Chauffeur - Self employed - New business
Discussion
First time posting in here, but often read the forums. I'm currently a police officer. It was my dream job since I was a kid. I swore that I would leave when I become one of those cops who moans all the time. I can feel myself becoming one. I don't enjoy going into work anymore.
I've spent a few weeks looking on Indeed and the like, but there isn't anything that suits me. I hate the idea of an office job.
I was scrolling on Facebook last night and saw a couple of people looking for a driver to Heathrow. All the local places that they tried were booked up. It got me thinking. I enjoy driving, why not look into becoming an airport chauffeur. The idea of Friday/Saturday night taxi driving in town is hell, but airport runs can't be too bad can they?
Obviously I'd need a car, insurance, public liability insurance. There will be more that I'm missing I'm sure.
Prices for a trip to Heathrow are around £140 here. Fuel for the 200 miles (return) is £25ish (50mpg). Five hours there and back would work out at £23 an hour. Of course that would need to cover tax/NI etc. It's just an idea at the moment and writing things out as I think.
Is anyone doing similar at the moment? Pros and cons? Is it viable? A colleague retired not long ago and started doing it and now has a number of drivers working for him...clearly something is going right!
I've spent a few weeks looking on Indeed and the like, but there isn't anything that suits me. I hate the idea of an office job.
I was scrolling on Facebook last night and saw a couple of people looking for a driver to Heathrow. All the local places that they tried were booked up. It got me thinking. I enjoy driving, why not look into becoming an airport chauffeur. The idea of Friday/Saturday night taxi driving in town is hell, but airport runs can't be too bad can they?
Obviously I'd need a car, insurance, public liability insurance. There will be more that I'm missing I'm sure.
Prices for a trip to Heathrow are around £140 here. Fuel for the 200 miles (return) is £25ish (50mpg). Five hours there and back would work out at £23 an hour. Of course that would need to cover tax/NI etc. It's just an idea at the moment and writing things out as I think.
Is anyone doing similar at the moment? Pros and cons? Is it viable? A colleague retired not long ago and started doing it and now has a number of drivers working for him...clearly something is going right!
A friend of a friend's Dad does it.
Similar to what you suggested - he retired and did it for some extra income. He is now fully booked up because he's 100% reliable and does a good job.
Points to consider
1. You may need a private hire licence (not 100% if you do) If you do, it's something like 15 grand, I've been told.
2. People fly at awkward times. Prepare for unsocial hours.
3. The money sounds good but it depends on where you are. My guy is Bucks/Beds way so around 60-90 mins from Heathrow (for example)
With one car, you will rarely time it so you can do a drop off and collection together. This limits earning potential. It's worse if you go to Gatwick, for example.
4. Lots of competition. Blue chip businesses go with Addison Lee or similar. Unless you have a contact, it's therefore hard to get in.
This leads you to word of mouth - which is how my guy built his business up. Takes time though and, as a retiree, he could afford to do it for 'extra' money to begin with, rather than 'needing-to-pay-the-mortgage' money. Think about which of those two applies to you.
5. Driving to and from the UK's major airports sounds bloody boring after the novelty wears off.......
Similar to what you suggested - he retired and did it for some extra income. He is now fully booked up because he's 100% reliable and does a good job.
Points to consider
1. You may need a private hire licence (not 100% if you do) If you do, it's something like 15 grand, I've been told.
2. People fly at awkward times. Prepare for unsocial hours.
3. The money sounds good but it depends on where you are. My guy is Bucks/Beds way so around 60-90 mins from Heathrow (for example)
With one car, you will rarely time it so you can do a drop off and collection together. This limits earning potential. It's worse if you go to Gatwick, for example.
4. Lots of competition. Blue chip businesses go with Addison Lee or similar. Unless you have a contact, it's therefore hard to get in.
This leads you to word of mouth - which is how my guy built his business up. Takes time though and, as a retiree, he could afford to do it for 'extra' money to begin with, rather than 'needing-to-pay-the-mortgage' money. Think about which of those two applies to you.
5. Driving to and from the UK's major airports sounds bloody boring after the novelty wears off.......
LosingGrip said:
First time posting in here, but often read the forums. I'm currently a police officer. It was my dream job since I was a kid. I swore that I would leave when I become one of those cops who moans all the time. I can feel myself becoming one. I don't enjoy going into work anymore.
I've spent a few weeks looking on Indeed and the like, but there isn't anything that suits me. I hate the idea of an office job.
I was scrolling on Facebook last night and saw a couple of people looking for a driver to Heathrow. All the local places that they tried were booked up. It got me thinking. I enjoy driving, why not look into becoming an airport chauffeur. The idea of Friday/Saturday night taxi driving in town is hell, but airport runs can't be too bad can they?
Obviously I'd need a car, insurance, public liability insurance. There will be more that I'm missing I'm sure.
Prices for a trip to Heathrow are around £140 here. Fuel for the 200 miles (return) is £25ish (50mpg). Five hours there and back would work out at £23 an hour. Of course that would need to cover tax/NI etc. It's just an idea at the moment and writing things out as I think.
Is anyone doing similar at the moment? Pros and cons? Is it viable? A colleague retired not long ago and started doing it and now has a number of drivers working for him...clearly something is going right!
IIRC the last time someone posted this question the answer was “you won’t get enough work”.I've spent a few weeks looking on Indeed and the like, but there isn't anything that suits me. I hate the idea of an office job.
I was scrolling on Facebook last night and saw a couple of people looking for a driver to Heathrow. All the local places that they tried were booked up. It got me thinking. I enjoy driving, why not look into becoming an airport chauffeur. The idea of Friday/Saturday night taxi driving in town is hell, but airport runs can't be too bad can they?
Obviously I'd need a car, insurance, public liability insurance. There will be more that I'm missing I'm sure.
Prices for a trip to Heathrow are around £140 here. Fuel for the 200 miles (return) is £25ish (50mpg). Five hours there and back would work out at £23 an hour. Of course that would need to cover tax/NI etc. It's just an idea at the moment and writing things out as I think.
Is anyone doing similar at the moment? Pros and cons? Is it viable? A colleague retired not long ago and started doing it and now has a number of drivers working for him...clearly something is going right!
I once had a friend who was one and he worked full time for a businessman. When he wasn’t driving, he was hanging pictures, shopping or doing whatever else for his boss.
When we’ve hired a “chauffeur” it has tended to be someone local who we know, working for minimum wage. Of course we couldn’t pay him directly for the work, because of the potential “hire and reward” insurance complications.
I think it sounds like a nicer and more profitable job than it is in reality, unless you hit lucky.
LosingGrip said:
Prices for a trip to Heathrow are around £140 here. Fuel for the 200 miles (return) is £25ish (50mpg). Five hours there and back would work out at £23 an hour. Of course that would need to cover tax/NI etc. It's just an idea at the moment and writing things out as I think.
Here is your issue.If Heathrow is a round trip of 5 hours and you can't tie in a collection, you're earning £140 for the day, less your running costs.
That's not a lot of earning...
Edit - if your colleague is doing it, have a chat with him and maybe work for him for a bit to see what the model is.
. I'll have a proper read once I'm back from work. Not done it myself but have some insight on account of my former, now retired, business partner having owned and run a successful 'Executive Ground Transport' business (which I used wind him up by calling a glorified minicab business). He sold it a few years back. Was called Sovereign based in Limehouse. They had contracts with airlines, city banks, insurance firms and C4 for a while.
All of their drivers were owner drivers. Those that put in the graft were earning north of £70k a year..... but out of that came all of their costs; fuel, car, maintenance, etc. The benefits of aligning with a big player is that they do all the marketing. In theory, you log on each day and they send you the jobs. But those that took the trouble to turn up at the office every now and then with cakes tended to get the better runs. As did those with decent personalities. A larger operation will also run software that optimises bookings and with a wide range of clients, you'd rarely end up doing empty runs.
Whether to go that route or fly entirely solo, you'll need a decent Exec Saloon. 5-Series / E-Class as a minimum that needs to be spotlessly / showroom clean before each and ever job. Three years old is (or was) the max age of the car permitted by the company I mentioned. Appropriate insurance is a pre-requisite (and not cheap).
Location is key. If you live in rural Suffolk, it's going to be difficult to work. If you're in Greater London or Greater Manchester, then the opposite is the case.
You need to be smart and have a decent personality. And know when to chat with a customer and when not to.
If you go solo, you absolutely need to buddy up with another driver. If you break down or are involved in a RTA on the way to a pick up, the customer really couldn't care less about your plight - they just to get to the airport so you need to have someone you can call on if needed.
Seemed to me to a be nice gig for most of the drivers.
HTH
All of their drivers were owner drivers. Those that put in the graft were earning north of £70k a year..... but out of that came all of their costs; fuel, car, maintenance, etc. The benefits of aligning with a big player is that they do all the marketing. In theory, you log on each day and they send you the jobs. But those that took the trouble to turn up at the office every now and then with cakes tended to get the better runs. As did those with decent personalities. A larger operation will also run software that optimises bookings and with a wide range of clients, you'd rarely end up doing empty runs.
Whether to go that route or fly entirely solo, you'll need a decent Exec Saloon. 5-Series / E-Class as a minimum that needs to be spotlessly / showroom clean before each and ever job. Three years old is (or was) the max age of the car permitted by the company I mentioned. Appropriate insurance is a pre-requisite (and not cheap).
Location is key. If you live in rural Suffolk, it's going to be difficult to work. If you're in Greater London or Greater Manchester, then the opposite is the case.
You need to be smart and have a decent personality. And know when to chat with a customer and when not to.
If you go solo, you absolutely need to buddy up with another driver. If you break down or are involved in a RTA on the way to a pick up, the customer really couldn't care less about your plight - they just to get to the airport so you need to have someone you can call on if needed.
Seemed to me to a be nice gig for most of the drivers.
HTH
A related idea:
Family friend does the car delivery service and enjoys it as he often gets to take a car, new owner drops him at train station (usually) and he can make his own way back.
It's not great money but he says he gets to go to lots of different towns and cities, and effectively gets paid to read on his way back on the train, etc and he can flex which days he works.
They tend to prefer more mature drivers as I understand it and I know he delivers more premium (not super) cars.
Family friend does the car delivery service and enjoys it as he often gets to take a car, new owner drops him at train station (usually) and he can make his own way back.
It's not great money but he says he gets to go to lots of different towns and cities, and effectively gets paid to read on his way back on the train, etc and he can flex which days he works.
They tend to prefer more mature drivers as I understand it and I know he delivers more premium (not super) cars.
A freind of mine has a minicab company. They do airport runs as part of that (using Ford minibuses) and they've also got a couple of S-Classes if anybody wants the Prestige/Chauffeur option.
Could you sign up with a company that provides this service? They do all the marketing/advertising and send jobs your way for a commission?
Could you sign up with a company that provides this service? They do all the marketing/advertising and send jobs your way for a commission?
OP
Chew the fat with Kev O'Mara, ex traffic cop and runs a chauffeur business.
https://advancedjourneychauffeuring.co.uk/
Started with 1 motor and slowly building a great business, he's more expensive than local taxi firms but books up with decent clients.
Chew the fat with Kev O'Mara, ex traffic cop and runs a chauffeur business.
https://advancedjourneychauffeuring.co.uk/
Started with 1 motor and slowly building a great business, he's more expensive than local taxi firms but books up with decent clients.
MOMACC said:
OP
Chew the fat with Kev O'Mara, ex traffic cop and runs a chauffeur business.
https://advancedjourneychauffeuring.co.uk/
Started with 1 motor and slowly building a great business, he's more expensive than local taxi firms but books up with decent clients.
I used to have arguments with my boss on airport transfers as I used a local firm in our village that was about 15% more expensive than the limit set by the company. I had to point out that on the last travel the transfer company had called me to tell me my flight was cancelled (they were watching my flight number) before the airline had emailed or texted... so I was more productive and didn't have wasted trips to the airport etc... Chew the fat with Kev O'Mara, ex traffic cop and runs a chauffeur business.
https://advancedjourneychauffeuring.co.uk/
Started with 1 motor and slowly building a great business, he's more expensive than local taxi firms but books up with decent clients.
It could work if you can identify the difference from a fleet company?
Muzzer79 said:
You may need a private hire licence (not 100% if you do) If you do, it's something like 15 grand, I've been told........
Prices for 'minicab' rather than 'hackney carriage' licences are only in the hundreds per year. You local council will list the prices (and what the vehicle requirements are).Our regular driver does pretty well he's always either just back or just about to go on holiday. If you're making £100 quid on one drop don't forget in high season you might get 5/6 jobs in the day. Our guy is working hard in the summer it's back to bed for 2 hours back out back to bed again and so on. Less busy in winter I guess makes up for it. Our guy has a couple of drivers working for him. In terms of breakdowns and tight/double bookings he collaborates with other companies they all seem to help eachother which is surprising in a way but there seems to be plenty of work to go round.
I have a customer that had a similar business with about 10 drivers but it was a bit too big so he gave that up and just works as a driver for a single businessman now.
I couldn't handle the odd hours myself but as a shift worker already it should be a doddle. I reckon you could match your salary in half the hours.
I have a customer that had a similar business with about 10 drivers but it was a bit too big so he gave that up and just works as a driver for a single businessman now.
I couldn't handle the odd hours myself but as a shift worker already it should be a doddle. I reckon you could match your salary in half the hours.
You have been in the police for what, 4/5 years?
Approaching top scale salary, good pension, virtually no risk of being sacked, can’t be made redundant, hundreds of different roles you can sidestep into without any major barriers,
There are roles in your current force that you have never heard of that do things you didn't know existed - think about why you joined and think about exploring opportunities closer to home than jacking it all in on a whim.
Approaching top scale salary, good pension, virtually no risk of being sacked, can’t be made redundant, hundreds of different roles you can sidestep into without any major barriers,
There are roles in your current force that you have never heard of that do things you didn't know existed - think about why you joined and think about exploring opportunities closer to home than jacking it all in on a whim.
Defcon5 said:
You have been in the police for what, 4/5 years?
Approaching top scale salary, good pension, virtually no risk of being sacked, can’t be made redundant, hundreds of different roles you can sidestep into without any major barriers,
There are roles in your current force that you have never heard of that do things you didn't know existed - think about why you joined and think about exploring opportunities closer to home than jacking it all in on a whim.
14 years. Five as a PC. Top whack next year. Now is kinda of the time to make my mind up before I get used to the salary. Approaching top scale salary, good pension, virtually no risk of being sacked, can’t be made redundant, hundreds of different roles you can sidestep into without any major barriers,
There are roles in your current force that you have never heard of that do things you didn't know existed - think about why you joined and think about exploring opportunities closer to home than jacking it all in on a whim.
I'm looking weekly on the job page, including in other forces. There isn't anything other than surveillance that interests me at the moment. And I'm unlikely to go to that role as its not that family friendly.
It won't be on a whim though. I'm not a big risk taker! B
Doesn’t seem worth it for £140/day. You could probably make £100+ a day on Deliveroo and the other delivery apps in London / somewhere with reasonable demand, I’d have thought, and that’s just with the cost of a moped rather than getting a reasonable car to drive others around in…
E.g.
E.g.
DanL said:
Doesn’t seem worth it for £140/day. You could probably make £100+ a day on Deliveroo and the other delivery apps in London / somewhere with reasonable demand, I’d have thought, and that’s just with the cost of a moped rather than getting a reasonable car to drive others around in…
It's why I suggested car delivery, maybe at the higher end. Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff