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Thread: Local courier services

  1. #1

    Default Local courier services

    I`m looking to start my motorcycle courier service in tampa bay area.
    Any ideas?,pros and cons,how to get clients,how much to charge,etc.
    Thanks for the info.

  2. #2
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    how much to charge: add up all your expenses and decide how much you need to make to break even. include a fair wage for yourself...then decide on your profit...then shop around and see how much your competition is charging....adjust your price to fit into the market where you want to be.

    if you want to be a cut rate-cheap guy sell for low and skimp on everything...if you want to be a high end then charge high end and give your customers everything they could ever want...

    You choose your customers...decide on where in the market you will be...are cheap customers the best? are the rich your perfect customer?


    how to get clients? define who your customers are first...then figure out how to reach them..where can you advertise? who can you call or write to?...is there a mailing list?

    these are all things which you need to think about...every decision should be made based upon who your customer base will be.

    will you name yourself; Budget couriers? or Golden Couriers?

    what type of customer will choose either of those names? will a high end customer choose the Budget name? do you want customers who would choose the Budget name?

    you need to understand people in my opinion to be good at business...i break people into groups...some of those groups i run from, some i run to...i find the cheapest customer also expects the most. i dont want cheap customers, so i keep my prices high. I also give unbelievable service for that high price.
    Last edited by huggytree; 05-25-2010 at 08:35 PM.

  3. #3

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    Thank you very much Huggytree for your advice it will help me a lot.
    I`m thinking about this motorcycle courier business because there is not one here in Tampa. It could be a good idea.

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    I would think your best customers would end up being existing businesses in the area that need to deliver documents and packages quickly. Maybe you could try walking into a few businesses and asking if how they currently have things delivered and if they'll tell you how much they pay. You can introduce your idea to them to see if there's any interest and ask any questions that might help you set prices. You might find that by after talking to a few businesses you have a good understanding of their needs and possibly even have your first few clients.
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    I would think the courier world has taken a bit hit thanks to on-line everything, fax machines, e-mails, Fed-Ex, UPS etc. Maybe there's a reason there's nobody doing it in Tampa.

    Sometimes it's better to find a business that seems to be thriving and then go into competition with it. You can ofter a different twist, or simply try to pick up the customers they have been too busy to handle.

    Just some thoughts. I'm sure there is still a place for a good courier, but I can't see it being a growing industry.
    Steve B

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    Make a list of all the things that cannot be dealt with electronically (e-mail, fax) that you could carry.

    -- attorneys and realtors might need original singatures on documents
    -- auto repair shops might need urgent delivery of small parts
    -- drug dealers ...! No, forget that one!

    But you get the idea - there might be things other than documents that need to be transferred urgently.

    Is there any way your courier service could be coupled with pizza delivery? Are there any other food products that could be delivered like pizza?

    What else can you carry?

    (It's called "thinking outside the box")

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    Doing it on a motorcycle is going to limit the size of things that are delivered. I guess you could probably do pizza - but when it rains I guess either people are going to have to wait or you'll be taking quite a risk.

    Sometimes there's a reason that nobody else is doing something.
    Steve B

  8. #8

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    Thank you for your advice Sr.

  9. #9

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    I`m not thinking on food delivery service.Only small packages,letters,documents,etc,that must be rushed.

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    I'll make the point again. It seems like the way to start is simply walk into some of those businesses in your area that will have small packages, etc that need rush delivery and start talking to them. At the least you'll learn some info about how feasible your idea is in your area. At best you'll gain your first few clients.
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