Any self employed couriers posting on here either past or present ? At 61 i have been made redundant as a multiskilled engineer and no local companies want to take on experienced guys at that age.

I have read in mags where a reasonable living can be made as a courier, any thoughts or alternative ideas.

You guys usually come up with answers to most problems, is this a challenge ?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Mike.

lad i know does this. He's incompetent but manages ok, but apparently its hard graft with a silly number of drops to make on time. He has to sign some off himself to meet timescales!

Hi,

I was in virtually the same situation after working in engineering manufacturing since I was 16.

I set up as a self-employed handyman to use the years of DIY experience I've built up and although nowhere near what I earned before it's OK and I'm not at the mercy of an employer. (It's worth looking into working tax credits which can help out if you don't earn that much initially).

With reference to your initial query at my last company we used an outfit called Driver Hire who are all over the country and seem to employ drivers on an ad-hoc basis driving their clients vehicles.

I spoke to a number of their drivers, several of whom were probably in their 60's and they all seemed quite happy with the set up so it may be worth looking them up.

Good luck,

John.

Companies may be reluctant to take you on as permanent staff, but if you offer your engineering services on a self employed basis there is very little risk for prospective uses of your services.
You will not have the benefit of regular earnings or holidays but can charge a higher hourly rate for short term work, depending on whether it is for days, weeks or months. Once you get some work one thing often leads to another lot of work, provided people are happy with what you have done for them.
I am an engineer of similar age and began self employment 5 years ago, with no regrets.

Mal

I've got to agree with Mal. There are lots of engineering firms at the moment that need staff but can't justify another person on the payroll.

+1 for Mal
Start with your previous company - they know your skills and ability. Then think of all the people you've worked with who move on to other firms.
Build a CV that demonstrates all the systems/processes/tehcniques/machinery you have used and all the skills you can demonstrate.
If you create things, can you build a portfolio to show what you've done?

Apologies for rambling - I resource/recruit Contractors in a different industry but have spoken with lots of people in the last couple of years who have been in a similar situation.
It is unnatural to 'sell' yourself, especially if you've been with a single company for a long time but think of all the things you can offer, all the experience that you can share.

Mal - do you need PI/PL cover for such work or are you covered by the firms you are contrated to?

Having said all that, a very good friend of mine ditched his perm Team Management role two years ago and became a self-employed courier.
He's contracted to a small local firm (Rapid Desptach, they don't operate in your area though).
He has his own van (Renault Master) and does a mixture of medium trips and multi-dropping. Multi-dropping is hard work but if you get a regular area you can devise routes that make it easier.
Long days, can be quite physical work but a better for you than sitting in an office!
You have to be careful with insurance and what you can carry/how much you can carry in your specific van.

Hope that helps and Good Luck.

I gave 27 years service to a company (in total) only for the chairman to shut the place in Nov 2009
So in 2010 I looked at starting up on my own.. Its a big step but well worth it. I'm happy and I get to start ealry and finish early.
27 guys made redundant and two of must made the move and the other guy is now a very happy window cleaner..
Courier work is hard. As said above you need to do a lot of drops to make it pay. Long hours too..

am a courier and like fullpint said its hard work my place pay £1.05 for each bar code i.e if its 3 boxes on one barcode you get £1.05, if its 3 boxes on different barcodes you get £3.15(at the same address), you pay your own diesel(i do £15 a day), some drivers do ok depending on the round but all the best rounds are taken its always the shyt hard rounds that are free, some people think all you do is sit in a van and the parcel finds its own way to the door, you need to have some experience know where to park on red routes and high streets what time you can park on loadind bays most 10am-4pm one bastard one in purley CR8 is 7 am-1pm i get there at 3pm so have to park on the one further up and walk 100m and then the cnuting shop is shut cos their on lunch and you got no time to go back later on because your tooo busy and have to walk all they way back and you dont get payed you only get payed when you deliver it and if you get a ticket you pay the £60.

[Edited on 13-10-11 by spiderman01980]

[Edited on 13-10-11 by spiderman01980]

Thanks Guys for you input and time, lot to think about.

at 61 you are entitled to pension credits..... take them and enjoy life whilst you can.