Business Idea
I'm thinking of starting a grocery delivery/courrier service. People call in and tell you what they need and you have drivers that pick it up and deliver.
Pro's:
No competition. If I were to start a restaurant or retail outlet or etc, I would have to compete with companies that have already established a name for themself.
Low startup cost. You don't need a building or inventory. You can use your existing cars/cell phones. The only money you'd need is gas, money to buy the items, employees, and money to pay insurance and legal setup of the company.
High demand. Everyone shops for groceries and from what I gather not many people find grocery shopping enjoyable.
Cons:
A lot of people who shop don't have a ready-made list in mind. They go to the store and pick things off of the shelf as they see them.
Most of the shopping is done by mom's. Stay-at-home mom's have the time in the day to do these things themselves. Mom's who work are usually working because their family isn't pulling in enough income and probably wouldn't be able to afford a luxury like this.
Regarding the fee, I can't charge a flat fee because people who just want milk, eggs, and bread, would end up paying a huge fee for just a couple dollars worth of groceries and people who order hundreds of dollars of groceries would be paying the same amount. I can't charge a percentage because people who order just 2-3 things wouldn't make the company enough money to cover costs. So, I was thinking charge a small flat fee + a small percentage + .20c-.30c a mile in gas. With this setup in my town which is about 10 miles across, gas would be about $2-$3 per order, the fee could be around $10, and the percentage could be between 10%-15%. If the average order is $40-$60, that's about $20 per order and each order taking 30-45 minutes. That seems like a reasonable charge that many people could afford and would make the company ample profit.
As the company grows, you can add web ordering, buy your drivers gps and pda's to make ordering and delivering more efficient, and maybe make a contract with certain stores to get discounts or other benefits they might have to offer someone giving them such good business.
I'd like to hear everyones opinion on this and any ideas you might have to make it better and flaws that could cause it to fail. Thanks.
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