# Is there anything stopping me from just starting my own food delivery?



## dryverjohn (Jun 3, 2018)

My market has areas that are surrounded by fast food and restaurants, but no delivery yet. Grubhub is in the area, but only does KFC and Tacobell, ignoring all the other restaurants. I am thinking of offering delivery directly to the tipping consumers if they schedule ahead of time. Charge $6 for up to 5 miles from Restaurant and $1 a mile thereafter. I am also considering selling drinks only in cans or 2 liter bottles, no more fountain drinks. I have already found the software that can be sent out to have customer create order and route drivers. Am I missing anything here, any thoughts? I will work on existing GH customers that Tip only, non tippers will not receive the card or text. Grubhub is currently taking up to 3 hours to get diners their food. That is why I think scheduled runs are the only way to go at the moment. Then there is the, can I deliver beer if I take a picture of their ID question as well. Something to think about.


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## Z129 (May 30, 2018)

There is nothing stopping you. Go for it.


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## AtomicBlonde (Aug 26, 2018)

Commercial insurance for your car. If you’re in an underserved market, that could be a worthwhile investment. That plus a business license, why not give it a shot? And keep us posted.


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## Pax Collector (Feb 18, 2018)

Money is the only thing that'll be stopping you. Go for it if you have the funds.


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## dryverjohn (Jun 3, 2018)

Commercial insurance for delivering a hamburger? I guess I don't understand that part. If I am in an accident and there is food in the car, don't think insurance is going to ask any questions. I am going to try it on the side and see how it goes. Already giving my number to people that work at local hotels, they can't leave on night shift, need to stay at the front desk. Hospitals are another easy target for captive audiences.


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## 2Cents (Jul 18, 2016)

You're going to be the one doing deliveries?


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## AtomicBlonde (Aug 26, 2018)

dryverjohn said:


> Commercial insurance for delivering a hamburger? I guess I don't understand that part. If I am in an accident and there is food in the car, don't think insurance is going to ask any questions


Your insurance won't cover you if they find out. You can take the chance...


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## dryverjohn (Jun 3, 2018)

2Cents said:


> You're going to be the one doing deliveries?


This is a theory at this point. I have the logistics software to route other drivers. Based on the current level on inactivity in my market, other drivers can easily be added. It would be me, in a small area, with the requirement that orders be placed the day before for testing purposes. This is not going to be on call, I can't compete with the big dogs in that realm.


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## Launchpad McQuack (Jan 8, 2019)

dryverjohn said:


> Then there is the, can I deliver beer if I take a picture of their ID question as well. Something to think about.


I would stay away from delivering alcohol. If you choose to ignore this advice, then do very thorough research and make sure that you are in compliance with all state and local laws. They vary widely, and enforcement tends to be a lot more strict when alcohol is involved.


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## andaas (May 19, 2015)

dryverjohn said:


> This is a theory at this point. I have the logistics software to route other drivers. Based on the current level on inactivity in my market, other drivers can easily be added. It would be me, in a small area, with the requirement that orders be placed the day before for testing purposes. This is not going to be on call, I can't compete with the big dogs in that realm.


Keep in mind that once you enlist other drivers, you now carry additional risk if a driver is involved in an accident or otherwise causes harm or damage. While you may be able to slide having commercial insurance for yourself while driving how you described above, one of your "partner" drivers may drop responsibility on you. Possibly not a deal breaker for minor auto accidents, but if serious injury or death occurs, there could be a lot of legal problems for you.


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## Alderson (Jan 17, 2019)

You may find some success, there are plenty of small operators around the country doing it. Back in the late 90's I worked for a guy in Las Vegas who did it via 2way radio with his drivers, he had over 100 restaurants throughout the valley


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## johnx (Jul 29, 2017)

dryverjohn said:


> This is a theory at this point. I have the logistics software to route other drivers. Based on the current level on inactivity in my market, other drivers can easily be added. It would be me, in a small area, with the requirement that orders be placed the day before for testing purposes. This is not going to be on call, I can't compete with the big dogs in that realm.


It has to be on call, after your testing period. People order pizza from Dominos when they're hungry. You can do it locally; you just have to put a website online advertising food delivery and pay Google $200 a month to advertise it. Put signs up at the Restaurants. People call and order something and then you call the restaurant and order it and go get it and deliver it. If you are unavailable have someone else that the call rolls over to. Use call forwarding. Have four or five guys pick their shifts. Probably take 30-45 minutes but that's the simplest way. It is actually not too different from what Favor does in this market. Have a Square portable credit card swiper when you deliver. You will need to charge at least $15.00 to deliver. One an hour and you make a little more than minimum wage. Two and you are up to $20.00 an hour or so. Order one for each employee. Charge a flat rate that is high enough to make money and say tipping is included. As you know from working for Ubereats the average person really hates tipping and having a Tip option would just complicate the order anyway.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

dryverjohn said:


> My market has areas that are surrounded by fast food and restaurants, but no delivery yet. Grubhub is in the area, but only does KFC and Tacobell, ignoring all the other restaurants. I am thinking of offering delivery directly to the tipping consumers if they schedule ahead of time. Charge $6 for up to 5 miles from Restaurant and $1 a mile thereafter. I am also considering selling drinks only in cans or 2 liter bottles, no more fountain drinks. I have already found the software that can be sent out to have customer create order and route drivers. Am I missing anything here, any thoughts? I will work on existing GH customers that Tip only, non tippers will not receive the card or text. Grubhub is currently taking up to 3 hours to get diners their food. That is why I think scheduled runs are the only way to go at the moment. Then there is the, can I deliver beer if I take a picture of their ID question as well. Something to think about.


Do grocery orders too !

I actually thought of this long before Uber existed.



Launchpad McQuack said:


> I would stay away from delivering alcohol. If you choose to ignore this advice, then do very thorough research and make sure that you are in compliance with all state and local laws. They vary widely, and enforcement tends to be a lot more strict when alcohol is involved.


Alcohol and tobacco ( firearms and prescription drugs ) can be trickey.


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## ANT 7 (Oct 14, 2018)

Get the correct insurance.

One of my best friends is a private eye and works exclusively for insurance companies. Before they pay out on any claim, they send him on the file. The stories of people he has busted amaze me, you won't get away with anything IMHO. Don't make that mistake.


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## Launchpad McQuack (Jan 8, 2019)

tohunt4me said:


> Alcohol and tobacco ( firearms and prescription drugs ) can be trickey.


Basically any controlled substances. If it is not something that anybody can walk into any store and purchase on their own with no questions asked, then I wouldn't mess with delivering it.


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## jaxbeachrides (May 27, 2015)

Absolutely not. Any tech company could take over your market overnight.

After losing a job of 10 years, 5 years ago, I briefly worked for a delivery firm that had grown from nothing to a 20 million dollar company in a couple years.

I saw the money they were making and within 6 months I had incorporated my own service, had an office location furnished and mobile web apps developed and functional.

I had already invested my life savings when uber eats promptly showed up. The company I used to work for is now out of business as well.

Moral of the story is that it only makes sense if you can do it on an absolute shoestring.

Just look at the "success" of uber / uber eats. They established a near monopoly overnight yet lose billions with no profit in sight.

How long can you afford to lose money for? Uber has been losing money for 10 years.

And at this late phase of the current economic cycle, the cost of doing anything is staggering. You will encounter more roadblocks and stupid problems than you ever wanted and never even thought were remotely possible.

And as long as there is venture capital to compete with, now powered by mobile technology, large companies are able to finance large losses for nearly indefinate periods of time.


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## johnx (Jul 29, 2017)

There was a business in Eugene Oregon called Hungry Ducks that did that. Then Ubereats and Grubhub showed up about six months or a year ago. Im curious how that business handled the new competition


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## oicu812 (Aug 29, 2016)

johnx said:


> There was a business in Eugene Oregon called Hungry Ducks that did that. Then Ubereats and Grubhub showed up about six months or a year ago. Im curious how that business handled the new competition


I think Hungry Ducks got bought out or absorbed by GrubHub as their website forwards to GrubHub now.


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## Invisible (Jun 15, 2018)

You could contact a few restaurants/food trucks directly to see if they will partner with you to deliver their food. The ones that don’t have their own drivers.

One place asked me if I’d deliver for them as a contractor. But they only wanted to pay me $4 an hour plus tips. Since I’m seeing a decline in tips as more millennials order, I declined.

As for insurance, contact your agent to see if they have a policy that covers business use of your personal vehicle. I have it with mine (Erie Ins) and it’s not commercial insurance. I only pay $15 a month for it.

As others have said, go for it. It doesn’t hurt to try.


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## johnx (Jul 29, 2017)

oicu812 said:


> I think Hungry Ducks got bought out or absorbed by GrubHub as their website forwards to GrubHub now.


Well, there you go. It was a thriving delivery business till the big boys showed up. So Jaxbeachrides is 100% correct. Do it so long as its on a shoestring so you can walk away with the deep pocket money losers arrive.


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## dryverjohn (Jun 3, 2018)

jaxbeachrides said:


> Absolutely not. Any tech company could take over your market overnight.
> 
> After losing a job of 10 years, 5 years ago, I briefly worked for a delivery firm that had grown from nothing to a 20 million dollar company in a couple years.
> 
> ...


Yes, I am considering the investment to be business cards that only go to larger tipping customers. Create it more as a delivery club, I don't want to deliver to snowflakes or anyone that thinks food delivery doesn't deserve a tip. There may be a local ad if the concept works, but for now, it's going to be me as an IC picking off the better GH, PM etc. customer. Difference is that I will deliver the food on time, no waiting. The logistics software that I have tested is $.08 per use, no upfront investment required. It may not even be necessary in the beginning. A text and payment system is all that I need to figure out. I am thinking, Venmo, Paypal, Cashapp, etc. The best possible thing that can happen for any delivery or catering company is to get Snapchatted. Restaurants on the Run in Orange County started this concept and were bought out by Eats24, aka Grubhub. We should all be so lucky. Uber eats, doordash, and the others have a horrible reputation in my area with 2-3 hour waits for fast food being a reality in certain neighborhoods.


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