Jugpreet Kaur and her husband Gurjeevan Singh are successful business owners in their own right – and they just happen to share a passion for the same brand!

The couple each has a CouriersPlease (CP) franchise business.

The Melbourne-based pair were both working as hired couriers for the firm before snapping up the opportunity to get in to business ownership.

“Before CouriersPlease I worked at other courier companies, so I was an experienced courier,” explains Jugpreet.

She emigrated from India almost eight years ago, leaving her husband to follow on. But the plans for Gurjeevan to join her were stalled by Covid.

A franchise offers security

“We were separated all that time,” says Jugpreet. “It was very hard.”

When Gurjeevan finally arrived in Australia he followed his wife in to the courier industry.

Working for different companies gave them valuable experience, an appreciation for the opportunities at CP, and a taste for the potential of being their own bosses.

“Ever since Covid, you know you have to get a permanent job if you want security. With your own business, you can plan ahead. Working as a hired courier means driving a different route each day, you don’t have an area, you don’t know the streets.

“As a franchisee you are familiar with the routes and can manage and plan the day for optimal efficiency.

“Of course you have to be committed to the business, you have to take responsibility but it’s not hard. That’s our job.”

Choosing the right model, and territory

The couple are full of praise for the CP business model.

“CouriersPlease is a great system,” says Jugpreet. “I liked this company from the very beginning, and I told my husband to find a good run here.

“We each operate our own residential run, which has proved the best structure for us as business owners. So we don’t lift heavy parcels all the time; mostly we are moving satchels and small boxes.

“We chose our territories to be close to our home, and the depot where we pick up and drop off our parcels is just 15 minutes away!”

The couriers begin work at 6.30am but Jugpreet and Gurjeevan often arrive earlier to give themselves a head start planning their routes. By 4.30pm their work day is done.

There is no after-hours admin because couriers scan in the data as they progress through the day.

Jugpreet and Gurjeevan are making the most of their shared interest in CP.

Working together, but apart

“We talk all the time about how to improve our businesses, and we step in and help each other if necessary,” says Jugpreet.

“We can look after each other but we are not in front of each other all day; we are driving around but in the same company. It works well for our relationship. We see each other in the morning, and in the afternoon,” she says.

“We’ve been here two years and have grown a lot. When we started we needed to build up our incomes. Now we are earning well and there is a good plan for the future.”

Gurjeevan agrees. “CouriersPlease offers us a good growth opportunity and we are earning good money,” he says. “We are learning a lot, and everyone in the CP team is very helpful.

“The key to our success has been consistency. We have worked every weekday except public holidays since we started – including a hectic Christmas!”

Family businesses are flourishing at CouriersPlease

Jugpreet says the couple both have family members who have their own businesses.

“My brother has his own business, and that probably influenced me to buy my own business. Gurjeevan grew up on a family farm.”

When they bought the two franchises, it seemed an obvious step to take ownership of the jobs they were already doing.

Now the couple can see a vista of opportunities, from expanding the business with additional territories to maximising the flexibility of ownership so they can start a family.

“In two or three years, if we have a young family, I can step away from the day-to-day business and employ a driver,” says Jugpreet.

In time they can take on additional territories too.

“We would love to expand and add a neighbouring area,” she says.

“CouriersPlease is an affordable investment and it’s an ideal option for us and our family. We love working alongside each other, and for us, it was really good to shift into business ownership.”