People need to have their goods transported from one location to another all the time.
They tend to use couriers for small consignments and urgent documents. As you doubtless know, there are a few courier companies operating these days.
But if you’ve found that the service in your area is mediocre at best, you might have decided to set up your own courier company. It’s a lucrative market to get into. The only trouble is; how do you finance such a new enterprise?
It’s one of those ventures that will need some capital investment to get started. If you’ve hit that stumbling block, the following tips in this blog post will help you to realise your goals. Here’s what you need to do:
Start by creating a solid business plan
If you want to borrow money for your business, it’s likely those you approach will need to know about your new business in great detail. Because you haven’t started your new company yet, you’ll need to research how and when it will make a profit.
A business plan is a collection of documents and charts that explain how that is going to happen. The kinds of information you should include in your business plan are:
- Reasons why you want to start the business;
- Why you think your company will be better than the competition;
- What services you plan to offer consumers and other businesses;
- What areas or markets you want to target; and
- How much revenue you hope to generate within the first three to five years.
As with CVs, your business plan should get tailored towards the organisation you are borrowing money from. Investors and lenders can spot a “copy and paste” business plan a mile off and won’t give you the time of day to state your case!
You need to show anyone investing in your company how borrowing their money will be worth their while.
Be savvy with your insurance
It’s no secret that you’ll need all kinds of insurance policies for your new courier business. One type of insurance essential to your new company is vehicle insurance. It’s crucial you’re savvy with your insurance choices. Policies for your particular industry can get expensive otherwise!
For instance, don’t insure each vehicle individually. Instead, opt for fleet insurance from companies like Insure Fleet. Such policies are also easy to administer because you only deal with one renewal date and one policy.
If you have twenty vehicles in your fleet, for example, individual policies could become a nightmare to manage. Not to mention they will cost you a small fortune! The great thing about insurance is you can pay your policies in instalments. That will help your cash flow.
Don’t pay for everything outright
When you start a new business, one of the things you need to do is keep your initial operating costs as low as possible. The first 12 months of any new company is a “make or break” time for them.
You can keep your expenses low by leasing things you need instead of buying them. For example, you’ll need a fleet of vans and other vehicles for your new courier company. Lease them for a period of three years or so instead of spending five to six-figure sums buying them outright!
By following those tips, your new courier business will be a successful one.
Main image: Dwight Burdette / Wikimedia Commons
