Start A Freight Forwarding Business - Business Ideas

Pat Walls

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Updated: September 15th, 2022

Start A Freight Forwarding Business

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

Businesses find it difficult to track their goods while in transit. This is because of the heavy documentation and tedious processes involved in freight forwarding. Thus, they rely on a freight forwarding company to ensure successful delivery. A freight forwarding business uses its network of trusted freight services to bridge the gap between businesses and shipping companies.

If you intend to start a freight forwarding business, study your competition and identify gaps. Estimate the cost of starting a freight forwarding business, and research what it takes to run a successful business.

Starting a freight forwarding business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell freight forwarding services, or selling freight forwarding services online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Key Stats

market size

$1T

starting costs

$11.7K

gross margin

90%

time to build

210 days

Startup Costs

	Min Startup Costs	Max Startup Costs
Office Space Expenses	$0	$7,000
Employee & Freelancer Expenses	$150	$250
Website Costs	$223	$7,015
Business Formation Fees	$600	$4,700
Software Expenses	$162	$2,894
Advertising & Marketing Costs	$0	$1,400
Total Startup Costs	$1,135	$23,259

See all startup costs ➜

Successful Businesses

Business	URL	Rank
Shipa Freight	shipafreight.com	93,220
JAS Worldwide	jas.com	130,421
Bansar China	bansarchina.com	151,120
Linbis Logistics Software	linbis.com	154,381
Logitude World	logitudeworld.com	422,425
CIFFA	ciffa.com	518,995
Latin American Cargo	latinamericancargo.com	529,939
BGI Worldwide Logistics	bgiworldwide.com	719,319
World Class Shipping-Global Logistics	wcscargo.com	723,910
FreightBro	freightbro.com	727,527
`NewAge`	efreightsuite.com	1,116,225

See all businesses ➜

Pros & Cons

Pros	Description
Flexibility	You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.
Ability to start your business from home	It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!
Little startup costs required	The cost to start a freight forwarding business costs significantly less money than most businesses, ranging anywhere from 62 to 23,259.
Rewarding work	Starting a freight forwarding business can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.
Scalable	With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.
No overhead costs	To get your freight forwarding business started, there are no costs associated with overhead, storage, packaging, etc. This will save you a lot of time and money!

See all pros ➜

Cons	Description
Crowded Space	Competition is high when it comes to your freight forwarding business, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.
Longer Sales Process	A freight forwarding business can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.
Work can be inconsistent	As a freight forwarding business, the amount of work assigned to you and schedule tends to be more inconsistent, which may make your income less stable. It's important to set boundaries and budget accordingly based on the amount of work you plan to have.
Lack of benefits	With a freight forwarding business, you are typically self-employed and responsible for finding your own insurance, which can be quite costly and time-consuming.
Isolation	Often times, as a freight forwarding business, you typically work alone and do not have much face-to-face interaction with other team members.
Taxes	As a freight forwarding business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.

See all cons ➜

Marketing Ideas

1

Affiliate Program

Affiliate marketing is a great way to bring in a new revenue stream, especially when you don't sell products or services.
Simply put, an affiliate program is an agreement where a business pays another business or influencer ("the affiliate") a commission for sending traffic and/or sales their way.
The affiliate typically gets a unique link where clicks and conversions can be tracked.

Learn more about affiliate program ➜
2

Direct Sales

Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.
For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.

Learn more about direct sales ➜
3

Word of mouth

Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.
Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.
According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.
Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.

Learn more about word of mouth ➜

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Key Stats

Startup Costs

Successful Businesses

93,220

130,421

151,120

154,381

422,425

518,995

529,939

719,319

723,910

727,527

1,116,225

Pros & Cons

Marketing Ideas

Affiliate Program

Direct Sales

Word of mouth