A “Driver” Toward Small Business Ownership

I don’t think a week goes by when I don’t receive a text from ridesharing concerns Uber or Lyft offering me up to a $500 bonus if I decide to begin driving for them.

Since driving is not one of my decided passions, visions of a late Friday afternoon pickup at Newark or JFK airports or attempting to get cross-town in Manhattan quickly eradicates any notion of me signing aboard.

Although in full disclosure I do kind of like the “be your own boss and make your own hours” mantra of each.

Late last week Amazon jumped into the fray – sort of – recruiting folks to begin delivering their Prime packages from its local sorting centers to the customers who ordered them - in company branded vans and uniforms as what they call “local delivery service partners.”

All you need is $10,000 and, if you’ll pardon the bad pun, and a drive to succeed. According to an announcement from the company, its Amazon Prime unit ships 5 billion (yes, that’s with a B) packages a year on a global basis. The $10,000 initial outlay will go to helping them start an independent business that has to begin with at least five delivery vans and ramp up to 20 vans over an undisclosed period.

That’s a subdued amount to begin, say compared to the $1.5 million of net worth and 1,000 hours of work experience required to become a McDonald’s franchisee.

Currently the Prime delivery is contracted out to a number of third parties including FedEx, UPS and the Post Office or what they termed as “on-demand” workers who use their personal cars as part of the company’s flex program.

Those who opt in will be able to earn as much as $300K a year, eventually managing a fleet of some 40 vans and overseeing roughly 100 employees.

The drivers would be full-time workers, not freelance contractors and Amazon requires the owners to give them perks and benefits such as paid time off.

Like Uber and Lyft, you can choose the pace at which you want to grow.

After careful thought, I think I’ll pass again. For one, I’ll never be at home on the road and in full disclosure, I really don’t cut a dashing figure in uniforms.

Now if they begin recruiting home-based drone delivery folks I just may give it some thought.