My Tips To Success As A Man and Van Business
The information below is based on my personal experiences in running my own man and van business 1ManAndVan.co.uk. It's a business that was started with very little money during a time that I was very unhappy working for a boss and I was heavily in debt. Today I am almost debt free and have started expanding to include piano moving.
The reason I'm sharing my advise is because I am now 43 years old and will be concentrating on serving a few regular clients...and to concentrate on spending more time in my piano moving business. I now only work 3 or 4 days a week and enjoy life as I should.
If you're thinking of starting a small man and van business, a courier business or a small home removals company of your own, then don't expect to become a millionaire over night.
What you can expect is to be able to look after your family and enjoy working from home while spending more time doing the things you want to do.
As a guide, you should be able to earn anything up to £1300 a week if you work alone.
Of course this depends on your attitude and determination to succeed as well as the area. If you live in a built up city, then people are moving all the time. You may have to compete with other similar businesses but at least you know there is work out there. If you live in the country, then your work is likely to be more single item collection and deliveries such as eBay, Craigslist, Gumtree or items of furniture that people buy through classified adverts etc.
The good news is that once you have a few regular clients, you will not need to do the long hours. I regularly earn over £1500 a week by working smart and by picking the easier, but much better paying work.
You'll soon get the hang of it if you hang in there.
The thing I enjoy most about my work is that I can come and go as I like. I usually only start my first job at about 10am so that I miss the morning rush hour traffic, and I'm usually home by 4:30 pm, unless it's a long trip across country.
I used to do trips as far as Birmingham and Cardiff and you can earn lots of money by doing this, but now I tend to stay local beacuse I'm in the position to now pick and choose.
Step 1. How I started my Man and Van Business.
I started my business while working as a butler and handyman at a castle in Kent. I tested the waters BEFORE I even owned a van and within a week I had earned £300 profit on a single job by delivering a van load of consulting room chairs for a Doctor's surgery from Maidstone to Bristol.
I used to hire a van to do my deliveries on weekends when I wasn't working at the castle, but I eventually bought my first van over the Internet. Second hand vans are cheap and there are options of leasing if you cannot afford to buy. Think about this for a second....a second hand van could cost less than your potential earnings in one month! There aren't many small businesses that I can think of where you have the potential of paying for all the capital required by doing one months work!
Mine is a Ford Transit Van with a High Roof and a long wheel base. It is ideal for the type of work I do. You can see my van on my website 1manandvan.co.uk. It is just like a car to drive and I manage to drive through narrow country lanes and reverse up driveways without hassle.
If you're interested, here is my full story written by Melodieanne from Bloomer Business Ideas. While you're there, have a look at her site for more inspirational ideas. http://www.boomer-business-ideas.com
Step 2. Build Your OWN Website.
This is something you can do in the next 3 hours...It's really that simple. It is far easier to explain exactly what it is that you do through pictures, feedback and written text. You can build a site yourself by using any of the easy to use site builders available on the Internet. I use Moonfruit .
My website 1manandvan.co.uk currently ranks at the #1 spot on Google in my area. I receive between 30 and 100 hits a day resulting in between 5 and 15 enquiries through my online form alone. I am solely reliant on my online presence to generate business for my man and van service and piano moving service.
Step 3. Get a smart phone that will accept emails.
iPhone, Blackberry, HTC's and almost all new mobile or cell phones will do this. You want to be able to receive your enquiries via email when people use your website. Setting up an online form to send enquiries to your phone can be done in a bout 10 minutes and is very easily done once you build your website.
Step 4: Leaflets and Business cards.
The Internet allows you to easily design and order your flyers and leaflets to advertise your man and van business. There are some companies that will deliver your cards within 2 days. Vistaprint is the one I use and has an application that will allow you to design from scratch or use one of their templates.
After every job I would spend 5 minutes in the area handing my cards out into letterboxes. I no longer need to do this but when starting out I would suggest you try it.
Be under no illusion!...before your business gets to the point where you are able to do the easier, better paying jobs by picking and choosing, you are probably going to have to settle for most jobs that come your way. However, I believe that it IS possible to specialise and take on much easier, more profitable jobs in as little as 3 to 6 months after first starting out your man and van business. This is what I did and now I manage to do half the work for double the profit.
The good news is that you will constantly be exposed to new ideas as you do more and more jobs...Keep Your Eyes Open!
What does a man and van do?
Help people with eBay deliveries. Help Students move their small amount of furniture. People who don't drive but need to collect bulky items from stores. Single people who need help carrying and loading their items. People with temporary or permanent physical limitations who cannot drive or carry anything.Moving items to storage facilities when people have a room in their homes decorated. I sometimes help people with Small Office moves. Schools use me to collect and deliver books and small desks.Theatre Companies hire me to move small amounts of props and costumes for plays.
You are welcome to ask me questions by using the contact form below but please be patient with me. I do run my own business. I am a friendly guy and will try my best to answer as fast and as honestly as I can.
Please Do NOT send me spam through the contact form above!
Do NOT Copy any of my text or pictures!
Please note! I work during the day and will be updating and adding the links, but I have only just added this guide (8th May) so be patient with me. If you want to ask any questions then please use the contact form below . Thanks. Craig
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