Turn Unemployed Into Entrepreneurship: Finding Customers For A Cargo Van Transportation Business
According to research done by the United States Small Business Administration, there are three economic components that appear to be related: unemployment, entrepreneurship, and economic growth. It's not entirely clear which component spurs or ignites the others, but it does give hope to those who are unemployed and open to the possibility of entrepreneurship. One such industry that doesn't take a lot of required training to get into is transportation, particularly using cargo vans to transport loads.
Of course, you'll need to obey traffic laws and load a cargo van properly; however, there are no additional driver's licensing requirements to drive a cargo van, and you won't need to take classes on how to operate one. If you are unemployed and this has sparked an idea of becoming your own boss as the owner of a small cargo van transport business, you may be wondering if it is difficult to find jobs. It's not, but you will have homework to do to find cargo loads to transport. Here are a few places to look.
Cargo Van Load Boards
There are websites and apps that provide lists of various cargo van load jobs that are available at any given time. You can scour these boards at your convenience to look for jobs to do. You can also make yourself available to customers by advertising your business directly through the website or app. The best ones show mapped locations of available transportation providers and the customers who need loads delivered. This helps narrow down how much time it would take you to pick up the load, so you can determine whether or not the pay is worthwhile. The boards will also give you the approximate weights and sizes of the loads so you can determine if your cargo van is capable of the demand. To learn more, contact a company like My Virtual Fleet.
GSA Approval
Another thing you can do is to get approved for government contracts. This is done by submitting an application through the United States General Services Administration. This is the government agency that accepts and approves applications for various businesses across all industries to be considered for contracts with the federal government. The only way to land a federal government contract is to go through this process. Even though you may not feel ready at the moment, it's a good idea to do this as soon as possible so you can already have an approval established in the event a dream contract opens up that would be ideal for your business.
USPS Registration
Another government entity you could work for is the United States Postal Service. Due to the vast amounts of parcel they deliver on an ongoing basis, they have used owner-operator trucking and cargo van businesses like you are considering starting. However, similar to that of the GSA, you cannot apply for their available job listings until after your application to become a registered USPS service supplier has been accepted. Once accepted, you can then look through their available openings or submit a proposal for an area you are interested in covering.
Chamber of Commerce
You can join your local chamber of commerce to network with other businesses in your area. Depending on your particular needs and desire to grow your business, you can also consider joining other chamber of commerce groups in your surrounding area if you would like to expand your transportation service area. Networking with other businesses can open up several possibilities for your business, particularly when it comes to transporting goods. More importantly, since your primary initial concern is finding customers, networking with other businesses is a great way to find other businesses to cross-promote with.