Understanding Self Employed Courier Jobs

People always need items delivered, and often they’re willing to pay good money to those willing to do it in a professional and timely manner. So self employed courier jobs can be a lucrative choice of career for drivers.

However, the types of jobs you take on will determine what direction your fledgling courier business will take. Here are a few factors to consider when reviewing the types of self employed courier jobs available to you.

Discount vs Deluxe

The question of price is usually the foremost concern of budding couriers: will you lower your fees to get more jobs or will you maintain a standard to maximise profit?
Going the discount route and undercutting the competition might sound like an attractive choice when starting out; the problem, however, is that this has the potential of stunting profits – especially since undercutting the competition attracts one-off, bargain-hunting clients instead of ones seeking a long-term business relationship. On the other hand, seeking higher-paying jobs means you will need to establish enough trust with clients so they’ll be willing to pay you even if other couriers are offering the same services for less. You may want to consider delivery needs that other couriers cannot easily match – like refrigerated, medical, or time-sensitive deliveries.

Broad vs Specialised

The type of work you choose is another factor worth considering when it comes to self employed courier jobs: namely all-around deliveries or specialising in one particular field.

Working as an all-rounder is very easy, as all you need is a vehicle and the willingness to deliver any sort of package from point A to point B. You won’t need to spend too much to get work done and you’ll be able to find a range of jobs - but you’ll also need to deal with a lot of competition.

On the other hand, choosing a niche to specialise in can help you establish a unique reputation – translating into higher profit potential. You will, however, need to identify a niche and learn enough about it to understand the finer details of what you need to provide. This means spending more time (and sometimes money) in order to fill the needs of a particular market.

Direct vs Dispatched

Last but not least, you’ll have to decide if you want to work directly with clients or through a dispatcher that sends work your way.

Working directly with clients puts all the profits – as well as the logistics and the risks – in your hands. You will dictate the fees you want with nobody else taking a cut of the pie, but every other aspect of the business will fall on your shoulders, too. Joining an online exchange is an excellent way of securing enough work to keep you busy and profitable.

On the other side of the coin, working with a dispatch network streamlines the whole process for you. Dispatch networks will take a cut of your profits, but their ability to find clients en masse as well as provide a safety net for their drivers will simplify the task of finding self employed courier jobs.

The bottom line is you need to choose the jobs and the direction that is right for your abilities and lifestyle – then the sky's the limit.