel etc before you get paid. Hope that's of some help.
     
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