Start an Errand Running Service Business

Written by Trevor A. Winchell

What you need

You need a mobile phone, a small room that can work as an office, a van and an invoice kit to start an errand service business. Barring the van your investment is next to negligible. If van is a problem, you can consider using a motor-cycle to run errands. Potential customers

Your potential customers are the white collared executives who can't find the time to drive down to their neighborhood stores to pick up grocery, and are happy to pay small amounts to you for running minor errands. Your other customers are aged couples who find it difficult to drive and are happy to have their groceries and medicines delivered home. You can even start an errand service business for those stores that want to deliver products home but do not want to invest on staff.

Publicity

Your main investment when you start an errand service business will be on publicity. You need to inform as many homes as possible of your business. You can do this by printing a handbill and distributing it to all homes in your immediate and nearby neighborhoods. You can do this by placing a small classified advertisement in the local neighborhood paper. You can also put up some colorful fliers in the departmental store, dry cleaning shop, flower store etc from where you propose to pick up grocery or other goods.

Qualifications

This business needs no qualifications. But it does need a pleasant personality, and an eagerness to perform. You should not start an errand service business if you get irritated easily or if you are unable to keep deadlines. That will be the surest way to kill the business. You must be very prompt in answering calls, and must make sure that the task is performed immediately. If you do so, you will find new customers calling you without your making any effort.

Charges and income

It is easier to start an errand service business than to decide on pricing. The customer should not feel that he is being overcharged or wasting his money. At the same time you should charge an amount that should make your effort worthwhile. There are no basic rules as to how the pricing should be decided. You have to go by your gut feeling. The rates should be higher for those customers who are staying away from the store from where the grocery is to be bought and less for those who are staying close. Similarly, those customers who give you more business should be charged comparatively less than those who place an order once or twice a month. The time at which an order is placed should also be factored in.

The best is to charge the customer by the number of hours you have spent in carrying out their errands. In the earlier years of your business this charge can be as low as $15 per hour. However, as your business grows and you hire employees to help you with work this rate can be raised to $35 per hour - in stages. If everything goes as planned, you can easily hope to earn $35,000 to $40,000 a year. This is good money for anyone who has no special skills and who is not required to make any investment to start an errand service business.