Many people in the logistics industry look into the idea of working for themselves. They are attracted to the freedom, the ability to choose their own hours and the fact that they can be their own boss. However appealing the thought may be, however, some are left with lots of queries about what a career doing self-employed courier driver jobs entails. We’ve put together some of the most frequently asked questions and, hopefully, by the end of this article more than a few of yours will have been answered.
What Are the Requirements?
When it comes to self-employed courier driver jobs, there aren’t many actual requirements, although there are plenty of skills that will benefit you if you have them. It goes without saying that you’ll have to have a clean and full driving licence. You’ll also want your vehicle to have passed the MOT and have proper business insurance.
A familiarity with the roads you will be driving down definitely won’t hurt, as you’ll then be aware of the traffic patterns, roadwork and best (and worst) routes – this means you’ll be able to make your deliveries quickly and seamlessly, resulting in happy customers and fuel efficiency.
Organisational skills will help as well, as you’ll want to be able to manage your own bookkeeping and keep track of costs and packages; there’s not much likelihood that you’ll have a secretary to help you out – at least not at first. Additionally, you’ll want to know at least the bare basics of how your vehicle works and, more importantly, how to fix it. Being able to mend it yourself could save you hundreds of pounds in the event you break down or get a flat tyre.
Where Should You Start?
Begin by getting your name out there and building up business. A great way to do that is to join an online platform. This will allow you to find work by advertising availability and offering to accept jobs that others have posted. It may be a bit slow to start, but this is an easy and efficient way for those working self-employed courier driver jobs to build up a reputation, prove reliability and foster professional relationships with others in the logistics industry.
What Are the Main Components of the Job?
As most drivers would already know, self-employed courier driver jobs consist of transporting items from point A to point B in your own vehicle. Urgent delivery may be required, so it’s imperative you are able to work well under pressure. Your packages could be just about anything – they could range from business documents and legal contracts to medical substances and fragile parcels. Drivers should also be able to:
Load items into their vehicle
Plan routes of delivery
Sign for parcels
Follow directions and collection instructions
Examine their vehicles
And there you have it – some simple, no-nonsense facts about self-employed courier driver jobs, how to begin working for yourself and what the exact requirements are. With these frequently asked questions answered, you can go about putting our tips into play and building your business.
Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Courier Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day self employed courier driver jobs< in the express freight exchange industry. Numerous transport exchange businesses are networked together on their website, trading jobs and capacity through what is now the fastest growing Freight Exchange in the UK.
This article is copyright free.