Yep, it’s true. I had a slow few weeks with entrepreneur life. My worst fears all culminated to the moment of downloading the Uber app… so with the idea of Uber being my last option I very reluctantly cleaned out my car ready to chauffeur people around Hollywood.
Then, I noticed the option for deliveries to be turned on. Then, I noticed that delivering food was like the only option at first. So what the hell? Let’s do it.
I drive right towards a pizza place — a shining bright green button pops up that says +$12 and the miles I would have to drive. Out of excitement, I push the button. The algorithm has beautifully noticed I was heading towards the pizza place. I hop out of the car almost immediately and let them know I have a pick-up for Rob. They hand me the pizza.
I drive to Rob’s house like 5 minutes away.
It says “LEAVE AT DOOR”. I take a picture of it at the door and say DELIVERED.
I just made $12 bucks in less than 15 minutes. Wow. Without haven’t to say more than two words to anyone.
Fast forward 2 and a half months, and I’ve made over $5500 and learned A LOT.
At this point, I believe Uber Eats may be the most consistent, stable side hustle you can pick up any time for a minimum of $25/hr. I think because I am used to living in a smaller city, I never really understood its power. But now I do. It can save a struggling entrepreneur who’s having a bad few months.
So what is Uber Eats?
I’m sure you know what Uber Eats is, but if you don’t, it is a food delivering service that connects directly within the same Uber driver app. It allows you to deliver Postmates AND Uber Eats orders. This can include food, gas station trips, and even Apple Product pickups.
Though driving for Uber Eats was my “worst case” scenario, I found that it can be a great side hustle for creative entrepreneurs. Not only can it make decent money, but you also barely have any social interaction (which I like), it allows you time to think / brainstorm, and you can literally turn on almost any time.
So let’s crunch the numbers for the week I drove for 44 hours
I was online for 44 total hours. This doesn’t mean I was “delivering” the whole 44. This means I was either waiting on deliveries, delivering or driving around in circles until a delivery pops up. I was actually delivering for 32 hours. That’s $37/hr which is insane for something anyone with a car can do. It’s so freaking easy. I made $660 off of the fare. $24 off of promotions. And $505 from tips. As you can tell, tips are everything in this business..
Let’s talk productivity.
My strategy has changed now that I’m using UberEats as a supplement for income.
If you’re looking to make as much as possible, I recommend doing these things:
BE CHOOSY
Making the minimum is 20–30 dollars per hour is one thing, but trying to make more than that requires strategy.
Sometimes you will have to be choosy about which deliveries you accept and/or find the best restaurants to stay near who will give you the best bang for your buck. You want restaurants that are a little more expensive and popular!
I live next to a nice Vietnamese restaurant that can provide several deliveries every day for $10-$20 per delivery. So yes, I stick around there.
GO AT PEAK TIMES — BOTTOM LINE
To be the most productive and make the most bang for your buck, I highly recommend going twice per day at PEAK times. This will allow you to catch “surges” which can pay up to $3.50 more per delivery as well as you will just have less time waiting around.
The best times to go are between 10:30 — 1:30 and 5:00–9:00 on most days. Of course, some days like Fridays & Sundays can be busy ALL DAY. And rainy days are killer!
With an app-based business, you’d think there would be lots of issues, tech and otherwise. But honestly, I’ve had barely any issues.
I had one negative experience where someone said they ordered a coke, but they didn’t. So He was an asshole about it.
I had another issue where someone never showed up which may have been because the delivery took forever. I consider this an app issue because it told me to pick up two deliveries that were very far apart, I had to wait on the second delivery, and it asked me to drop off the second delivery first. So you can imagine the first delivery got delivered very late.
In Los Angeles, the worst part has honestly been parking. If it’s hard to park to pick up food or drop off, I avoid it for the most part. I’ve found it easier to treat your car like you would a UPS truck etc. If you cut your hazards on and park where they park, you rarely have issues.
The only time I had an issue was when I parked in a paid parking spot for a few minutes and didn’t pay. $60 parking ticket…
A COUPLE OF TIPS ON BEING A BETTER DELIVERY DRIVER
- Always Be Friendly
- Be Focused, Quick & Safe While On Delivery
- Follow Directions
- Check Your Orders (Especially your drinks)
- Leave a sweet/nice note in the notes section when you drop off food ( I say “Thank You So Much 🥳”)
- Keep in mind people are depending on you to get their food tonight. Think about how excited you are when you order food. So deliver for them!
CHANGING THE WORLD / PANDEMIC / PROPS 22
When I signed up for Uber, it made a big exciting deal out of this thing called Props 22 benefits. Initially, I thought it was amazing. Doing some research on Props 22, I found out there are some people who don’t agree with it and think it is just Uber spending a little money to save A LOT. Which is probably true. But for the time being, it’s still awesome!
The two main things that affected me were the earnings guarantee and healthcare stipend. The earnings guarantee is for the time and miles you are active, you’re guaranteed 20% more than the pickup city’s minimum wage plus .30 per mile for expenses. That’s without tips. So pretty much after driving for 2 weeks — you get a lump sum payment if you’re pay was less than the aforementioned. I’ve found I get additional money every time!
And as far as the stipend, if you are active for a certain amount of hours, you receive a lump-sum payment to supposedly help you pay health insurance.
I’m sure as Uber grows and the world goes more and more towards the gig-economy that this Props 22 will evolve and delivery drivers will be able to make even more.
I knew Uber and companies like it were changing the world, but being in it firsthand was eye-opening to the power of it all. The power of the tech and the ability to get anything NOW.
Some people even think in the future it will be used to deliver ANYTHING. Jeremy from Financial Education on YouTube had a video where he talked about it pretty in-depth. Very interesting to think on.
The reality of doing Uber Eats day in and day out all day especially in a big city where driving can be stressful is unrealistic if you’re hoping to stay creatively productive and happy. But after completing over 500 deliveries myself, I can confidently say that it is one of the best consistent side hustles you can start making money today with. You won’t make the most money ever, but if consistency and stability are what you need, Uber can provide that in most big cities.http://coleconnor.com/media/1c1bb01f063e9beaa178833301169a6cFor My Visual People, Watch Here
If you’re looking to drive in Los Angeles, you can use my referral link below for some extra cash. Hope this helps!
Sign Up to Drive | Uber
Make money on your schedule driving with Uber. Learn more about the opportunity. Sign up to drive.www.uber.com
- Make Better Real Estate Videos w/ THESE Unique Shots - November 30, 2023
- Nate Ruben | No Niche Podcast w/ Cole Connor | #21 (N8 Ventures) - November 21, 2023
- i’m an uncle 😭 - November 6, 2023