The hidden life of a courier: 13-hour days, rude customers – and big dreams

theguardian.com:

Abdul Khan has a dream. He wants to own a farm, or maybe a zoo. He will keep rabbits, sheep, cows, dogs, cats, horses and pigeons. There will be a guesthouse that he can rent out to tourists. He doesn’t mind where the farm is – in the UK or back home in Pakistan – as long as there is room for his animals. “I love all the animals,” he says. “Farming is a dream life. I would love it.”

For now, Khan (not his real name) works in London as a courier for a delivery app. Khan, who is in his early 30s, didn’t expect to end up couriering. His plan was always to set up a business. He is a natural entrepreneur. When he was at school in Pakistan, he bought sandwiches and sold them for profit at a market. When he was studying business management, he sold sim cards at a train station. He was good at it – and it is not hard to see why. Khan is charming and charismatic, the sort of person who – as his mother-in-law always tells him – could sell sand to Arabs and ice to Inuit.

By 2019, after working in retail for nearly a decade, Khan had saved enough money to buy a hot food van. He planned to sell Pakistani street food at markets in London and burgers and chips on sunny days at beaches on the south coast. He bought all the equipment and did work experience with friends who owned street food vans. He did test runs. A south coast resort on a rainy day was a bust – he made only £20 – but when it was sunny he made £2,000 in four hours. He would have made even more money, but he ran out of food.

By the end of the year, the business seemed viable. Khan had applied for all the permits and identified where he wanted to trade. He had saved enough money to live on until it was profitable. He went on holiday, to visit family, and returned in February