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Becoming a courier can be a full time career choice, but it’s also easier to get into this scene as more of a side hustle right now.
Let’s look at how you can go about becoming a courier, and also give you some tips to optimize your earning potential when you’ve taken the plunge and gone pro.
Should you work for a delivery service or start your own courier business?
When it comes to making money as a courier, you’ve got two main options. You can either work for an established delivery service, or start from scratch with your own standalone operation.
If you’re just intending to top up your salary from your main job, then the first route is the easiest and most instantly rewarding.
If you’ve got ambitions to become a full-blown logistics entrepreneur, establishing a courier business could be your foot in the door, so it’s really about getting your priorities straight as soon as possible.
Deciding on the courier jobs to take
There are a whole host of different courier services out there which are built to take advantage of the gig economy.
In order to make money from them, you’ll need to look at the resources you’ve already got at your disposal, and also consider your preferences and any restrictions that might steer you towards one service above the others.
For example, some services are geared towards short distance urban delivery, and could suit you if all you’ve got is a bicycle and a messenger bag to hand. Others will require that you own a vehicle that’s at or above a given size bracket to haul larger loads over longer distances.
Obviously this means that you can only make extra money on the side as a courier if you’re equipped with what you need already. If not, you’ll have startup expenses to encompass before you can even begin earning.
Aiming for optimization
Another aspect that will mean the difference between raking in the cash and barely breaking even as a courier is how optimally you operate when you’re out on a job.
Many services have quotas for you to meet in a given shift, and there may even be penalties attached for any delayed drop-offs which don’t fall within a determined window.
Using a route planner to give you real time updates on congestion, and also being aware of how even small inefficiencies in your driving style can impact fuel costs, will count in this context.
Picking shifts that suit your lifestyle
The only way to reliably turn a casual courier job into a steady salary-boosting side hustle is to ensure that you are working shifts that make sense in the broader context of your schedule.
There’s no point picking up courier work in the early hours of the morning if you’re then going to have to go into the office and plug away at a computer for the next eight hours, because your productivity will invariably suffer if you are overtired, and you could jeopardize your main source of income in service of your second job.
Working with a delivery service provider that offers couriers flexibility about when and how they work is a good idea for this reason, and will make this side-hustle sustainable and viable.
Wrapping up
If you’ve ever thought about becoming a courier in addition to working your main career, then now is a great time to test the waters without making too much of a commitment.
You never know, you could find that this really clicks with you, and it might even lead to you running your own courier business!
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