Looking at the nation’s population as of recently, the courier service business is one of the most lucrative businesses in Nigeria today.
Due to the lack of competition in the business, there are lots of opportunities open in the industry.
Courier Service popularly known as home delivery is a business anyone can start depending on the strategy one wants to use.
You need startup capital, a good business plan, and strategic steps to start your business.
Still don’t know where to start? Read this article carefully.
This article contains what courier service is all about and the basic steps to starting a successful courier service business.
Types Of Courier Service
No matter the number of courier services in the world, all companies have a particular goal they achieve.
Here is a brief context of them;
International Courier Service
This is one of the most renowned types of courier service. The big boys in the courier service business offer these services.
This involves the shipping of goods between two or more countries.
For this service, you need a bus fleet, several trucks, and most times a jet. Delivery of these goods is mostly within 3 or 4 days.
Examples of the big boys in this field are FedEx, DHL, and lots more.
Express Courier Service
In Nigeria, this is popularly known as the normal home delivery service. For this type of courier, service deliveries are made immediately.
As far as it is the same metropolitan, same-day delivery is always guaranteed.
For this type, you might just need a few cars and motorcycles to complete day-to-day deliveries.
Overnight Courier Service
This is one of the most expensive courier services because no matter the country, deliveries are guaranteed to only last a night.
So if one has urgent delivery to be made from a very far country they normally use overnight courier services.
Standard Courier Service
This is the cheapest type of courier service. They offer the basic services of a courier service but for a longer time.
They are less expensive but less speedy than other types of courier services.
How To Start A Courier Service Business In Nigeria
As businesses are going more on the online side, you need to consider going for home delivery.
Below are some of the steps to starting a courier service business in Nigeria;
Write A Business Plan
Just like every other business, a business plan should be the first step in starting a courier service.
Check for other businesses like yours both small and big to know what works for them.
The type of staff you want to hire, the type of delivery vehicles you will use, and the type of courier service should all be explicitly detailed in your business plan.
Choose A Delivery Niche
You need to choose the type of deliveries you want to be making. This should be dependent on the amount of cash you have mapped for this business.
You cannot be looking into delivering perishable goods when you didn’t add a refrigerator to your business plan.
You need to recognize the areas and goods you can cover in the meantime until you expand.
Register Your Business
After choosing the niche you want to start with, the next thing to do is to register your business and get licensed.
While choosing a company name, try using a name that is not limited to a certain niche in case of future expansion.
Apart from registering your company with cooperate affairs commission, there are other authorities that need to certify you fit to run a courier service.
Try researching them in other to get the needed certification to become licensed to start.
Get The Needed Capital
The capital you plan on using for this venture should be according to the initial writing in your business plan.
If you are planning on starting small with one or two motorcycles for home delivery then the capital needed will also be small.
But if you are thinking of going all in, then you need to have something huge planned out when it comes to capital.
Brand Your Business
Just like the big boys in the courier service business in Nigeria, the next thing to do is to get a befitting logo and fliers for your business.
You can create very nice logo designs on sites like Canva for free. And you can also employ the services of a professional for a better design.
Equip Your Business
All the necessary equipment needed to make the business work out aside from vehicles or motorcycles should be made available.
Things like maps, GPS, suitable furniture for your outlet, printers for printing receipts and invoices, and a telephone should be made valuable as this will make the workload less stressful.
Promote Your Business
With the competition in the transportation industry, it is normal for every business to strive to be the best.
You should start with printing T-shirts, pens, and books, with the company logo to give to customers and staff.
Furthermore, the growing audience of social media should be to your advantage.
Run sponsored ads on them to expose your business more.
Get A Suitable Insurance Policy
After getting your business out there, the next thing to do is to find a suitable insurance company to insure your car, trucks, and drives.
For this part, you need to seek advice from professionals who know this field very well in other to get the best.
Conclusion
Just like every other business, starting a courier business is not easy. You must be ready to face the worst.
Make sure to continue keeping your good humor even as your business expands because customer loyalty needs not to be joked with.