How to Start a Home Grocery Delivery Business

Providing a home grocery delivery business is a great after-school job for kids or for a family to do together. Many elderly and disabled people find it inconvenient or even painful to walk through the store pushing a cart full of groceries. Providing the service and charging a fee to cover the cost of your time and fuel driving to the store can be a great way to earn extra money.

Instructions

1. Create a departmentalized list and give it to your clients to fill out before the shopping trip. Create sections for "Dairy," "Meat," "Canned Goods" and so forth. Along with the departments, create a space for the brand name and size or weight of item. Print enough copies for each client to have several on hand.

2. Advertise. Due to privacy acts, it is not legal for doctors, senior groups or agencies representing the disabled and handicapped to provide you with their contact information. However, if you advertise your service at these locations, they will tell their clients and patients about you. Some offices may even set up shopping trips for their clients.

3. Know prices. When shopping with other people's money, you must be very careful not to overspend. Take advantage of sales, coupons and discount cards to save your clients money. Study and get to know the prices at your local grocery stores. If a client wants you to buy an item from a particular store, but you are aware of another store selling it cheaper, let the client know. The client might appreciate the savings.

4. Set rates. Take into consideration the price of gas as well as the time you think it will take for the amount of groceries needed. Keep in mind that the people who will need your service are on limited incomes and have to live according to strict budgets. If you are organized well, it is possible for you to shop for more than one client at a time.

5. Be courteous. Offer to put groceries away for your clients. Do not just take their money and leave them the task of putting the groceries away. You may want to consider adding in a fee for unloading the groceries, but if a client is able to put them away herself, subtract that amount from the bill. By doing that, your client will think that you have just given her a really good bargain.

Tips & Warnings

• Depending on the length of the list, some shopping jobs may require you to charge by the hour, but others may require you to charge a flat fee for the service itself.

• Do not overcharge your clients. If you need money fast, schedule more than one shopping trip in a day.