By Jim Gregory
Van der Plas Publications, 2000, 144 pages, $14.95 US
This slim book provides a thorough outline of how to start and run a business using only you and your bike. The author owns and operates a bicycle-powered delivery service in Ames, Iowa, which employs two people full-time and seven people part-time.
He lists the types of work available; whether that work will be full-time or part-time; the equipment required and costs thereof; which sort of bike works best for which types of work; and the type of accessories you may need to have.
There are also chapters on insurance; the best forms of marketing that do not cost much money; how to find and retain customers; and best practices for accounting and management, including how to hire employees if needed (his advice: check the person's bike to see if it looks well-ridden).
His advice on licences, permits, and taxes are written for American readers, but most of it also applies in Canada. His best advice is on how to determine what to charge for your services, best billing periods for different types of customers, and what types of job you should decline as unprofitable. This is all written from his own hard-earned experience and is invaluable.
The last two chapters examine in detail 16 different jobs that can be done with a bike, or with a bike and trailer. The author has done all of these jobs, and lists each one's specific requirements: what you have to do to find customers, what sort of equipment you will need, and what it takes to do the job on a daily basis.
This book focuses on delivery jobs. There are other jobs you can do with a bike (bike policy consultant, for example) that are not covered here. Nevertheless, this book does give a very good overview on how to set up and run a small business. For anyone considering self-employment, it's worth a look!
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