Delivery Business

Shhhh · February 2007

Hello all,
Ok, so I live in a middle income town home community, with well over 100 families. From talking with neighbors, and my wife talking with her friends all we here is "there`s never enough time in the day" Heck, even I myself say that almost daily.
So I got to thinking, whats the one thing I do during the week that I absolutely hate doing because it kills so much time? and the answer came back to me "GROCERY SHOPPING"
So my idea was to start advertising simply in my neighborhood, and seeing who would be interested in giving me their grocery list and I do their grocery shopping for them. Charge a small fee per week of deliveries, or a flat monthly rate.
Obviously I would need a vehicle of some sort to transport. but other than that and some flyers/mailers to begin advertising I couldn`t think what else I would need to get started. Planning on starting as a sole proprietor, applying for a DBA would be another expense.
Aside from what is mentioned above what do you folks think about my idea? feasability? usefulness? etc.
Plus PLEASE add any and all other thoughts and opinoins; they are truly appreciated.
Thank you all,
Shhhh

tanglelane · February 2007

Hello Shhh,
I think that is a great idea because I was planning on doing the same thing once we relocate to a more populated place. I am a military wife and right now we live in the desert, but I have been researching this business for about 6 months now. It is a newly untapped market and there is a need for this now that we have busy working families, the elderly who can`t drive, or small business owners, busy stay at home moms, etc. My idea is a errand service, which ties grocery shopping and everyday to-do list the capabilities are endless, depending on what you can handle. There is a book that you can get from Barnes and noble, well I got mine used on Amazon, "Enterpreneur Magazine`s Start up-Start Your Own Personal Concierge Service". Well I hope this helps the key to any business is to read and research, research, research.

stonesledge · February 2007

These is a feasable business. There are peapod and myextrahands that i know of. Peopod works directly with grocery chains for delivery services. You could definately cater to the folks who are low on time, the over 65, the disabled etc. How will you take orders? How will you compile a database with brands? How will you handle substitutes for items? You would have to get across the offset in price verses time etc. You could have a weekly regular service, one time etc. Definatly get a brand concept together, keep it clean and simple, memorable. Build relationships with grocery chains, retirement communities,Assistant housing for folks with disabilities, daycares etc. You could also add a luch service delivery for business.
Erin

conciergelady · February 2007

Hello all,
Ok, so I live in a middle income town home community, with well over 100 families. From talking with neighbors, and my wife talking with her friends all we here is "there`s never enough time in the day" Heck, even I myself say that almost daily.
So I got to thinking, whats the one thing I do during the week that I absolutely hate doing because it kills so much time? and the answer came back to me "GROCERY SHOPPING"
So my idea was to start advertising simply in my neighborhood, and seeing who would be interested in giving me their grocery list and I do their grocery shopping for them. Charge a small fee per week of deliveries, or a flat monthly rate.
Obviously I would need a vehicle of some sort to transport. but other than that and some flyers/mailers to begin advertising I couldn`t think what else I would need to get started. Planning on starting as a sole proprietor, applying for a DBA would be another expense.
Aside from what is mentioned above what do you folks think about my idea? feasability? usefulness? etc.
Plus PLEASE add any and all other thoughts and opinoins; they are truly appreciated.
Thank you all,
Shhhh

conciergelady · February 2007

I am in this business. It is one of the hottest businesses out there due to people having so much to do today. There has been some press about it onGMA and other shows also. Gen Liability insurance is a must to cover yourself. Most concierge/errand companies dont offer transport due to the high cost of livery insurance. There are many niches to this business and many ways to get into it. I think the most important one is by networking with a concierge network. You will be able to get all of the information you need to get started. Most is free but some concierges also sell training programs through cds, forms, contracts.Some also offer concierge university around the country. The price is high though. You can really learn at home through books and online. If you want more info please write me offline and I will be more than happy to help. Good LuckConciergeLady

Innovator7 · February 2007

100 families are a relative small customer base to operate from. Too small even for a grocery store. On the other hand a small town may be very friendly to local help. Why not spend a day proposing your service to them to see how many want to become your customer. Say there`re 10 out of 100. That would be a great percentage by any yardstick but still too small to make anything besides some pocket money.In America at least, you must think big.
Innovator72007-2-26 12:14:46

OhhBoy · February 2007

I think we are being a little overanalytical here.. Here is the statement again...
So I got to thinking, whats the one thing I do during the week that I absolutely hate doing because it kills so much time? and the answer came back to me "GROCERY SHOPPING"
I beleive what Shhh is saying is, if others do not like to do something I do because of the amount of time spent doing it then there may be a market there. In my opinion, the best niches are built this way.
I do disagree that it helps to love the business you start, however, there are many sucessful companies that were build on premises that people did not love. Maybe, Shhh loves being an entrpreneur and will find drive from there. Others find that they love money, and find drive and passion from here.
I would find it very difficult to believe that the people that started Peapod just loved going to the grocery store. Maybe they loved building web based applications and found a niche and exploited it.
As for the viability, my thought is that this is a service driven industry that will require great customer service (something that is missing from many service companies now adays.) If you can provide great service and the demographics are right, I am sure this will work out well. The need is there.

Shhhh · February 2007

I`d like to thank you all for taking the time to respond. There were some fantastic ideas about ways to expand such as catering to the over 65 or disabled. Services for daycares, lunch services... etc. all fantastic ideas. Thank you!!
You guys also gave me much to think about. I had not even taken insurance needs into account, clearly this will be a very important factor in my business plan. Due to the fact that I`m starting fairly small I do believe I can handle the order processing and so forth myself in the beginning using MS Word and Excel.
As Inovator7 mentioned, even if I just start with 10 out of the 100.... its a great spring board that should be easy to manage, before needing to add serious sofistication to my order taking methods.
I must say, however, I am suprised by some of your responses. CraigL, Raisecapital, Kathy. I think I need to apologize, I must not have gotten my point accross exactly as I should have... OhhBoy hit the nail on the head. I was attempting to think "outside the box." I was trying to put myself in the shoes of my friends and neighbors who I have heard complain about not having enough time etc. I personally like going grocery shopping, I didn`t mean to imply I hate it. Although reading back my original post I can see how that could come across.
Again thank you all for your replies, Please keep all thoughts, suggestions, and ideas comming!
Gratefully,
Shhhh

CSPURGEON · February 2007

What if you were to partner with an existing grocery store? Every town or County has that one large chain besides the Wal-Marts, there is that big chain of grocery stores. They have the client base, they have the people who come back every week without even looking at the ads. If you were to base your business out of one, or all of their locations. You are telling that grocery store that you will only shop there and your clients know the store and the prices could be fairly similar every time they order.
Possibly you could have a program that would update your prices in your database. Allowing you to give a more accurate price back to your client before you shop for them.
Also your travel time is significantly less. Because now you are only driving to your clients house, or business. Not from your house of business to their house or business.
I am not sure what type of town or city Shhhh you live in. But the small town I work for and the County that I live in would not use a concierge service as much as I would think they would take advantage of a grocery delivery service. Partially because people here are very close minded and you have to keep things simple and very easy to understand.
I think its a great idea and have looked into myself. Dont get me wrong there are some things like drycleaning that might work but you would have to be creative with marketing if you lived where I do.

Innovator7 · February 2007

There is something about grocery delivery that eludes marketers. Many have tried, some with spectacular failure, such as Webvan, and myself. I set up a computer-based system in 1990. Too much ahead of my time, before the Internet boom, and in a conservative city. Maybe it was poor marketing. People didn`t want FREE delivery at that time. Granted I charged $30 one-time membership fee but that`s not even the cost in time of a grocery shopping trip. My business model was to make money at the retail level - no extra markup.Many supermarkets offer free grocery delivery nowaday. Few takers, as I gather. Shoppers seem to like to squeeze the tomatoes. Or it`s the risks and inconveniences of the interface (how, where to receive the delivery?) I actually thought of a pretty flexible system but I guess I was too much ahead of my time.

Tnmedic · February 2007

I live in a city of 300,000. I started the same type of business and also started a restaurant delivery at the same time. I had web sites for both of them with detailed instructions. I took email orders, fax orders, and phone in orders. There are alot of logisitics that has to be worked out that your not thinking about. Do you pay, then they pay you ? What about substitutions when the store is out of a product. Some people like to use coupons. Increasing gas prices. I`m not trying to change your mind. There is just alot of things to work out. Advertisement is the biggest success. The restaurant delivery did better than the grocery here and it was still very difficult to make a profit due to the increasing fuel prices. Goodluck with your venture. Keep us posted.

tanglelane · February 2007

I have looked at other Errand service websites to see how they layout their list of service and on most of the grocery shopping services they make sure the person fills in exactly what brand, size, and quantity they want of an item and some also list a substitution item. As far as the pay, most homebased errand services took cash/check in the beginning, after performing services, but I saw a good idea for what Tnmedic bought up about you paying and then they pay, because I was having the same dilemma once I start my business. One site suggested (until you build a trust with your clients) getting a reloadable mastercard/store gift card from a store and putting a certain amount on the card that will cover their expenses and when you are done give the card and the receipt to the client or if they are going to be a regular, they may have you hold the card until your next trip. Once they get to a low balance remind them to reload the card. If at anytime you have to pay over the amount of the card (I am making my cap be around 20 dollars), charge them the overage, plus your hourly rate or you per trip rate. You have make out a contract, a grocery list form and also get general liability insurance ( a must), and also get bonded when you do start handling actual money and peoples` credit cards to protect yourself and always have the receipts, get copies, and create files for each client. Like I said before research, research, research, it seems like an easy start up but you have to look at the PAPERWORK of it also, must have good bookkeeping for yourself and the man (TAX MAN!) I hope this was helpful, their has also been some good points made from the others also, because I am looking to start an errand service also. I appreciate the feedback, too.

EKErrandsExpress · March 2007

Hi! In addition to grocery shopping there are many other services that you can offer. After 9/11 a shift also occurred in the value of our time - you never know when you will lose someone and more people want to spend time with their families but because of work and all the other responsibilities, there just isn`t enough time to do everything. Americans work 25% more than they did in 1973 and most are dual working parents. More work - less time for family, fun and leisure.
I started my own personal assistant, errand and concierge service in April 2004 after 23+ years in the legal profession. But know that it takes time to develop a business whether its grocery shopping or other services. The seeds I have sown over the past 3 years are now blossoming - but its after much hard work, persistence and dedication. Some have stated that this type of business is low cost to start up - which is farthest from the truth and it all is determined by what you call "low cost." You have office supplies, marketing, advertising, insurance, gas, wear and tear on your car, accountant and legal advice, legally binding contracts to protect you and the client and the list goes on and on.
It is also a business that is really more successful with "word of mouth" referrals. One person uses you and they tell someone. You`ve proven your trust, realiability, dependability and confidentiality is a big concern because of dealing with people`s personal money, credit cards, entering their homes, etc. I have spent quite a bit of money in advertising and for the most part it hasn`t gotten me any clients - its the referrals. I have also worked for many out of state who have needs here in state. They found me on the internet, and because my website is so easy to maneuver and informational they call. Fees are set based on demographics, geographnical locationWhen you set your fees you have to take into consideration your overhead. At the present time, having someone accomplish your "to do" list is a luxury, not a necessity. But the future is necessity and its performing services like grocery shopping and other personal errands.
Overhead: You must be insured for what you do and know what you are doing. We live in a sue happy society and it doesn`t matter that you might not have done anything wrong, people see lawsuits as a means of making money. Nuisance lawsuits are filed all the time to get money and you have to be able to defend yourself against this (i.e. this is what your insurance is for). You have to have connections and vendors and many times you have to make the impossible - possible. As far as payment, that depends on you and what your instinct says. If you are dealing with people with money, you won`t have any problem getting paid whether its cash, check, money order or credit card. You have to set an out of pocket limit and require deposits/retainers. But the fact is, many want and need your service but they can`t afford it. It all comes down to how much a person values their time and whether they are able to hire an extra pair of hands!

Delivery Business

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