Delivering Groceries to the Elderly

I have 2 questions:

1. What would be the best way to market this service? (I was thinking flyers on church bulletin boards...but what else?)

2. How much should I charge? (I'm in a middle-upper class area of New England.)

I was in a used bookstore thumbing through the business section and I found this amazingly simple little idea in an ANCIENT book of 'work from home' ideas.

In fact, I've been finding a ton of great business advice in OLD books. So much "new" stuff seems to be rehashed, codified, acronymed versions of the same material.

Thanks for any input.

John

Hi,

Would local list brokers have mailing lists for this market?

An add-on could be delivering meals from local restaurants...

- Boyd

Hey John,

I think Boyd touched on the "motherlode" for this type of business -- home delivering restaurant meals.

Back when we used to live in the (gasp) CITY, we had some filthy rich neighbors who were always building new additions and garages for their Indian motorcycles.

He worked as a contractor. SHE owned a restaurant meal delivery service.

SHE made twice as much as HE did, and she didn't mind telling anyone who asked.

She simply made a deal with local restaurants to purchase food at I believe a 15% discount, which she (or usually, one of her drivers) would pick up and deliver to the customer, tacking an additional 30% onto the restaurant's retail price for the service.

She advertised with flyers, brochures & in the newspaper. Several restaurants also displayed her brochures next to their check out.

She offered every type of food from just about anyplace that did not already deliver, and had several drivers "on call" to help get things where they were supposed to go. I believe they also called ahead to restaurants to have the orders waiting when the drivers arrived.

I suspect this service would work -- very well -- in any upper middle class urban area. Good luck!

Best Wishes,
Jim Erskine
Homeway Press


http://www.homewaypress.com

Hi,

That's a business that I'm sure in my heart of hearts would fly. Too bad the gummint probably says it's illegal.

**Or Is It ? ?**

Anyone know the legalities? You wouldn't really be selling beer, you'd just be delivering it. You'd be a beer broker. :-)

Best,

- Boyd

WebVan?

WebVan went bankrupt sometime last year offering website ordering and grocery delivery at a premium price to affluent communities. Maybe they were ahead of their time; a mix of online/offline business. I’m only familiar with their operations in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle/Tacoma area, but now it’s gone.

They advertised via major market daily newspapers, radio spots, TV, local website banners, billboards, direct mail to targeted communities.

Apparently it’s not as simple as it seems.


America's Favorite Newslesspaper

Hi,

Jim and I are just tossing ideas around for the fun of it. Even unworkable ideas, such as a home beer delivery service, can spark workable ideas or help exercise the mind.

We recognize the need to be aware of the legalities of running a particular business, before getting involved in it, and we're not suggesting that anyone should act on anything discussed here. I'm personnally not planning to go any farther with the idea, and I doubt Jim is, either.

Best,

- Boyd

Hi, John --

One simple way I can think of is for you to hook up with your local market(s). They could then recommend you to any customers who request such a service or, better still, put you on a retainer to do all their home deliveries. The fee could either be a flat monthly charge or per delivery. This would be a win-win situation for both you and the grocer since he gets to increase his revenue and you get a jump-start on a delivery business.

Good luck with it!

Eve §:)

John:

I'm not going to answer your two questions. I am going to tell you what I have seen...

JH already mentioned WebVan...

Same deal in Australia. Some (many) have tried. None have stayed.

Deliverying restaurant food has been tried repeatedly down here. Each time the business folds within six months.

One 'legality' to consider is the temperature of the food. It MUST stay ABOVE a certain temperature. And putting it in an 'esky' just won't do it. It needs to be a properal heating device (more on this in a minute).

Beer CAN be delivered BUT it MUST be via an authorised seller of alcohol. So you can 'team up' with a drive-thru bottle shop or whatever. The price you quote is the 'shops' price plus a delivery charge.

Back to the food delivery...

what has been able to last is a mobile 'fresh fruit and vegetable' van. With the authorisation of 'retirement' communities, they drive around and pull up infront of each resident. Ding ding goes their bell as they drive.

Of course, after a while they get to know the stops and can work more to a schedule - pulling up and dinging their bell to let the resident know they are there.

Sounds okay. Prepare for spoilage though.

Also, HOT FOOD is doing very well. Fully stocked vans drive around the industrial areas at morning break, lunch and afternoon break.

These work by being allowed to pull in at each stop - those who have a work force on site call the FOOD VAN people and schedule a regular daily stop.

Note: These vans are fully equiped to carry hot food and follow all government guidelines for keeping the food above a certain temperature.

One interesting thing I heard of was: mobile coffee. A normal van fitted out with a couple of espresso machines. It would pull up near high-pedestrian-traffic areas and where people were forced to wait - at a warf waiting for a ferry to take them across the river, sporting events, etc. They then managed to get a 'contract' to be on-site during movie shoots!

Michael Ross
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