We have finalized a few more details about membership that I wanted to share with you. We have already mentioned that there will be a very limited number of memberships available (100, to be exact) and that we will only be accepting registration from 12:00 p.m. CST (noon), June 8, until 11:59 p.m. CST, June 14. Also, we reserve the right to close registration at any time.

As requested, there will be three different options available. Some of you have told me that you just want the online access and don’t need the physical DVDs or documents. We have decided to set the price for online-only access at $67. For those of you who just want the physical DVDs and documents, the price will remain unchanged from before, at $97. Finally, for those who want the maximum experience, and want hard copies of the DVDs and documents as well as full access to the online materials, the price was going to be $127. However, we decided to do something a little special for our charter membership launch, and offer full access to the membership area as well as hard copies of the DVDs and documents for the same price as just the hard copies alone ($97). It’s a little quirky, but I think it will make everyone happy.

These are our charter prices, and we have decided to raise the price of membership after our initial launch. If you don’t get in on this round, you’ll still be able to get yours when we begin accepting new members sometime down the road, but prices will be higher later on.

As always, we look forward to your feedback and questions. Comment below or email us at Service@CourierPros.com.

Thank you for being part of what’s turning out to be a great release, and we’ll see you there!

Many of you have expressed concern about being able to get in to this round of the release and asking to reserve your spot early. To be fair to everyone, we’re not going to take any early reservations. However, if you sign up to be on the Early Bird list, you will have the best possible chance of getting your spot.

Which bring me to the next question. We’ve finally hammered out our system capabilities with the tech guys, and decided that we are going to limit the number of initial members to 100. This will ensure the maximum experience for all of our new members. We will not be accepting any more than 100 members during this release. Additionally, after we open registration on Wendesday, June 8, at 12:00 p.m. CST, we will be closing registration once we reach 100 members, or on Tuesday, June 14, at 11:59 p.m. CST (whichever is earlier).

We will be opening additional membership slots at a later date, but not at least for a month or more after we close charter membership registration.

We are still finalizing the membership pricing, but our membership prices for this release will reflect our appreciation for our charter members. Also, as some of you have asked, we will be offering options for digital only access, as well as digital access combined with the hard copies of the DVDs and Documents Kit (we know some of you love the hard copies!).

More details to come. As always, send your questions to Service@CourierPros.com.

And again, if you are worried about missing out, please join the Early Bird list so you have the best possible chances of reserving a spot. The Early Bird sign-up form can be found here: http://www.courierpros.com/buy-now/complete-courier-business-startup-kit/

Best regards,
Sam

You see, shipping things to places like Ghana, Africa, can take a LONG time. And sometimes, when you’re really ready to start a business, even waiting a few days can feel like a long time. Wouldn’t it be neat if there was a way that we could provide instant access to someone anywhere in the world? You may be able to guess where these thoughts took us…

At 12:00 p.m. CST on June 8, we’ll be opening the doors to a whole new way to experience our Complete Courier Business Startup Kit through a fully digital interface. You’ll be able to view all of the material online and interact with others just like you who have upgraded to access the Complete Courier Business Startup Kit online. Additionally, in honor of the milestone, we’re going to be rolling out some never-before-seen bonuses for our new members.

Now, because this is a new system, we have to limit the number of new members who can access the materials so that we can monitor the sytem and make sure that we don’t have any technical problems. We’re still ironing out exactly how many members we are going to take in the beginning, but we want to ensure they have the best possible experience.

Which brings me to the favor I mentioned. We want to make sure that we have covered all the bases with our content and bonuses, but we need your help to know. If you could help us by answering a few questions on a VERY short survey, it would make a world of difference. Thank you in advance to those of you who do!

Click Here to Take the Survey

In the next few days we’ll be filling you in on more of the details, so stay tuned.

We wanted to know whether any of you had any thoughts or feelings to share about starting up. Post them in the comments below!

Sam’s Interview with Stuart Warner:

How did you get to start your CourierPros.com website?

In 2009, the economy was in free fall. So many people were losing their jobs with no real prospect of finding meaningful work. We started to think that maybe we could help a few of them who might have considered courier service opportunities. CourierPros.com started as a way to provide a little guidance and inspiration to anyone looking to start their own private delivery business.

What information do you offer on the site?

Often, the hardest part of starting anything new is overcoming the huge wall of perceived “unknowns.” How will I set prices? How will I find clients? What licenses do I need? What about insurance? What kind of equipment do I need? How do I set up a website? There are a seemingly endless number of them. CourierPros.com aims to demystify the whole process by showing how simple some of the answers to those questions are. Once the details of starting a courier business don’t seem so scary, the process becomes both more fun and more satisfying.

What are the main challenges to someone starting a home based courier business?

When just starting out, some people struggle to stay motivated while searching for their first clients. It can be a tedious process, contacting potential businesses and selling your services. But we’ve seen some of our motivated starters finding half a dozen clients in a matter of days.

The process of finding clients isn’t so difficult, but staying motivated in the face of rejection can be a real challenge, particularly for those who haven’t ever had to “sell” to anyone before.

How much money does someone need to set up as a courier?

As always, it depends, but often, less than $500. If you already have a reliable vehicle and a cell phone, then you don’t need much in the way of equipment when starting out. One of the greatest mistakes people make is thinking they need a fleet of matching, logo-wrapped vehicles, a crew of uniformed employees, and a flashy advertising campaign to get started. You don’t need this stuff to start.

What people fail to realize is that the things that will make or break you when you start out cannot be bought. Vision, creativity, motivation, perseverance – these are things that don’t cost anything. But they are worth a lot more than all the equipment you could ever buy.

The bare minimum when starting out? You need a vehicle, a cell phone, some business cards and some clean, professional-looking clothes. We’ve seen large businesses created by people starting with just these essentials.

How can someone find customers for their courier business?

When starting out and when starting to expand, the best source of new business is always referrals and networking.

Is it best to go for a regular pick up and deliver run or to go for one-off jobs?

Our favorite clients are other businesses that need regular daily deliveries. Think of the value of your clients on a monthly and yearly basis, not on a per-delivery basis. In those terms, one-off or “hot shot” deliveries aren’t very lucrative.

Is it difficult to compete against the national companies?

Actually, there are a ton of general deliveries that UPS, FedEx, and DHL don’t or can’t handle. For instance, the post office generally doesn’t deliver mail to businesses in business parks, meaning one of the employees or owners has to go get it and bring it back on a regular basis. Try calling UPS and asking them to go to the post office and pick up your mail. You probably get the idea.

What are the biggest mistakes to avoid in the home based courier business?

Spending money upfront. There are a handful of things you actually will need (I mentioned above). Everything else can wait until you have some cash flow coming in. People don’t realize that spending money (or waiting until they have the money to spend) can be a huge form of procrastination. After all, it’s much more fun to buy things than it is to sit down with the phone book and start making calls.

What other advice do you have?

Don’t spend a lot of time worrying about whether or not it will work. Just try it and SEE whether it will work. If you or your market are not cut out for a delivery business, then move on to another opportunity. People will spend years waiting and contemplating whether they should or shouldn’t do something. At the end of those years, you could either have a growing business that you have been building for a few years, or be a few years into a new opportunity that suits you better. Otherwise, you end up, after all that time spent worrying, with nothing more to show for it than what you did in the beginning.

There was a business executive who famously said, “We don’t make the right decisions. We make decisions, and then we make them right.”

The courier business is an excellent way to make money in today’s economy and there are many benefits to be gained.  As the economy gets tougher, more and more employees are finding themselves out of work.

This shrinking workforce, combined with rising gas prices and higher demands on time makes it harder for businesses to perform pickups and deliveries using their own employees.

As a courier, your job would be simple.  You pick up and deliver local packages and documents from businesses throughout the area.

You can easily work for dozens or even hundreds of companies, ensuring that there is always work to be done.  All that you need is a reliable car, a GPS system to help you get to every destination quickly, a cell phone and computer for contacting businesses and creating invoices, and the drive to ensure that you are able to do the job quickly.

When you start your own courier service, you will also gain the benefits that come with self employment.  This means that you can deduct gas costs, phone and computer expenses, and most car related expenses from your taxes.

If you manage a home office, you will even be able to deduct a portion of your rent or mortgage and utilities.  Deducting mileage at the current IRS rate of .55 cents a mile means that you pay taxes on a much smaller portion of your earnings as well, ensuring that you can save thousands and greatly increase your revenue.

In short, a courier service is an excellent business with a very low startup cost.  Most of the required things to start your own service are things that you already have.

With a great business startup kit, you can get your business up and running for a tiny investment and can be well on your way to success.  The courier business is more lucrative than ever and offers you a great way to be your own boss while making excellent pay.

If you have the drive required to do your job properly and you have the equipment needed to do the job efficiently, then the answer is a definitive yes.

Starting a business today can be an excellent move if you start the right business.  While trying to build your own electronics chain in the midst of mass closings in the industry might not be a great idea, starting a delivery or errand running service when layoffs are leaving most companies unable to perform these tasks on their own simply makes good sense.

In other words, there has never been a better time to start your own business in these fields.

When you start a business, you will find that there are many benefits.  For starters, you are able to act as your own boss.

This means that you set the rules and the restrictions regarding your company. You will also find that you are able to obtain remarkable tax deductions for things like mileage and phones.

If you have a home office, even a portion of your utilities and mortgage payment are tax deductible.  With a great startup kit, you can help avoid rookie mistakes and get your business off on the right foot.

Creating a business is a great way to earn the kind of money that you have always wanted to make.  As long as you are able to keep up with demand, you can take on as many clients as you like, essentially setting your own financial goals.  With a GPS for faster travel and the ability to perform tasks quickly and efficiently, you can experience great success in your new business.

Working for yourself offers many opportunities, and creating a business right now can let you turn a bad economy into a prime money making opportunity.

Knowing whether or not these rules apply to you is important, and you are advised to check with the Department of Transportation to learn about specific rules regarding US DOT numbers in your state.

There are some circumstances that always require that company owners obtain a DOT number.  For starters, any company operating commercial vehicles that carry passengers or cargo across state lines will need to have a US DOT number as well as be registered with the FMSCA.

New applicants will automatically be enrolled into FMSCA and will have to maintain acceptable safety performance in order to receive permanent registration.  Vehicles that carry hazardous materials within their own state or across state lines will also find that they are required to maintain a US DOT number.

In addition to these specific circumstances, many states also require intrastate commercial vehicles to maintain a US DOT number.  These numbers allow the government to identify a company’s safety records for purposes of crash investigations, audits, and inspections.

To find out whether your state requires you to maintain a US DOT number in order to operate a courier vehicle, contact your state Department of Transportation.

The United States Department of Transportation offers easy registration for people who need a DOT number.  You will find that you can easily register for your number online.  The government website also offers a great deal of information and resources to help you understand just why these numbers are so important.

If your state requires that you obtain a US DOT number to operate your vehicle, you will find that it can be very easy to do.

This especially the case with a “startup” business, but things change significantly once the service has become well-established and built a client base.

It is at this point that a courier service owner may need to consider price increases to allow for profitability, expansion, or upgrades in equipment and staffing. Often this means that some customers will end their relationship with the business in order to retain the services of the “cheaper” provider.

The real trick is knowing when to let such a client go, and when to just increase prices across the board.

Let’s just take a quick look at the issues that directly impact the operating costs for a courier service. There is the cost of fuel for any transport vehicles, there is the need for various insurance policies to cover the packages and parcels in the event of an accident, there is the need to pay for employees or subcontractors, and there are the many costs associated with travel too (including tolls and parking fees).

These are not “static” prices that remain the same from year to year or even from month to month. A courier service cannot permanently absorb such expenses, and when they begin getting more business there is often the need to increase prices to meet the increasing operating costs too.

So, what this all adds up to is the need for the courier service owner to create a detailed business plan that includes a projected budget and plans for the future. This business plan absolutely must be reviewed on a regular basis in order to gauge if the courier service is performing as expected.

If so, the owner must follow the pre-determined plans for necessary price increases in order to remain competitive and to take on new clients as often as possible.

Working as a delivery person can require different permits depending on where you live as well as what types of materials or packages you are transporting.  Learning what permits to fill out and how to obtain them is a crucial step and cannot be overlooked.

Generally, there are three places you need to turn to find out what types of permits you will need.  These places are your city, county, and state government.

Each location will have different requirements, and it is important that you contact all three in order to ensure that you are fully licensed and permitted to do your job.  Failing to obtain proper permits can not only create a poor image for your company, but it can leave you vulnerable to fines, lawsuits, and even potential legal problems.

Take the time to contact each government office separately and ensure that you have properly filled out and received confirmation for all paperwork.

Permits can be an important part of your business.  While some locations require very little in the way of paperwork, some cities may require you to fill out a number of forms.  This is especially true if you will be handling pharmaceuticals, medical lab reports, or other sensitive or potentially dangerous items.

The government has many regulations in regards to the transport of certain items, and ensuring that you are licensed to carry them can also help open up a larger customer base.  Filling out permits can certainly be time consuming, but the benefits of doing so are virtually endless.

Bootstrapping is important for a number of reasons, and the next few paragraphs will help you understand why it should be an integral part of your business strategy.

When you are starting a new business, there is always a degree of risk involved.  If you go out and rent a large office and buy a brand new vehicle before you start your business, you are creating a great deal of potential for loss.

The amount of money that you need to make in order to see a profit is directly related to how much you are spending.  If you spend only the bare minimum to get your business going, you can turn a profit rather quickly.

If you are like most new business owners, your initial funding is going to be rather limited.  By bootstrapping, you can start a business for almost no additional investment.

If you already own a car, a cell phone, and a computer with a printer (or can access one), then all you will really need is a good startup kit.  This means that your entire investment in the company is minimal and that money generated will be almost entirely profit.

Bootstrapping when starting a courier business means literally operating at bare minimum.  In addition to the things listed above, you should only need a clipboard, business and car insurance, and the gas money needed to ensure that you can do your job and visit potential customers for the first month.

Most clients will pay their invoices every thirty days, and when your first client pays you for a job that required nothing more than gas costs, you will start to see that bootstrapping really is the most profitable way to conduct business.