What is involved in becoming a Courier?

Question

I am about to graduate from Uni and am toying with the idea of starting my own Courier firm. I have my eye on a good VW Transporter van (the VW equivalent of a Transit van) with which to start, myself as the driver (so basically, for a while, I'd be a long-distance white man man!). As I progress I would buy better and bigger vehicles whilst offering the same good, reliable and personal service.

I have a gimmick which I believe will put me ahead of rival, more established firms (nothing big, just enough to give me a bump start in to the market).

So what is involved, after I buy my own van- or is that really all there is to it (obviously including the right insurance etc etc).

Thanks!

Originally I thought of becoming a motorcycle Courier but wrote off the idea as being A) too unsafe, B) a lot colder than being sat in a van and C) you're limited to how much stuff you can carry. UNLESS I applied for some sort of license to go armed, and dealt with small, secure packages?...

I'm in the UK

Answer 1

I don't know about the UK, but in RSA the big guys only have about 1/3 of the market, so there is always room for small guys that can make a difference.

Market, market, market.