Get paid to run errands

Did you know you can make use of your free time to do errands for people and earn a commission?
Ideally, an errand is a short journey undertaken in order to deliver or collect something, especially on someone else’s behalf.

Yes! Doing errands for others is very profitable and you can earn a decent income.
I know this may be too odd a job for you to do. But roaming around town or frequenting offices of those who are working in the name of checking on them, will not bring you food on the table.
So, this article takes you through how you can start doing errands and get paid.
Experts say it would be wise of you to do errands for your friends, like shopping. Make sure you do it well. Most importantly, be trustworthy.

Mr Newton Buteraba, the chief executive officer House of Wealth – a local firm offering business advisory services in an interview with Prosper Magazine, said: “This kind of business or service thrives well if you get a contact source in any of the corporate companies whose kind of work keeps them busy till late.”
To get this, make use of your friends in the corporate companies who will then make referrals about your services.

Start
Buteraba says, in this kind of business –say if you are going to shop items especially fast consumer goods, food and groceries, research about the prices of the products before you start.
“Create a catalogue of products and their prices in different places like markets or supermarkets and know people who supply these products,” he adds.

Ideally, this business may not require you a lot of money to start. About Shs50,000 can set you off which you can use to design a catalogue.

Buteraba says your charges should be restricted to the volume of products you are going to buy. Say, if you are given Shs100,000 to buy groceries, let your charge be 5 per cent (this is Shs5,000) to cater for transport and your commission.
Experts say earning Shs5,000 may seem to be little but if you are going to do errands for 10 people, it means you will pocket Shs50,000 at the end of the day. This translates into a weekly commission of Shs300,000 and a monthly earning Shs1.2 million.

Errands transformed her
Ms Christine Nsimiire looked for a job in vain. But since she started doing errands, her life has improved.
“I started doing errands for my friends and I would get a commission of Shs20,000 sometimes it would be more. That is how I expanded it to other people,” she shared.

Nsimiire says for the two-months she has been doing errands, her life has changed.
She said: “My plan is to widen my clientele basis and once I achieve that, I will have no reason to look for a white-collar job.”

Advice
Buteraba says while doing this job, trust is an asset far more important than money. Being trustworthy is very key because that is how you will be able to get referrals and grow your client base.
Show knowledge of the items and their respective prices. Make sure you don’t adjust the prices because much as the clients don’t get the time to visit the market,s they are not ignorant about the prices.

Experts say that having an errand business means you can expand to offer different services that fit with what you are currently doing.
In addition to errands, you can provide rides to some of your customers to medical appointments and social engagements.

Marketing yourself
One interesting marketing tool that has sometimes not been viewed as such is the blog. That is basically an online diary. You can post just about anything in a blog and marketing geniuses have recognised the value of adding the promotional power of a blog to any kind of business.

Advertise the business. The most common place to access free advertising opportunities is online. There are a few large online marketplaces where you can advertise your service at no cost.