| You love helping others. You don't mind running | | | | and from customers and for the errands you'll be |
| errands. In fact if you could get paid to run errands, | | | | doing. You'll also need a cell phone and computer as a |
| you'd love to run them! A lot of seniors find it difficult to | | | | way to be contacted by potential customers. It's a |
| run errands, or simply wish someone else could do it | | | | good idea to have a day planner to keep track of all |
| for them. That's why they hire errand runners. Starting | | | | customers and your schedule. Don't forget some |
| your own senior errand service is quite simple. Here's | | | | business cards to hand out to prospective customers, |
| how: | | | | and you might want to consider getting a magnetic |
| First, you need to decide the legal structure of your | | | | sign for your car as a great way to advertise your |
| business. Is it a sole proprietorship, partnership, or limited | | | | errand service. |
| liability corporation? You also need to license your | | | | Now think about what services you'd like to offer. |
| business. Check with your state to see what their rules | | | | Make up a sheet for your prospective customers. |
| and regulations are. While you're at it, you need to get | | | | Grocery shopping, dog walking, picking up dry cleaning |
| a federal tax identification number. | | | | and prescriptions, and banking errands are just some |
| Okay, got that out of the way. Now you need to get | | | | of the services you should consider. It's also a good |
| insurance. You must have auto insurance. Again, check | | | | idea to have somewhere on your sheet, "If you don't |
| with your local state as some states require you have | | | | see the service you'd like - just ask if we offer it!" |
| a specific policy if you use your car to run errands or if | | | | Finally, decide on your rates. Most errand runners |
| you'll be transporting seniors. There are some additional | | | | charge between $18 and $35 an hour. The national |
| insurance you should look into, such as if you'll be | | | | average is $25 an hour. Decide what works best for |
| driving your customer's car or pet or house sitting for | | | | you and try it out. Before long you'll find a price that |
| them. | | | | gets you the most customers and the most profit. |
| After you get those completed, you're ready for the | | | | After that, you're officially in business! |
| fun to begin! Pick a name for your business. Think of | | | | It won't take you long to start your senior errand |
| something catchy and memorable. Consider putting | | | | service. You'll need to decide your legal structure, get |
| your town or your own name in your business name. | | | | insurance, pick a name, gather all your supplies, decide |
| Make sure the name you picked isn't already being | | | | what services you'll offer, and then set your rates. |
| used or has been trademarked by someone else. | | | | Before long you'll be up and in business as a senior |
| You won't need a lot of supplies for your errand | | | | errand runner. |
| running business. You'll need a reliable car to get you to | | | | |