Booking apps feel like a lifeline when you're starting out. Work lands on your phone, you don't have to sell yourself, and the money turns up. The catch shows up later: every job you win through them costs you a cut, forever, and the customer belongs to the app — not to you.

If you want to earn more without working more hours, the answer is your own customers. Here's how drivers do it.

Get reviews, and put them where people look

A handful of genuine five-star reviews will win you more work than any advert. After every job, ask the customer to leave one — most are happy to if you just ask. Screenshot them, and keep them somewhere a new customer can see before they book.

Have one link you can send anyone

When someone asks "how much to shift a sofa across town?", you want to send them a proper page — your name, your prices, your reviews, a way to book — not a wall of texts. A single link does more selling than you will, because it looks like a real business. This is exactly what a free Vanzy page gives you.

Be the one who answers first

Most jobs go to whoever replies with a price first. Not the cheapest — the fastest. If you can send a firm number in a couple of minutes while the other driver is still "working it out", the job is usually yours.

Ask for the repeat and the referral

House moves are one-offs, but couriers, shops, eBay sellers and letting agents move stuff constantly. Do one good job for them and ask, plainly, "happy to be your go-to for this?" One regular customer is worth fifty cold enquiries.

Use the apps, don't depend on them

There's nothing wrong with taking app work to fill a quiet Tuesday. The mistake is letting it be your whole business, because then you're renting your income from someone else. Take the jobs, do them well — but point every customer you can toward booking you directly next time.

Where to actually find your own customers

Beyond the apps, the work is hiding in plain sight:

• Local Facebook groups — most towns have "selling" and community groups where people constantly ask "anyone with a van?". Answer fast, be polite, don't spam.
• Facebook Marketplace — people selling big items often need them delivered. Message sellers of wardrobes, sofas and appliances offering delivery.
• Your van itself — a clean sign with your number and "man & van" is a billboard that works every time you park.
• Trade accounts — small shops, eBay/Vinted sellers, charity shops, letting agents and student landlords move things weekly. One of them can be worth more than fifty one-off enquiries.
• A Google presence — a free business listing means people searching "man and van near me" can actually find you.

Turn one job into three

Every completed job is a chance at two more. Before you drive off, do three things: ask for a review, hand over a card or a link, and ask "happy for me to be your go-to if you need anything else moved?" Most people say yes — they just needed asking. Repeat and referred work costs you nothing to win and is the backbone of a steady week.

Look like a business, not a bloke with a van

The drivers who get chosen aren't always cheaper — they look more trustworthy. That means a few visible reviews, a clean way to book (a proper page beats a wall of texts), a firm price sent fast, and being able to say "yes, fully insured" when asked. None of it is expensive; it's just the difference between looking like a real service and looking like a gamble.

The drivers who make real money aren't working harder than you. They've just stopped handing their best customers to a middleman.