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s tribune march 2 198 c3 dougs life in the fast lane by bruce stapley for stouffvilles doug marsh- man the entrepreneurs first commandment find a need and fill it has been fulfilled the 29yearold linden lane re sident spent five years as store manager at the stouffville cana dian tire outlet it was a job re quiring both long hours and good customer relations skills so when he decided he had gone as far as he could there he made the decision to capitalize on a per ceived need in town id been delivering packages for local businesses in my spare time and running people to and from the airport for two years he says i realized there was no one in stouffville offering a same- day courier service so i decided to set one up since that first day last septem ber dougs soaring eagle courier service has taken flight with the speed of the bird after which it was named he now has two cars on the road on a fulltime basis with another man working part time his main customer base is comprised of stouffville area businesses although he has cracked the markham market he insists the business has grown on its own using the word of mouth approach that does so much to keep overhead down theres been no economical way for businesses in stouffville to get packages to and from toronto he claims before i came along they were forced to use a taxi for same day service and that can get expensive for 9 we can do the same job doug prides himself on being dependable he realizes his cus tomers rely on him to get them out of time jams again and again my service gives them one more tool to use to keep them on top of things for instance a travel agency can be sure that their customers will have their airline tickets when they have to get away at the last minute when there is just not time for them to drive to stouffville to pick them up themselves doug runs his business from his 1986 cutlass cierra where he spends his day fielding calls on his cellular phone and doing his pick ups and deliveries in an area stretching from stouffville to mis- sissauga he also covers areas east of town including uxbridge and surroundings hell usually make about 30 calls a day in his own car in addi tion to those made by his full time employee hes at it six days a week but claims hes able to res trict his driving hours to a fairly reasonable 9 am to 6 pm routine but the phone is always ring ing at home he claims were picking up new customers every week as people find out about us doug sees the market as being inexhaustible and can realisti cally see the day coming when he will have five cars on the road the markham area is filled with businesses he says and so many of them need a sameday courier service while most of his cargo is in the form of envelopes and small packages dougs had some note worthy exceptions ive been sent to pick up hock ey and concert tickets i picked up live lobsters one day and was sent to nhl headquarters once but none can compare with the time he went hustling into the un ited states embassy for a pick up only to be thrown up against the wall and frisked they are a little jumpy i guess he offers a stop at the australian consu late resulted in his meeting david suzuki doug feels good about the fact he is offering a much needed ser vice that the 500 kilometres hes on call courier service operator doug marshman is at the ready with his trusty car phone the stouffville resi dent began his courier business last year serving the arc around metro toronto jim thomas driving a day are resulting in his customers businesses running smoother you feel good about yourself he says its very satisfying helping people and theyre very thankful and he maintains hes learned all there is to learn about beating traffic jams theres ways around rush hour he insists i get around amazingly fast knowing the city is the key i wont even try to head into toronto in the morning until 10 or 1030 he admits hes totally depen dent on his car and if it breaks down on him hes in trouble but he has established a working rela tionship with a local mechanic who gives him priority in the event of trouble my brake pad disintegrated one day he recalls but we got it repaired on the spot and i was back on the road by noon i didnt end up missing any calls although i only made one run to the city instead of my usual two doug claims his wife ber- nadette is an essential part of the business as well as working full time at a local travel agency and tending to their threeyearold daughter ashley she acts as secretary accountant banker and allround handy person for doug marshman happi ness is soaring like an eagle in the fastmoving world of courier ser vices in stouffville and markham yes i am looking forward fcit like the fitness program therewsihebestm the area i also like sbmolweieaerbi yes because i talked with my brother r gotolsdj5sha says ill have a lo0f fun there and the sports program sounds goodt v mnwtcbstead c suhttmewps i am looking forward to itbebapshrilgeta good educatidnm j0dyb6mnm grade 8 t summitview ps yes because it has lots of school spirit good looking girls 1 reputation