Starting a courier and parcel business is profitable from the moment it begins to operate, and who has not made use of this service either by sending a package or receiving it in the comfort of your home?

The services that can be provided with a courier business range from carrying something small and valuable, such as keys, a cell phone or charger that someone forgot, and could not pick them up due to lack of time, distance, or forgetfulness, to large packages or documents, as well as money transfers and many other additional services.

Below you will find nine tips that will help you start and create your courier company. Which, by the way, will serve as a guide to start your profitable courier business.

TOP 9 OF THE BEST TIPS TO CREATE A COURIER AND PARCEL BUSINESS

1. DEVELOP A BUSINESS PLAN FROM THE BEGINNING

The first thing you should do, as in any business, is to have a business plan, which includes, in this case, an office where you can answer calls, take a list of potential customers, control messengers, the transport you are going to use, as a bicycle, motorcycle, truck, car, whether they are their own or rented vehicles, or also contracts with couriers with motorcycles or with their external vehicles.

It will also be necessary to establish what the necessary work implements will be to create a courier business, such as a desk, a chair, a landline phone, a computer (in which you will carry out all the commercial and financial movement), as well as the program that you will use to keep the database of all your clients, and a printer to print the invoices of the users. 

Your business plan must include a detailed investment, which must contain all the calculations of what you need to start and the costs and profits you will obtain in each operation. It can serve as a guide to inform you with other companies about how the shipment of correspondence or packages is quoted and the delivery time.

Remember that your courier and parcel company must carry it out responsibly, inspiring trust from the beginning and focusing on offering excellent customer service. Keep in mind that you must set a goal to outperform your competition. Customer service is one of the most vulnerable points in most courier companies, so it will be a point that you can take advantage of a lot in your favor.

Do not forget that you must keep track of working hours from the first courier management (pick up and deliver).

2. ESTABLISH AN OFFICE

As in any company, you must have your workplace; it will be your office in this situation. First, you can create it at home, which will make it easier for you to deduct taxes and rental expenses. 

If you are unexpectedly presented with a transportation business in which you must use a truck or van. You do not have it; then you can rent a vehicle or contract that delivery with someone who does this type of work, it will be a good option. In contrast, your business Messaging grows, then you can buy the right vehicle for your business’s needs.

3. CREATION OF A NAME OR COMPANY NAME AND LICENSES FOR SPECIALIZED MESSAGING

You must Create a Name or Company Name for your messaging service. When we talk about specialized couriers, we refer to a courier dedicated to transporting documents, correspondence, small packages, etc.

For this case, in each country, there is a Government Office that issues a License for specialized (or non-specialized) Messaging. In this office, they explain some rules that every courier business must meet. For example: 

• All shipments must have an individual identification number.
• If the client requests it, they must have the collection at home.
• The courier service must issue an admission or guide receipt for each shipment, including the shipment’s identification number. -Date and time of admission. -Shipping weight in grams. -Value of the service. -Name and full address of the sender and recipient -Date and time of delivery. 
• All courier shipments must be accompanied by a copy of the admission receipt or guide attached to the shipment. The speed of delivery characterizes specialized courier shipments.
• The service must be provided with delivery times, not exceeding 24 hours in urban service. Forty-eight hours in national service anywhere in the country. Ninety-six hours in international service. The user can demand the shipment’s delivery date, where the date and time of delivery and signature and identification of the recipient are stated.

These are some points that may vary according to the regulations that govern each country.

Prohibitions: This same government office regulates the ban on transporting some articles or materials, such as a) Live or dead animals not dissected. b) Narcotics (morphine, cocaine, etc.). c) Objects that by their nature or packaging may cause damage to postal employees or stain or deteriorate the other shipments they are packed together. d) Explosive, flammable or dangerous materials; e) Cash and other valuables, such as coins, platinum, gold, and silver, manufactured or not, banknotes representing currency or any other value to the bearer, fine stones or any precious object; f) Toxic or poisonous chemicals, g) Weapons, ammunition, and elements of a war of all kinds, among others. 

4. IDENTIFY RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS

You must choose what type of clients you want to serve: residential, commercial, or both. What kind of shipments will be made, collected, and delivered, such as personal gifts, letters, checks and money orders, service receipts, small, medium, or large packages, perishable items such as fruits, flowers, or others. Everything you decide must be in accordance with your transport capacity and with the time well distributed.

5. ESTABLISH RATES

To create a courier business, it is of basic importance to establish the rates charged according to the weight, size, and urgency of delivery of the packages, taking into account the type of clients and the distance in kilometers, if applicable.

To do this, you must call the courier services and obtain this information, each time, until you complete your data to regularize the service’s cost.

6. ESTABLISH THE ADVERTISING THAT YOU WILL CARRY OUT TO PUBLICIZE YOUR MESSAGING BUSINESS

So that they know you and know where to locate you, it is essential that you make good publicity of your business; for this, I recommend that you have your website, that you figure in the Yellow Pages in print and online, and that you create a presence in social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. If you don’t know how to make a website, you can hire a designer to create it. 

Your website should include cards, flyers, brochures, and advertising material. This stationery should be on hand to give to your clients or distribute in warehouses, hospitals, office buildings, companies, and wherever you can leave it. Place your website on Google.com and Yahoo.com and register it in the online business directories. The more you make your courier business known, the greater its impact on the market.

7. GET CLIENTS 

Offer personalized service, emphasizing the attention that your company provides to clients, and leave a business card, along with a brochure that broadly describes your services, and this can be done with managers or owners, whether it is a company or a residence. 

Leave flyers at points of sale to attract customers. Visit office buildings, schools, clinics, hospitals, and leave your advertising there with all your data: Address, Email, Website, and description of the services offered by your courier company.

8. ESTABLISHES AN OPERATIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER

It is imperative to keep a record of each operation, record the collections, and one of the deliveries. Make compliance, responsibility, and timely attention a hallmark of your business.

9. HIRE STAFF

In the same way that your business grows, you will need to expand it and hire people who carry out the functions that you can no longer perform, such as drivers, receptionist, an accountant, people who answer the phones, and assistants of various trades, etc. 

Your job at that time is to create the Accounts of your important clients as corporate companies, with which you will stabilize your income, offering them a discount for regular deliveries and like any good manager, be aware of the operation of each one and of all the areas that make up your courier business.

AN ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT TIP FOR YOUR COURIER AND PARCEL BUSINESS

All people, both personally and on our property, run risks. In the case of companies, unfortunate events such as robberies, fires, flooding, severe damage due to earthquakes, and other circumstances can occur, making it essential to have one or more Insurance Policies that cover losses in these cases. 

An insurance broker will explain to you how to apply the insured value’s premium values in each case, according to the declared value of the merchandise, to protect it against theft, fire, damage, or involuntary deterioration, among others.

So far, we come with this compendium of tips and recommendations so that you know how to create a courier and parcel business that is successful from the beginning and not fail in the business; I hope we have been able to help you with this information and serve as guidance to start with your venture.

If you are looking for other options to undertake, check: 7 Businesses To Start With Little Investment; you will find very good business alternatives.