Starting up a side Project - Man with a Van

[Wnb 93]

Hello people,

I am hoping someone with experience in this field can give me their two pence, so I was hoping to invest some money I have the capital already to purchase my own van ( Luton box van w tail lift ) per say so I can make myself additional work - (I understand initially I’d be working just to make back my investment)

How viable is it as a side project- I will be operating in Manchester and surrounding areas- I do have someone that can give me a hand when there’s jobs that require two people to carry items.

I do have a primary source of income - private hire driver / can also driver buses so this covers my essentials and I wouldn’t be starting this business with no cash flow.

Currently looking at used vans that are around the 10-13k mark No Vat- they usally have about 100k miles- are these decent options or should I opt for newer models - I’ve checked fully comp insurance and it’s looking to be around 4-5k for these type of vehicles for the year.

Anyone with experience in this feild any information would be helpful thanks.

 

[Socio South West]

You shouldn't be short of work - local FB groups around here are full of people requesting Man with Van services.
A lot of the demand will be rubbish clearance, so get yourself registered with the local authority waste disposal sites. Certainly in this area vans without either council registration or hire of more than two days will be refused entry.

If you are self employed at the moment then bolting this on won't be a problem tax wise: If you are combining it with PAYE work you may have some tax headaches down the line.

Whatever vehicle you get make sure it is reliable... Obviously the more you spend the more reliable the vehicle should be. 100k miles on a petrol engine is a lot older than 100k miles on a diesel engine.

 

[Wnb 93]

You shouldn't be short of work - local FB groups around here are full of people requesting Man with Van services.
A lot of the demand will be rubbish clearance, so get yourself registered with the local authority waste disposal sites. Certainly in this area vans without either council registration or hire of more than two days will be refused entry.

If you are self employed at the moment then bolting this on won't be a problem tax wise: If you are combining it with PAYE work you may have some tax headaches down the line.

Whatever vehicle you get make sure it is reliable... Obviously the more you spend the more reliable the vehicle should be. 100k miles on a petrol engine is a lot older than 100k miles on a diesel engine.

Thanks for the reply!

So get myself registered for waste disposal with the local authority, do you know by any chance what the fees are for waste disposal, so what I’d be paying for this service.

Yeah I figured the more I invest into a new shape can the better condition it was in I was aiming for ones that have had recent MOT so I can see where it stands repair wise.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Its a mugs game and its an even bigger mugs game if you have invested money and are not in it full time as it would probably require your initial input of 80 hours a week for a considerable number of years.

You will be competing against start ups that come and go and under-price
Buying a van is the easy bit I budget £400 a month now on maintance per van and we have just done a 3.5k gearbox rebuild on a 17 plate I paid 11K recently so have about 4K available for big repairs

Marketing is a big expense along with finding decent people to work for you
Anybody can drive a van I am told

 

[fantheflames]

Welcome @Wnb 93! Man with a van? Never a bad idea. Check local Facebook groups for work requests. As others have mentioned, Facebook is a great place to advertise your business as a man with a van.

Make sure the van is reliable - spending more on a newer, well-maintained one can save you trouble, old vans may breakdown or need repairs. My business is not a (wo)man with a van, but... my van has broken down many times. Be careful.

Also, keep in mind that marketing and maintenance will add to your costs. I think a lot of your customers are on Facebook so you could limit your marketing to Facebook, at least to begin with, and perhaps consider offering additional services, like packing, furniture pick up, etc if you're not going down the waste disposal route.

There's plenty of people on Facebook wanting sheds, large pieces of furniture, and all sorts but either don't have the transport or don't have the right-sized transport. See what others are doing in your area, look at the demand where you can, and go from there...

A little market research in your local area will help you make a decision.

 

[Mark T Jones]

@JEREMY HAWKE knows his stuff!

For my part, I'd say it's like any other business & is mostly about identifying who your customer is and differentiating yourself.

There might be steady demand in rubbish removal, but it's an area where you are unlikely to 'add value' - to the extent that many will even be reluctant to pay the extra for someone who is properly licenced.

Meanwhile, my last house move I used a friend of a friend - Who wasn't overly keen, but took it on because of the link, and because I was able to help out. His niche was light overseas work - predominantly taking Luton-loads of furniture to & from holiday homes in Brittany. Minimal competition & he never negotiates on price.

Other niches I have seen include:

- Piano removal
- Motorbike transport
- Antiques/arts.
- Regular pick-ups from Ikea.

Obviously each requires it's own set of equipment & skills, but it will distance you from riff-raff.

 

[Wnb 93]

Welcome @Wnb 93! Man with a van? Never a bad idea. Check local Facebook groups for work requests. As others have mentioned, Facebook is a great place to advertise your business as a man with a van.

Make sure the van is reliable - spending more on a newer, well-maintained one can save you trouble, old vans may breakdown or need repairs. My business is not a (wo)man with a van, but... my van has broken down many times. Be careful.

Also, keep in mind that marketing and maintenance will add to your costs. I think a lot of your customers are on Facebook so you could limit your marketing to Facebook, at least to begin with, and perhaps consider offering additional services, like packing, furniture pick up, etc if you're not going down the waste disposal route.

There's plenty of people on Facebook wanting sheds, large pieces of furniture, and all sorts but either don't have the transport or don't have the right-sized transport. See what others are doing in your area, look at the demand where you can, and go from there...

A little market research in your local area will help you make a decision.

Certainly, thank you for the advice I definitely will be doing some heavy research before I get started and plan accordingly towards marketing costs and maintenance.

 

[Wnb 93]

@JEREMY HAWKE knows his stuff!

For my part, I'd say it's like any other business & is mostly about identifying who your customer is and differentiating yourself.

There might be steady demand in rubbish removal, but it's an area where you are unlikely to 'add value' - to the extent that many will even be reluctant to pay the extra for someone who is properly licenced.

Meanwhile, my last house move I used a friend of a friend - Who wasn't overly keen, but took it on because of the link, and because I was able to help out. His niche was light overseas work - predominantly taking Luton-loads of furniture to & from holiday homes in Brittany. Minimal competition & he never negotiates on price.

Other niches I have seen include:

- Piano removal
- Motorbike transport
- Antiques/arts.
- Regular pick-ups from Ikea.

Obviously each requires it's own set of equipment & skills, but it will distance you from riff-raff.

Yeah those sound like good ideas, no point me being fully insured to just do waste disposal, ill definitely be looking to keep myself open to variety of work so no two days are the same and I can get as much value out of my van + insurance as possible.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Yeah those sound like good ideas, no point me being fully insured to just do waste disposal, ill definitely be looking to keep myself open to variety of work so no two days are the same and I can get as much value out of my van + insurance as possible.

It's possible you've missed my point.

Don't be a jack of all trades, or you will always be in price wars.

Become known for / good at something!

 

[Wnb 93]

It's possible you've missed my point.

Don't be a jack of all trades, or you will always be in price wars.

Become known for / good at something!

I understand I’m sure once I get experience in the industry I can focus on a tailored service as you say, but I do want to get experience in different avenues before I choose what I want to focus on per say