My vehicle looks a bit like this. 'Ford Courier 1996' (http://goo.gl/UroYP7) by order_242 (http://goo.gl/vHgHCf) is licensed under CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Hi everyone!

Right, let me start by saying I'm not much of a blogger. That's more my aunt Gertie's cuppa tea! I do help her out sometimes though, and when she told me she wanted to talk about what it was like to be an independent courier, I just had to take her up on her offer!

For those who don't know who on Earth I am and why I'm here instead of Auntie Gertie, my name is Steven T., and I'm the nephew of the lady who runs this blog. I guess she talks about me all the time? At least she says she does. So if you're already sick of hearing about me, I apologise – again. I've certainly heard quite a bit about you lot, so please be nice and treat me as well as you treat Auntie Gertie, won't you?

As for the reason I'm here, I suppose you also know by now that I'm an independent courier. I certainly do not run a large-scale operation, but I do enjoy my job and get huge satisfaction from doing it well.

Now, auntie Gertie suggested that, as a way to start off this blog, I should take you through a typical day in the life of an independent courier. I'm not sure why you would want to hear about that – especially being couriers yourselves - but there you go. Jokes aside, apparently there are quite a few non-courier followers of the blog as well.

Now, just because I'm a superstar blogger or whatever, it doesn't mean my life is any more exciting than yours; as an independent courier, I do get into my fair share of adventures, but it's not a thrill-a-minute lifestyle like Gertie may have told you it was! It’s definitely not a 9-to-5 job (more like 6-6 and sometimes more!), and instead of sitting in an office, you're driving around facing traffic and meeting people – which can be either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it.

In my case, before I do anything else I will do all my safety and maintenance checks on my van, then get started on the first job booked from my main customer from the day before. One of the most important things to do before setting out, though, is to try to secure a job for the way back – a return load. This is easier for me because I’m a member of the Courier Exchange website – this is definitely the best way (in my humble opinion!) to make sure you are making money on your way back from a job and not just wasting fuel and time! I also call or visit local firms / trading estates looking for business for the day.

The rest of the day is basically spent doing what any other courier, independent or not, does – delivering stuff. When I’m done, I return to base, and by about half-seven I'm home to help my wife finish up dinner. As I said – if you were expecting something exciting, unlucky!

Now it's your turn...

See you then!

Steve