Home Business Idea: Paper Routes
Business description:
Most people when they think of paper routes, think a neighborhood boy on his bicycle delivering papers. However, a paper route is no longer just about a kid delivering papers on their bike, paper routes now require the delivery person to have a reliable vehicle because of how large of areas they are having to cover. The great thing about starting a paper route is that the startup costs are very low, in fact, as long as you have a reliable vehicle you have everything that you need to get started with your business.
Materials needed:
- Newspapers - get hired on by one of the local newspaper offices to receive the papers to be delivered
- Reliable vehicle - you are going to be delivering a large amount of papers in a variety of weather conditions, so you want a vehicle that is going to hold up to the task
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Space requirements:
To start a paper route the only space that you are going to need is enough space to hold the newspapers that you pick up for your delivery route. You will need a spot in your house that allows you to roll the newspapers before delivery, so you want a warm and cool area because of the different seasons. You can also use a small office space to keep track of your income and expenses for the end of the year. You can a so use a computer to keep track of your paper route, which customers are added, deleted or are away on vacation.
Time requirements:
Starting a paper route is not going to be very time consuming, you will only be working a few hours a day. You will need to pick which kind of paper route works best for your schedule, the two choices are morning and afternoon paper routes. If you work during the day, you will probably not be able to do an afternoon paper route, so you want to choose the morning paper route. The paper route is going to require you to roll newspapers about an hour or two before you begin delivering the papers, how much time you need to roll the papers depends on how big your route is. You will then need to spend about an hour or two delivering papers; again how long you spend doing it depends on how big your route is.
Income potential:
2 - You will only be doing one or two paper routes a day, depending on your current work schedule. How much money you make is going to depend on how big your delivery area is and how many people receive the newspaper in that area.
Keys to success:
- You are going to need a reliable vehicle because you will need to deliver the papers every day with no excuse. If your car breaks down you will not be able to deliver the papers, which means you will not receive money for that day, and you will have to pay somebody else to cover your route.
- Have a substitute trained on your route. This will come in handy if you are ever sick or if you simply need to take a vacation. Keep in mind you will have to pay the substitute out of the money that you are earning because the newspaper company does not pay substitutes because they do not have an agreement with them.
Risks:
- You will be delivering newspapers in the morning, which is usually before daylight. This can be a hard task to accomplish if you do not have a reliable car. It can also be hard to get up and out of bed in time to get the papers rolled and delivered. Morning routes can also be dangerous because of the different weather you might be facing. Always be prepared for every kind of weather.
- Another risk that you face is people not getting their newspapers. If people do not get their newspapers that means you are going to need to make a special trip to their house to deliver another newspaper, which you do not get paid for the extra trips.
