Hello my dears!
Today we have another 'guest post', by someone most of you will know – my nephew Stevie, the courier. As you know, he used to work a self-employed courier job, using his father's bike, before he got hired to the company he is currently in. And after reading my latest post, about what doing that type of job could teach young people, he called me and asked if he could write a piece about it for my blog. I said of course – saves me having to write one! Yesterday he sent me his post, which he titled 'Surviving A Self-Employed Courier Job'. The text is below.
'A self-employed courier job may seem all fun and games, but trust me, it isn't. Forget the stories about foxy ladies inviting you in to smoke illegal substances – it's never happened to me or anyone I know. What did happen was us working our butts off, and ending up with a little bit of cash to call our own – which, believe me, can be almost more rewarding than all those wacky adventures.
To perform this kind of job correctly, though, you need to have the right attitude. So if you haven't read my aunt's previous blog post, here are some tips on how not to let your new self-employed courier job get the best of you, from someone who's been there before.
The first thing you have to know is this: if you don't work, you don't make money. This is not a desk job. Heck, you don't even have a boss. You need to go out and make your OWN money – and that, as my aunt said in her own post, means no sitting around eating crisps and playing Mass Effect. Make a schedule, stick with it, and work as many hours as you can. A couple of weeks of this, and who knows, you may be able to upgrade to Mass Effect 3.
Another important aspect to bear in mind is this: keep yourself in a nice mental place. My aunt kind of addressed this when she talked about motivation, but she hasn't been there. I have. When you work a self-employed courier job, some days are a bit...let's say difficult. And when one of those comes along, you can't – repeat, CAN'T – let it get to you. People who work in customer service know this. Get yourself to a happy place, and when things go wrong, retreat back to it. This is one of the most important tips to follow if you want to survive a self-employed courier job for more than a week. You don't need to smile all the time, but be in a good place inside. You'll need it.
Next tip: don't overwork yourself. Ease into it. I know I just talked about how important it was to work as much as you can, but don't try to cram a month's worth of hours into a week – especially not straight away. It will pay a bit more, true, but it will also get you more tired, much more prone to mistakes and, eventually, ill. And guess what? When you're ill, you don't work at all, which means no money for a while. So keep your priorities straight, balance out your hours and stay healthy!
My final tip goes out not so much to the younger lot, but to those around my age, who may have a self-employed courier job because they have a family and kids and need to attend to their needs. To those, I say only: they come first. It's not use having lots of money if your kids are neglected or never see their mummy or daddy. So remember – yourself first, family second, and work third, no matter how much you may need the money.
That's it from me for now. Thank you, aunt Gertie, and see you later, everyone!”
Perfect, Stevie – nothing more to add! See you, dears!
Gertie
x
Oh, and don't forget your helmet.
"Cyclelicious" © 2011 Richard Masoner, used under a Creative Commons Attribution license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
