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I have a question for you? How is it that one freelance courier can make between '750 and '980 from courier jobs per week while another in the exact same circumstances can only make between '150 and '250 per week? What's the difference between them?

In this article I want to talk to you about time management. One of the reasons freelance couriers are struggling is because it seems there is never enough hours in the day. While this is not true, the real reason is a wastage of time.

You see time is the only real modern currency we have today to trade with. You can't save time and use it later. So how you use your time is a great and direct determining factor in your success a s a freelance courier.

I believe it is more important to work smarter then it is to work harder when both acquiring courier jobs or doing courier jobs so the correct allocation of your time is crucially essential to avoid having stress as a result of having to do too much in too little time.

To give you a rough outline of what you should be doing when you first start your freelance courier business, should make it clear as to why proper time management is so important:

1. You have to survey your area to scout and identify potential star customers. This includes customers from 2 segments initially namely private companies and courier companies.

2. You then have to present your business in a professional manner to these companies to build credibility and establish trust. This could be in the form of having a smart universal outfit or uniform with a company identity badge.

Large courier companies like CityLink, parcel force etc. all have their staff wear company close to establish branding and professionalism in the minds of customers. You should do the same.

3. Now that you have researched and surveyed your target customer base, created a professional image and established some sort of brand in the minds of the customer, you need to make contact with those customers. This is where you'll start making phone calls, send out direct mail pieces, place classified ads and advertise on Google's search engine.

4. Once you have some appointments with customers you need to have a service agreement ready to show customers why and how you are better then Tom, Dick and Harry freelance couriers down the road.

Yes, as a freelance courier you will not be the only one tendering for work so it's important to understand what makes you unique from your competition for example you might offer a lower price, better support, faster delivery times etc.

5. Once you've bagged a number of customers it only make good business sense to keep in touch with those customers and that can be via phone or direct mail or email. I recommend email because you can automate the process ' more on that in a later article.

As you can see just from the small list of activities I have mentioned, there's a lot to do, and wasting time surfing the net or talking to friends on the phone will severely detract from the time you need to grow and market your business.

So how can you be more productive and manage your time more effectively?

The first thing you need to do is to list all the activities that is directly responsible for bringing in the work. You can start by making a detailed list of the activities you need to do as mentioned earlier in the article.

You need to focus your time on these activities above all things so prioritize your list in that order of importance.

The next you need to do is to break that list of activities into segments and focus your attention on one part of that particular activity. For example, if you need to make a list of star customers in the private companies segment, don't mix up that list with courier companies.

Do one thing thorough and as long as it's an activity that directly contributes to your business growth, you will immediately become more productive while growing your business rapidly.

Next you need to assign times by when you need to complete these activities as well as having a check list to check up on yourself as you make progress. Check off the things you have completed and immediately move to the next activity on your list.

I find that by making yourself a poster with the words, ' BACK TO WORK' generally helps when I'm sitting idle. You might want to try a similar idea.

Remember not many people are born with perfect time management skills so you have to practice it until it becomes a habit. I've included a very useful piece of software called Time Keeper that you can use to track, how, and where you spend your time.

I Hope this article shed some light on the importance of time management.

Until then I wish you much success!

Andre Hendricks
http://www.drivingjobs-uk.com