Pick your lane
A delivery business is like being the friend who carries things from one house to another. You can carry small things on a bike, bigger things in a car, or very big things in a truck. Bigger things need a bigger vehicle, more money and more rules.
| Model | Typical vehicle | What you need most | Rules to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local courier (documents, small parcels, food) | Bicycle, e-bike, motorcycle, car | Speed, phone, good routes | Business registration; insurance that covers paid delivery |
| Gig delivery through an app | Your own bike, motorcycle or car | App approval, your own costs covered | The app's terms plus local labour and tax rules |
| Own clients (shops, pharmacies, online sellers) | Car or small van | Reliability, proof of delivery | Registration, tax, commercial insurance |
| Moving and hauling (furniture, junk removal) | Van, pickup, box truck | Strength, helpers, straps, blankets | Vehicle weight rules can start to apply |
| Freight / trucking | Medium or heavy truck | Licences, safety system, cash for fuel | Operator registration, hours-of-service, inspections |
- App work vs your own business. On an app, the platform finds the customer and sets most of the price. With your own clients, you set the price but must find and keep the customers. Many people start on an app to learn the streets, then add their own clients.
- Gig workers have rights in some places. Example, Canada (Ontario): the Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act, 2022 requires platform operators to pay covered workers at least the general minimum wage for their work assignments, not counting tips. Other countries and provinces have different rules or none (see In your country below).
- Start small. Use the vehicle you already have, test for a few weeks, and only buy a bigger vehicle when steady customers are already asking for more.
- Ontario example: the Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act, 2022 requires platform operators to pay covered workers at least the general minimum wage for their work assignments, not counting tips.
- For tax, the CRA decides whether a worker is an employee or self-employed from the facts, not the label: what both sides intended, and whether the real relationship matches (control, tools, helpers, financial risk, chance of profit or loss).
- Sources: Ontario, Rights and protections for digital platform workers: www.ontario.ca/page/rights-and-protections-digital-platform-workers ; CRA, Employee or self-employed? (RC4110): www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publicatio
- For federal tax, the IRS looks at behavioral control, financial control and the type of relationship. Either side can ask the IRS for an official ruling on Form SS-8.
- For wage law (FLSA), the Department of Labor uses an "economic reality" test. A contract label or a 1099 does not decide it. States have their own tests, and some are stricter.
- Sources: IRS, Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee: www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/independent-cont ; DOL, Fact Sheet 13: www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/13-flsa-employment-relationship
- Courts use the "four-fold test": selection and engagement of the worker, payment of wages, power of dismissal, and power to control the worker's conduct. The Supreme Court calls the control test the most significant.
- Source: Supreme Court decision G.R. No. 239349 (June 2021): lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2021/jun2021/gr_239349_2021.html
- Under a 2005 national notice, if there is no written contract, a labour relationship exists when all three hold: both sides meet the legal qualifications; the worker is managed under the employer's work rules and does paid work assigned by it; and the work is part of the employer's business.
- Source: Yueyang government (municipal copy of the national notice): yueyang.gov.cn/web/2570/2584/2860/content_472959.html
- Whether someone is a "worker" under the Labor Standards Act (Article 9) depends on the real situation, not the contract label. The main points are working under direction and supervision, and pay that is a return for the labour.
- Source: MHLW, Labor Standards Study Group report, 1985 (Japanese): www.mhlw.go.jp/content/11201250/001483481.pdf
- The Labor Standards Act defines an employee as a person who offers labor to a business or workplace to earn wages (Article 2).
- A freelancer (independent contractor) is paid with 3.3% withheld and files a return in May. An employer of an employee must join the four social insurances.
- Sources: Labor Standards Act, English text (KLRI): elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_service/lawViewContent.do?hseq=68845 ; NTS Individual Income Tax and Benefit Guide for Foreigners 2026: www.nts.go.kr/english/na/ntt/selectNttInfo.do?mi=10788&bbsId=30698
- Write the vehicle you have now and the hours you can work each week.
- Look at the table of models and cross out any that need a vehicle bigger than yours.
- Pick two models you could start with this month, for example app delivery and local courier for shops.
- For each, write the rules to expect from the table: registration, insurance, app terms.
- Choose to start small with the vehicle you already have and test for a few weeks.
- Check: you have two models written down and one you will try first.
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
Read the video script
[Host] "Delivery is one of the simplest businesses to start. But not all delivery is the same."
[Text on screen: Bike, Car, Van, Truck] "Small parcels on a bike. Groceries in a car. Furniture in a van. Freight in a truck."
[Host] "The bigger the vehicle, the bigger the cost and the more rules you follow."
[Screen: phone with a delivery app] "Apps find customers for you, but they set the price."
[Host] "Your own clients take more work to find, but you set the price. Many people do both."
Write down: the vehicle you have now, the hours you can work each week, and two delivery models from the table you could start with this month.
ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude
Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.
For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.
I'm learning "Delivery & Transport Business" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Pick your lane". What the lesson teaches: - Model - Typical vehicle - What you need most - Rules to expect - Local courier (documents, small parcels, food) - Bicycle, e-bike, motorcycle, car - Speed, phone, good routes - Business registration; insurance that covers paid delivery - Gig delivery through an app - Your own bike, motorcycle or car - App approval, your own costs covered - The app's terms plus local labour and tax rules - Own clients (shops, pharmacies, online sellers) - Car or small van - Reliability, proof of delivery - Registration, tax, commercial insurance - Moving and hauling (furniture, junk removal) - Van, pickup, box truck - Strength, helpers, straps, blankets - Vehicle weight rules can start to apply - Freight / trucking - Medium or heavy truck - Licences, safety system, cash for fuel - Operator registration, hours-of-service, inspections - App work vs your own business. On an app, the platform finds the customer and sets most of the price. With your own clients, you set the price but must find and keep the customers. Many people start on an app to learn the streets, then add their own clients. The exercise I'm working on: Write down: the vehicle you have now, the hours you can work each week, and two delivery models from the table you could start with this month. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Pick your lane" from the course "Delivery & Transport Business". Here's what the lesson says: A delivery business is like being the friend who carries things from one house to another. You can carry small things on a bike, bigger things in a car, or very big things in a truck. Bigger things need a bigger vehicle, more money and more rules. The activity: Write down: the vehicle you have now, the hours you can work each week, and two delivery models from the table you could start with this month. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- Government of Ontario, Rights and protections for digital platform workers: www.ontario.ca/page/rights-and-protections-digital-platform-workers
- Ontario e-Laws, Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act, 2022: www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/22d07
Know your real cost per kilometre
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Pricing and quoting a job
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Finding customers and keeping them
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Safety, insurance and records
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Rules where you live
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Final project
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Quiz
What is the difference between fixed and variable costs?
Fixed costs stay the same each month (insurance, phone); variable costs grow with every km (fuel, tyres, repairs).
Why must you count the empty drive back?
It still burns fuel and time, so it is part of the job's real cost.
What three parts make up a delivery price?
Cost of the job, pay for your time, and a profit margin.
Name two extras you should list in a quote.
Any two of: waiting time, stairs, heavy items, rush jobs, extra stops, after-hours.
What is proof of delivery?
A record such as a photo, signature or recipient name with the time, showing the item arrived.
What should you ask your insurer before your first paid trip?
Whether your policy covers delivering goods for pay, and what cover you need if it does not.
Why do many countries limit driving hours for commercial drivers?
To prevent tired driving; check your country's hours-of-service rules.
Before driving a heavy commercial vehicle, what should you check?
Whether your country needs a commercial licence or registration above a certain weight.
Where do you check whether you need an operator licence for larger vehicles?
On your country's official transport agency site.
Which kind of agency usually handles permits for vehicles operating for hire?
Your country's land transport or vehicle-for-hire authority.
Final exam
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Certificate
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