Tim Gent started TG Transport in 2019 with one van and a clear goal: build a business that gave him flexibility, steady work and room to grow.

Six and a half years later, he still runs his Derby courier company with one van. No fleet of employed drivers. No depot. No extra vehicles sitting on the drive.

Instead, Tim uses Courier Exchange to scale through subcontracting.

That means he can cover work for his customers across different areas, without taking on the cost, risk and admin of building a traditional fleet.

I’ve never employed anybody or never got any other vans other than the one van that I use.

Tim Gent, Director, TG Transport

For owner-drivers looking to grow, TG Transport shows there is another way to build a bigger business.

You don’t always need more vans. You need the right network.

Starting out as an owner-driver

When Tim first joined Courier Exchange in October 2019, he was using the platform in the way many new members do: finding work for himself.

He had one van, a strong work ethic and the willingness to go where the work was.

When I very first started, obviously just started out as a courier looking for work on the CX.

Tim Gent, Director, TG Transport

At the time, Tim says the platform helped him keep moving. He would pick up one job, complete it, then look for the next.

You drive wherever, you know, doing your first job, and then you just seem to always be able to get another load.

Tim Gent, Director, TG Transport

But Tim never wanted to limit himself to being just one person in one van.

From the start, he looked at TG Transport as a business, not just a driving job.

Alongside courier work, he also built up experience in other areas, including removals and waste carrier work. That variety helped him stay flexible and gave him more ways to serve customers.

Building his own customer base

Over time, Tim began winning his own direct customers.

Some came through people he already knew. Others came from local relationships built naturally through doing good work.

One customer relationship even started when Tim bought a bathroom.

When he went to collect it, the company noticed his sign-written van. They asked what he did, gave him a trial, and the bathroom company eventually became a regular customer.

Today, that local customer base includes regular delivery work across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, helping businesses that need reliable same-day couriers in Derby and the surrounding areas.

That balance is what makes the model work.

He can stay local when he needs to. He can keep regular customers happy. And when extra work comes in, he has a way to cover it.

The challenge: one van can only cover so much

For any owner-driver, there is a ceiling.

One van can only be in one place at a time.

If a customer needs a collection in another part of the country, or Tim is already committed to local deliveries, he has a choice: turn the work away, or find a reliable way to cover it.

That’s where CX changed the shape of his business.

Instead of hiring drivers, buying extra vans or taking on more fixed costs, Tim uses Courier Exchange to access other transport businesses when he needs them.

I could, in theory, cope with any amount of work. Although there is only me.

Tim Gent, Director, TG Transport

Tim has not grown by becoming a traditional fleet operator. He has grown by building capacity through CX.

Scaling without the overheads

For many owner-drivers, growth can feel like it has to mean more vehicles, more drivers and more fixed costs.

Tim has taken a different route.

He still runs TG Transport with one van, but uses Courier Exchange to cover work through other members when a job is outside his area, outside his schedule or better suited to another vehicle.

That means he can support more customers without building a traditional fleet.

Maybe [couriers] think that they’ve got to get a lot of their own vans, which is automatically giving you overheads I think that you don’t need.

Tim Gent, Director, TG Transport

Tim has considered whether he should get premises, offer storage or expand in a more traditional way. But every step comes with extra cost and responsibility.

More vans mean more insurance, more maintenance, more breakdown cover, more admin and more pressure. Employing drivers adds another layer of commitment.

As soon as you start employing somebody, whether it’s even one person, you know, you’re looking at, well, it’s going to be a minimum 20 more if you’re giving them full time.

Tim Gent, Director, TG Transport

For Tim, the better option has been to keep the business lean.

He still does regular local work himself. But when his customers need something outside his own capacity, CX gives him access to a wider network.

That means he can grow his service without growing his overheads at the same pace.

It’s not growth through more vans. It’s growth through access.

Keeping customers happy

The biggest advantage for Tim is simple: he can say yes to more work.

If a customer needs something moved outside his local area, he can post the job on CX. If he is already committed to regular deliveries, he can still help. If the job needs a different vehicle or a different location, he can find someone through the platform.

For Tim, that capability matters before you start selling to customers.

His advice to other owner-drivers is clear: don’t go out promising customers you can cover everything unless you have a way to actually do it.

If you’re thinking that you’re going to try and get your own customers then you want to make sure that you can cover the jobs.

Tim Gent, Director, TG Transport

CX gives him that ability.

It means TG Transport can offer more than one van’s worth of capacity, without actually owning more than one van.

And for customers, that matters. They are not just buying a vehicle. They are buying confidence that the job will get done.

Managing work properly

Tim’s business has grown through trust.

He is honest with customers about what a job might cost. If a customer wants a future job priced, he often gives them a realistic window rather than pretending he can guarantee a fixed subcontractor rate before the job is live.

That experience comes from knowing how same-day transport works.

Prices can vary. Fuel costs change. Availability changes. The right subcontractor at the right time can make all the difference.

But because Tim understands the market, he can guide his customers properly.

He can explain what is realistic, post the work when needed, and use CX to find the right person for the job.

That helps him protect the relationships he has worked hard to build.

SmartPay makes subcontracting easier

When you start subcontracting, payments become a major part of the job.

You are no longer just getting paid for your own work. You are also paying other carriers.

For Tim, paying people properly has always mattered.

That approach has helped him build a good reputation with other members. If people know you pay quickly and treat them fairly, they are more likely to want to work with you again.

SmartPay has made that process easier.

Before SmartPay, paying subcontractors meant setting up different bank accounts, checking details, making individual payments and keeping track of what had been paid.

With SmartPay, Tim can manage payments in one place.

It does exactly what it says. And what you would hope it would do, which is cut out all that setting up lots of different accounts on your bank and paying them all individually.

Tim Gent, Director, TG Transport

For an owner-driver scaling through subcontractors, that is a big difference.

It reduces manual admin. It makes payments easier to manage. And it gives Tim clearer proof when a payment has been made.

That matters when you are managing multiple jobs and different subcontractors. It gives both sides more confidence.

Why SmartPay helps Tim choose who to work with

SmartPay is not just useful after a job has been completed. It can also influence who Tim chooses to work with.

If two or three members are bidding at the same price, SmartPay can be the deciding factor.

If there were two or three people bidding and they were at the same price, then I’d be looking at a SmartPay person.

Tim Gent, Director, TG Transport

For Tim, the reason is simple.

SmartPay makes the payment process easier for the person posting the job. That gives SmartPay-enabled members an advantage when they are bidding for work.

And when Tim pays early, those subcontractors are more likely to work for him again.

Trustd gives more confidence when subcontracting

When your business depends on subcontractors, trust is everything.

The person collecting the load is representing your business. If they are late, unreliable or not who they say they are, your customer relationship is on the line.

That is why Trustd is important to the CX model.

Trustd supports member verification across the Exchange, helping businesses work with more confidence when choosing who to trust with their jobs.

For owner-drivers like Tim, that confidence matters. Subcontracting only works if you can rely on the people you are working with.

CX is built around verified transport businesses, not open access for anyone who wants to post or take work. That helps protect the quality of the network and gives members a stronger foundation to build subcontractor relationships.

For someone scaling without hiring, that is essential.

You’re not just finding a spare van.

You’re choosing someone to represent your business.

Treating subcontractors properly

Tim’s approach to subcontracting is not just about finding the cheapest person.

It is about building a network of people who want to work with him again.

That means being fair. Being clear. Paying properly. And treating the person doing the job as part of the service you are giving to your customer.

That has helped him develop a reputation on the platform.

When members see his jobs, they know what to expect.

And when Tim is struggling to get a job covered at the right price, he knows that offering fast payment can help attract the right bids.

It is a practical example of how good relationships make the platform work better.

Tim’s advice to owner-drivers who want to grow

For Tim, the first step is not buying another van.

It is making sure you have the ability to cover work before you go looking for more customers, which he’s always got through Courier Exchange.

Once you have that, you can start having different conversations with customers.

You are no longer limited to what you can personally carry in your own van that day. You can offer more coverage, more flexibility and a wider service.

But Tim is also clear that growth has to be handled properly.

You need to be consistent. You need to do the job right. And you need to treat the people completing work for you properly.

If you do it right and you do it consistent and you treat the people that do the work for you right, then there’s no reason why it can’t work out for you.

Tim Gent, Director, TG Transport

That’s the lesson behind TG Transport’s growth.

Courier Exchange gives owner-drivers the tools and network to scale. But the business still depends on how you use it.

Growth doesn’t have to mean more overheads

TG Transport proves that scaling a courier business does not have to follow the traditional route.

Tim has not built a fleet of employed drivers.

He has not taken on extra vans just for the sake of looking bigger.

He has kept the business lean, flexible and manageable, while using CX to expand what he can offer customers.

That model gives owner-drivers a different way to think about growth.

You can build customer relationships directly.

You can use CX to cover work outside your own capacity.

You can use SmartPay to simplify subcontractor payments.

And you can use Trustd to work with more confidence across a verified network.

For Tim, that combination has helped TG Transport grow from one owner-driver looking for work into a business that can cover far more than one van alone.

For owner-drivers looking to take the next step, TG Transport is proof that there is another way.

You can grow without building a traditional fleet.

With the right network behind you, one van can go much further.

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