Self Employed Work?

clio2008

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering, what type of self employed work can a female with a van do?
I know the obvious answer would be delivery driver work but then what kind of companies/industries to approach?

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks!

McKneff

Window cleaning

Cleaning

thewad

Not being stereotypical here but cleaning can be a very good earner.
Spend a bit of money on decent equipment, sell yourself through leafleting and advertising.
Do a good thorough job at a reasonable rate and I guarantee you the work will come in.
Target decent areas, turn up tidy, be respectful and do a good job and you'll be getting loads of recommendations and referrals.
My mate's wife started out like that and she barely works now just supervises her 6 staff.
I started up self employed in the carpet and upholstery cleaning business which is good money but you need about 5 or 6 thousand really to start up with some proper kit plus training.
Want any info on starting up self employed re - advertising etc just pm me.

John

GlisGlis

A lady local to me does courier deliveries for a lot of catalogue companies on a freelance basis.

I think a lot of the catalogue companies are contracting out, so it might be worth doing a trawl through those and approaching them.

Also, not being a driver, I often think how lovely it would be to have access to someone with a van to pick up furniture etc. from shops at a reasonable price, so maybe that's worth thinking about too - fliers through doors and in the local supermarket etc.

Nosht

The trouble with this business is car insurance which can add a fair load to the annual premium.
Even pizza/chinese delivery should have business insurance if a vehicle is used. :eek:

Regards,

N.

2791trauts

If you do delivery work on a self employed basis for catalogues, etc, then your vehicle insurance must state on the certificate that it covers you for "carriage of goods for hire or reward". In laymans terms I understand you need this cover because you are in effect hiring your vehicle (and yourself as a driver) to a third party to carry their goods.

If these words aren't present and you get stopped by the police or involved in an accident whilst working you may land yourself in hot water.

This level of cover doesn't come cheap, I know as I'm a self employed sameday courier.

Owain_Moneysaver

There is a market for collecting flatpack furniture from Ikea etc. There is definately a market for collecting and assembling flatpack furniture, I know a handyman who can do full days assembling flatpack by the houseful. And single women may prefer another woman assembling their wardrobes.

Flat moves for people in rented property with possessions but no big furniture.

Some charity shops pay van drivers to collect donations from houses - not much but could be slotted in among other work.

Some people buy veterinary petfood in large quantities and it's not sold in supermarkets so they might want delivery (eg monthly repeat order) - more profit if you can get the petfood wholesale.

JennyJewell

Delivering Yellow Pages? Sandwich van delivering to companies - many people have built up good incomes doing that
Loads of opportunities there for you
Good luck,
Jenny

clairibel

Vet taxi, for people with no transport and maybe dog walking?

There's also the shiply and boxby sites that you bid for courier jobs, we have just used shiply recently for a bath delivered from fleet to wigan and the driver told us he had several deliveries along the way and after us so he was making alright cash doing them all same route.

moneymaker2

What about your own ironing business? Our town is swamped with people offering to collect and iron and redrop back off. If theres a market in your area you could do that and some mass marketing leaflets won't cost to much.
Have you tried contacting the princes trust or business link? They may be able to suggest something and may also be able to arrange funding.
I have been with the princes trust and they provide a mentor and have been a great help in getting my event management and wedding planning business up and running.

Wayneybabe

DHL often look for owner drivers, I've been with them for a while, get paid 90p per parcel. Days vary, before christmas i was doing 90-100 a day, at the moment anything from 30-50 with the option to take on more routes. i cover a small area, usually do around 15-20 miles a day actual delivering, and 30 miles to the depot and back (can have them delivered to my home if i wanted). They pay fortnightly direct into your account. But you deal with your own tax, NI etc... so far ive had no complaints working for them, BUT make sure you only go to DHL, i was with a company who subbed for them, and currently owe's me £900 for previous work i did. now im with DHL directly and much better! Hope this Helps :P