Started a bicycle delivery biz
12-20-11, 10:54 AM
#5
Soapy Goodness
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This is totally awesome! I hope you get lots of business. 
I live in ND, but grew up in the Winlock/Napavine area.
I live in ND, but grew up in the Winlock/Napavine area.
12-22-11, 05:39 PM
#11
Pokemon Master
what is the item in the last picture?
also, i love the coffin box. i'm almost afraid to ask what's in it, though...
also, i love the coffin box. i'm almost afraid to ask what's in it, though...
12-22-11, 06:32 PM
#12
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12-22-11, 07:02 PM
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you deliver babes, too!!!!!???
farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr OUT!
i did some time in the mortuary bidness, and seen/heard/heard of some totally bizarre things, but this coffin.......intrigues me.
my neighbor across the street has one with a skeleton wearing a tux in it. looks familiar.....
i don't have a trailer, but want one badly; a real utility trailer. he'd probably let me haul it around on halloween.
i noticed the trailer is from bikes at work. i'm guessing your vertically-arched tow bar is their standard, just rotated 90 degrees. how did you modify it to attach to the bike?
are the bikes xtracycles??
farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr OUT!
i did some time in the mortuary bidness, and seen/heard/heard of some totally bizarre things, but this coffin.......intrigues me.
my neighbor across the street has one with a skeleton wearing a tux in it. looks familiar.....
i don't have a trailer, but want one badly; a real utility trailer. he'd probably let me haul it around on halloween.
i noticed the trailer is from bikes at work. i'm guessing your vertically-arched tow bar is their standard, just rotated 90 degrees. how did you modify it to attach to the bike?
are the bikes xtracycles??
Last edited by ka0use; 12-22-11 at 08:32 PM.
12-23-11, 03:37 PM
#16
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according to my most recent encyclopaedia brittanica world atlas (1958), centralia had 8500 hard-working souls, and 3 bums. well, isn't THAT precise! i think you have a niche market. you go, dude.
i contacted bikes at work about a book they sold, 'cycling for profit'. their reply:
Hi, Rodney. Thanks for writing. I'm not sure if we will be getting any more copies in or not. I need to contact the publisher to see if he plans to re-print any editions. It would probably be best if you just order it from him directly from him:
https://www.cyclepublishing.com/cyclingbooks/cfp.html
Hope this helps,
-Jim
they also have a guideline for operating a pedicab/rickshaw business.
i contacted bikes at work about a book they sold, 'cycling for profit'. their reply:
Hi, Rodney. Thanks for writing. I'm not sure if we will be getting any more copies in or not. I need to contact the publisher to see if he plans to re-print any editions. It would probably be best if you just order it from him directly from him:
https://www.cyclepublishing.com/cyclingbooks/cfp.html
Hope this helps,
-Jim
they also have a guideline for operating a pedicab/rickshaw business.
12-23-11, 04:40 PM
#17
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Yep, all bikes are xtracycles.
The coffin was part of our halloween getup
Jim built me a hitch with my specific requirements
Thanks for the tip - the biz isn't so much about making money as it is one more avenue in our effort to turn this into a bicycle heaven
I will say however, that every single delivery to date has tipped, and my biggest tip was $20 for a 2$ load. I've made $85 in 3 days for riding my bicycle around our pretty little downtown
We'll see if that continues....
The centerstand was xtracycles old solution before the kickback.
The coffin was part of our halloween getup
Jim built me a hitch with my specific requirements
Thanks for the tip - the biz isn't so much about making money as it is one more avenue in our effort to turn this into a bicycle heaven
I will say however, that every single delivery to date has tipped, and my biggest tip was $20 for a 2$ load. I've made $85 in 3 days for riding my bicycle around our pretty little downtown
We'll see if that continues....
The centerstand was xtracycles old solution before the kickback.
12-23-11, 10:07 PM
#18
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Heaviest and most enjoyable load to date. 4 ladies that had seen me cruising around and were curious. I took them for a 1/2 mile ride from shopping to a coffee shop.
Got a nice card and gift from my regular customer
Got a nice card and gift from my regular customer
12-25-11, 01:05 AM
#19
Senior Member
Fantastic! I told my wife when I retire, I may start my own utility cycling business. Unfortunately, that's a long way off in the future...
Let me just throw out some ideas I've been tossing around in my head, in case someone's looking to start a cargo/delivery business.
1- some people may need some assistance shopping. I'm thinking about elderly or handicapped people. One could add a shopping component to the delivery business and charge by the bin/time/pound/mile/etc.
2- often people have scrap metal to recycle. In my area, a scrap washer and dryer bring about $30 in scrap. At the current rates, iron/steel brings about $.10/lb and bare copper $3.30/lb. Other metals (brass, sheathed or dirty copper, etc.) bring somewhere in between.
3- most appliance stores offer delivery at a charge. Years ago I worked at Circuit City and they charged $30 for a delivery. An enterprising utility cyclist could under-cut that charge. I bet matress stores offer delivery for a charge as well...
4- in my area, glass and some plastics can't be picked up curbside. Yet, my family generates these to be recycled. One could charge a fee per bin/pound/amount of glass or other recycles to be picked up. This could save some families the hassle of having to make the monthly or bi-monthly trip to the recycle center.
5- I also change my own oil in my car (gasp! yes, I do still drive a car), which means every few months I have to take the used oil in for recycling. Yet another item that could be picked up for me.
6- I make frequent trips (~1x/month) to Goodwill/Value Village/Second Hand Store. One could offer pick up of these as well.
7- Many areas have recycling programs for electronics and batteries. Many people don't know what to do with the junk printer, broken TV, ancient PC, or plug-in floppy drive. Sure, if they work the Second Hand Store may take them, but if they don't they need to be disposed of responsibly. The utility cyclist entrepreneur could pick them up and make sure they get recycled appropriately.
8- You might be able to get $.03/pound recycling cardboard. Depending on your source and where you have to go to recycle it, cardboard could be worthwhile. I'm not sure the volume of 300 pounds of cardboard, so perhaps that wouldn't be feasible.
9- what do appliance stores/places that sell appliances (Lowes, Home Depot, Sears, etc) do with their old appliances? Often, they offer delivery and removal of the old item. What do they do with the old item? Perhaps they would give it to you and you could recycle it. Keep in mind that some appliances (refrigerators and freezers have little, if any scrap value), so they may actually cost you to get rid of them.
10- used/dead car batteries are worth $8 in my area. Sure, most people recycle their battery when they buy a new one, but many don't or didn't in years past. Now they don't know what to do with their old car battery. You could do the world a favor and recycle it properly for them, and make $8/battery in the process.
If I was the enterprising, entrepreneurial utility cyclist, I would charge items based on the Rubbermaid bin (my BAW 64A can handle 8 comfortably). They're ubiquitous, relatively cheap, and designed to fit on my trailer. I'd charge specific fees for pick up of most things (a fixed rate per bin, perhaps $5 to $8), possibly with discounts if I was going to make money on them. For example, if I was picking up a washer and dryer, I may charge less than an old-school big-screen TV for recycling, since I'd be making money on the washer/dryer. I may charge more to recycle a refrigerator because it would cost me to get rid of it (locally for me I think the fee is $5 per appliance, so I'd add a $5 surcharge to the refrigerator).
I'd probably also charge one-time pick-ups more than for regular pick-ups. And, time and/or mileage and/or weight might also be factors.
Let me just throw out some ideas I've been tossing around in my head, in case someone's looking to start a cargo/delivery business.
1- some people may need some assistance shopping. I'm thinking about elderly or handicapped people. One could add a shopping component to the delivery business and charge by the bin/time/pound/mile/etc.
2- often people have scrap metal to recycle. In my area, a scrap washer and dryer bring about $30 in scrap. At the current rates, iron/steel brings about $.10/lb and bare copper $3.30/lb. Other metals (brass, sheathed or dirty copper, etc.) bring somewhere in between.
3- most appliance stores offer delivery at a charge. Years ago I worked at Circuit City and they charged $30 for a delivery. An enterprising utility cyclist could under-cut that charge. I bet matress stores offer delivery for a charge as well...
4- in my area, glass and some plastics can't be picked up curbside. Yet, my family generates these to be recycled. One could charge a fee per bin/pound/amount of glass or other recycles to be picked up. This could save some families the hassle of having to make the monthly or bi-monthly trip to the recycle center.
5- I also change my own oil in my car (gasp! yes, I do still drive a car), which means every few months I have to take the used oil in for recycling. Yet another item that could be picked up for me.
6- I make frequent trips (~1x/month) to Goodwill/Value Village/Second Hand Store. One could offer pick up of these as well.
7- Many areas have recycling programs for electronics and batteries. Many people don't know what to do with the junk printer, broken TV, ancient PC, or plug-in floppy drive. Sure, if they work the Second Hand Store may take them, but if they don't they need to be disposed of responsibly. The utility cyclist entrepreneur could pick them up and make sure they get recycled appropriately.
8- You might be able to get $.03/pound recycling cardboard. Depending on your source and where you have to go to recycle it, cardboard could be worthwhile. I'm not sure the volume of 300 pounds of cardboard, so perhaps that wouldn't be feasible.
9- what do appliance stores/places that sell appliances (Lowes, Home Depot, Sears, etc) do with their old appliances? Often, they offer delivery and removal of the old item. What do they do with the old item? Perhaps they would give it to you and you could recycle it. Keep in mind that some appliances (refrigerators and freezers have little, if any scrap value), so they may actually cost you to get rid of them.
10- used/dead car batteries are worth $8 in my area. Sure, most people recycle their battery when they buy a new one, but many don't or didn't in years past. Now they don't know what to do with their old car battery. You could do the world a favor and recycle it properly for them, and make $8/battery in the process.
If I was the enterprising, entrepreneurial utility cyclist, I would charge items based on the Rubbermaid bin (my BAW 64A can handle 8 comfortably). They're ubiquitous, relatively cheap, and designed to fit on my trailer. I'd charge specific fees for pick up of most things (a fixed rate per bin, perhaps $5 to $8), possibly with discounts if I was going to make money on them. For example, if I was picking up a washer and dryer, I may charge less than an old-school big-screen TV for recycling, since I'd be making money on the washer/dryer. I may charge more to recycle a refrigerator because it would cost me to get rid of it (locally for me I think the fee is $5 per appliance, so I'd add a $5 surcharge to the refrigerator).
I'd probably also charge one-time pick-ups more than for regular pick-ups. And, time and/or mileage and/or weight might also be factors.
Last edited by hopperja; 12-25-11 at 01:29 AM.
12-25-11, 11:32 AM
#22
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i think a major + is the low-stress charm, mindful of a simpler time.
a can see this as a tip-basis people mover (like the 4 babes)
: b-day
rides (for kids' parties; maybe a railing), valentine's day deliveries (and maybe a unique ride to propose
), haul the mayor in the independence day parade, a
rolling jail cell (now, where did THAT come from? maybe thinking about politicians set it off). folks with a sense of whimsy will flock.
sorry about the emotidoohickies, i got carried away and now can't stop laughing, es-
pecially with the proposal. i am sure some folk get all three emotions going when the
question gets popped.
keep looking for new areas to serve, continue to be creative.
a can see this as a tip-basis people mover (like the 4 babes)
: b-dayrides (for kids' parties; maybe a railing), valentine's day deliveries (and maybe a unique ride to propose
), haul the mayor in the independence day parade, arolling jail cell (now, where did THAT come from? maybe thinking about politicians set it off). folks with a sense of whimsy will flock.
sorry about the emotidoohickies, i got carried away and now can't stop laughing, es-
pecially with the proposal. i am sure some folk get all three emotions going when the
question gets popped.
keep looking for new areas to serve, continue to be creative.
12-25-11, 11:45 AM
#23
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i think a major + is the low-stress charm, mindful of a simpler time.
i can see this as a tip-basis people mover (like the 4 babes): b-day
rides (for kids' parties; maybe a railing), valentine's day deliveries (and maybe a unique ride to propose), haul the mayor in the independence day parade, a
rolling jail cell (now, where did THAT come from? maybe thinking about politicians set it off). folks with a sense of whimsy will flock.
sorry about the emotidoohickies, i got carried away and now can't stop laughing, es-
pecially with the proposal. i am sure some folk get all three emotions going when the
question gets popped.
keep looking for new areas to serve, continue to be creative.
i can see this as a tip-basis people mover (like the 4 babes)
: b-dayrides (for kids' parties; maybe a railing), valentine's day deliveries (and maybe a unique ride to propose
), haul the mayor in the independence day parade, arolling jail cell (now, where did THAT come from? maybe thinking about politicians set it off). folks with a sense of whimsy will flock.
sorry about the emotidoohickies, i got carried away and now can't stop laughing, es-
pecially with the proposal. i am sure some folk get all three emotions going when the
question gets popped.
keep looking for new areas to serve, continue to be creative.
Last edited by ka0use; 12-27-11 at 06:08 PM.
