How to Start an Errand Business in your spare time!
You may not be interested in learning How to start an Errand
Business right now but that is likely because you are not
familiar with just how easy this business is to start up and
operate. Simple things like grocery and gift shopping, waiting
around for the cable guy, and even taking back movies are all
things that we have to do anyway, so why not get paid for it?
With more and more people busy with their careers and
complaining about having more time than money, there is a
growing market for people looking to learn how to start a errand
business and real money to be made.
Estimated start up costs:
So long as you have
reliable transportation, a cell phone, and some basic office
supplies to fill out and create invoices for customers, you have
all the essential supplies needed to own an errand business.
There are starter kits available to you for less than $50 that
can set you up with all the materials you will need to prepare
professional looking invoices and keep track of your expenses.
Other than that, learning how to start an errand business might
involve some "seed money" in the beginning to cover
miscellaneous expenses required to complete errands.
Pricing Guidelines:
Pricing guidelines are only
limited by what your market can bear for the services you offer.
Many professional errand services charge by the hour for their
time while some prefer to set up monthly or even annual packages
so that they get more money up front. On average and depending
upon the service, someone learning how to start an errand
business can expect anywhere from $15-35 per hour for their
services for most residential customers. But, if you can break
into the office support services market, then learning how to
start an errand business can really turn into a profitable
endeavor.
Recommended experience, skills, training:
Having the
ability to prioritize tasks and organize your time are probably
the most essential skills to this job. As with any business
owner, however, you will need to market yourself and your
company to people so any kind of sales or marketing background
will be very useful. Some general business and accounting
courses will prove handy when dealing with the financial and
administrative tasks inherent to any business.
Marketing tips:
Success tends to breed more success
and that is precisely the way your errand service will grow. As
you network and build your reputation, so too will your ability
to charge more. In the beginning, word-of-mouth advertising will
be what makes or breaks your business. But, you may find it
useful to advertise your services and company in the classified
ads and be sure to print and distribute business cards every
place you go.
Financing sources:
With relatively no start up costs
to really speak of, securing financing is not really necessary
when learning how to start an errand business. However, you may
want to try starting out on a part-time basis as the going will
be slow in the beginning and you may still need the income from
another job to pay the bills until you get things rolling.
Income Potential:
The income potential for those
owning an errand service really goes up if you can manage to
break into the office support services market. There are people
looking for workers with office skills to just come in and help
them once a week or even once a month and they are willing to
pay top dollar for this limited time. For people just looking to
help others with their groceries and errands around the house,
it is nothing for someone learning how to start an errand
business to make $35-40,000 a year doing the things that they
would normally do for free anyway!