DOLLAR CAR RENTAL: NO MAJOR CREDIT CARD NO PROBLEM

If you’ve ever had to rent a vehicle without a major credit card it can be a complete headache! I’ve niched down my life in such a way while repairing and rebuilding my credit that I felt handcuffed in my ability to obtain some of the simple things in life, renting a vehicle happened to be one of them.

Every place wants either a major credit card which I found out is due to insurance purposes making it easier for them to extract various fees if needed without your consent. An alternate requirement was having to present 2 forms of utility bills in your name at the address on your driver’s license and last two pay stubs. Now as a digital nomad that lives moreseo as a minimalist I had none of these things, but have plenty of money, plenty of cash on hand, and valid drivers license. This put in such a bind, but I was determined to find a resolution!

As a developing financial planner / financial advisor I have been using myself as a test study to find ways around this systematic construct that leads us deeper and deeper into debts and financial frustrations. I must admit I was not as prepared as I’d like to have had been, though I have money saved up, my vehicle has set me back some. I refuse to finance a vehicle, and was saving up to purchase a valuable cash car. In the meantime I am considering renting a vehicle for a couple of months. I’d rather spend the money in the short-term than spend a lot a money over the course of time financing, lowering my debt to income ratio and having a liability that just isn’t worth it!

So I began researching and the despair grew deeper and deeper. The ones that did accept debit cadrs for car rentals were shady, over priced, and seemingly not dependable vehicles. It wasn’t until I went on YouTube and type in “rental cars without major credit card”. Immediately popped up a trusted source, Dave Ramsey! I clicked on the video and and watched with excitement. Once done I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, could this be true? I took notes and his suggestions, one of which was to immediately sign-up for the Express Rewards program.

I was still a bit skeptical looking for the hidden lies, but Dave Ramsey is a highly credible source in the financial community, in a addition Dollar Car Rental is one of his SPONSORS! There’s no way he’d align himself with some tricksters. I made the online reservations for pickup. The following is what is required to rent:

  1. Valid Driver’s License
  2. A Visa Check/Debit Card from a legit Banking Institution, NO PREPAID CARDS!
  3. Set RESERVATION 24 hours prior to pickup.
  4. Pick-up vehicle within the assigned time, these things go quick!
  5. DO PLAN to wait a little while if no reservation was set.
  6. PAY THE RENTAL UP FRONT!
  7. May have to pay a $200.00 (I didn’t have too, but some do, don’t know why).
  8. OPTIONAL – Sign-up to become a EXPRESS REWARDS MEMBER.

The only thing I did not like about the service was speaking with customer service via phone. They were not the most professional, but they managed to rectify some matters, and the pick-up location at the airport does need better quality of service. My agent was a sweetheart, but there was a lot of unorganization going on there. I’d rate my overall experience a B+ but again in all fairness I was picking up at the airport. Also don’t EVER pickup at the airport if you’re trying to save money, the concession fees and airport fees are rerouted to you. I know I would’ve saved about $100 dollars if rented off this lot.

I will be doing a follow-up vlog and blog on the cost, how they varied, the benefits of temporarily renting as opposed to leasing and/or financing, and lastly how it may pay to rent a vehicle if you use a vehicle for your gig economy jobs!

SPRING FESTIVALS, FARMER’S MARKETS, FOOD TRUCKS, & FUN = UBER FUNDS!

The springtime is the perfect mix of family, food, and fun. The weather is pretty nice, people are generally in high spirit, and after winter cabin fever people are venturing out. Organizers know this is prime time for cashing in on more of the community events using local vendors and merchants. Consumers are using rideshare more and more, ditching their vehicles for convenience and reassurance especially when it comes to these community events which tend to have limited parking and if their is parking the cost isn’t worth it. Here I am going to list some events and places you may not want to look over. Sometimes staying in the surrounding cities of the metropolitan area can cause you to cash in big! Now, I am speaking as a resident of Atlanta, but you can use these tips in any metro area because it is focusing on medium size counties and cities. Use Google, the work is already done for you. Simply search by city or town, festival (name not needed all festivals locally will populated), Eventbrite (do the same in Eventbrite), farmers markets, family activities, and watch what all comes up in the search engine.

HERE ARE MY SUGGESTIONS & WHY THEY CAN POTENTIALLY BE PROFITABLE:

  1. COMMUNITY OUTDOOR FARMERS MARKETS – These begin early Saturday mornings and bring in a nice crowd that are hopping from market to market. Now I know you think surely they’d want to drive there, but most of these urbanite markets are located in areas with limited parking. Take for instance the East Atlanta community, they are more of the minimalist crowd and prefer efficiency so rideshare is ideal. I personally frequent these types of markets and they draw in massive crowd every Saturday 8am till about 1pm. Don’t sleep on these markets, plus a lot of them have incorporated Mimosa drinks and other alcoholic beverages.
  2. FUN & FOOD TRUCK FESTIVALS – I know you think this is a given, but many people tend to focus on the more larger scale festivals forgetting the surrounding communities put on high end festivals that draw in crowds by the thousands. These festivals are geared more towards small families and community oriented folk. Here in the south folk love their cities and take full advantage of the cities events. In addition these festivals are getting fancier on a large production scale year by year because they (well here in Atlanta) want to draw more people to their community while showing why it benefits to remain in their city. It is a genius idea because it forces their residents to spend money in the city they reside in instead of venturing outside to other neighboring cities!
  3. MUSIC FESTIVALS – In my opinion the money to be made at small town / local bands performing is better than working large concerts that is maddening to work. These local music festivals are last much longer, have people constantly leaving and coming, and the attendees tend to venture about locally making the trips short and very possibly with a slight surge. Promoters usually have a great line-up and array of performers. The mix is great, plus vendors come out.

All of these are great boost for the local economy and bring in such a great crowd of people. You will get quick, short, frequent trips because again the people reside close to these events. The hours of these events are great! You can clear a lot of moooollla without having to work late. If you begin early saying around 8-9am you can wrap up your driving early and probably catch some of the festies yourself.

YOU MUST BE YOUR OWN PRIORITY: PROTECT YOURSELF WOMEN DRIVERS OF UBER & LYFT

I am not going to hold back on this, I don’t care about your views on guns and non-violence, I don’t care that you think it is the job of the employer to protect you against predators; what I care about is you always being prepared for the worse case scenario in any event whether at work or not. Understand that bad things happen, there are evil doers in this world, and these evil beings are opportunists. What you are to do is minimize the opportunities for these bastards to victimize you. You want to make them think twice about trying you!

At the end of the day ladies you want to be the one going home. The rideshare gig in my opinion is not for fair hearted weaklings, you gotta have some balls to be willing to use your personal vehicle (POV), pick-up strangers in sometimes the most conspicuous places, drive them to an unknown location however far away at all times of the day. If you are reading/watching this to consider doing rideshare and you’re easily fearful this may not be the gig for you and that is alright, but for those of us that are using these various gig type jobs as leverage to building our brands and companies to fund our dreams I encourage you to watch my vlog. My YouTube channel is CEO DRIVEHER, and continue reading this blog.

Now, here is my disclaimer please read all rideshare and gig job rules and requirements and abide by them on all platforms you use, but also learn and know your city and state’s laws that justify actions taken by you if ever in a position you must protect yourself. I am not suggesting violating any of these platforms rules but there are some gray areas you can use to your advantage. I have a law enforcement background of almost 15 years, I am certified through the state of Georgia in a number of areas and having hundreds of hours of training in self-defense, criminal studies, firearms, etc. I started out driving primarily working late nights sometimes till 4am which are seemingly high risk hours picking up and dropping off in some “risky / questionable” areas. My fear factor is not high and I believe I’ve minimized the chances of me being victimized is due to my background and being able to do some of the things I am about to share. But let us first discuss what you are not to do under any circumstance:

  1. Don’t go Rogue: never do cash rides never never never do it, at least the app serves as some form of accountability. If a rider suggest you taking cash instead of using the app be prepared to deal with the consequences.
  2. Don’t give Personal data: unless you are certain that the connect is legit and you can vet the person, just don’t do it. I’ve had many men call me through the app after a trip or try to contact me for dates which is just creepy.
  3. Don’t be a Sucker: some folks are just gullible and naive, don’t believe them no matter what they offer you, I’ve had men offer hundreds of dollars to hang out or come up to their place for drinks and small talk (again creepy). The attention and flattery can be alluring, but don’t give in to it, always remain professional and professionally declining their offers.

So I am going to litely to go over what I outlined in my YouTube vlog as some things I strongly suggest you do to ensure you are protected and confident enough whether in rideshare or any other place of work to take control of a matter that may be a threat to you. As a jailer for many years serving in various positions and ranks as an officer I studied “criminals” from afar. I watched how they preyed on others, I listened to their phone calls, I’ve read and studied police reports of how some of these criminals viciously carried out their crimes, particularly crimes against women. My father who is currently a high ranking officer serving as a Captain over criminal investigations always insisted since as a little girl that I protect myself and always be aware of my surroundings (known as situational awareness). As times get worse in the world I become more and more cognizant of always being on guard. Listed below are some of my suggestions to minimize being a victim.

  1. Set the tone and be able to vocalize your contention in a matter you’re not comfortable with. Instincts are everything, don’t doubt your gut. It’s okay to be frightened and have fear, fear is simply a gauge that allows you to calibrate and make a judgement call in a situation. Instincts can save your life, stop sparing people’s feeling and be upfront if you disagree with something like allowing the passenger to sit in the front seat, or making you drive in unfamiliar area that is not on the navigation, or sexual advances; speak up!
  2. Eye contact allows entry into the soul; vet the individuals and drop off location. Make strong eye contact, it is a proven that it can ward off predators, they don’t want the nightmare and constant reflection of themselves in your eyes. Criminals don’t like eye contact plus they don’t want you to be able to identify them if need be. I force strong eye contact for a few seconds and while confirming the drop off location again I make eye contact.
  3. Toughen up mama! Don’t be passive aggressive! Set strong boundaries for yourself. As a life-coach I pride myself on teaching this, if I may I want to encourage you to literally write down your boundaries that you don’t want violated and repeat them to yourself daily. This will allow you to stay true to them and not compromise. Your body, your space, your car, your rules!
  4. Your body and and spirit’s disposition is key. Have a strong presence and voice. Don’t be timid in your speech, be confident. You can be personable and nice yet assertive. This includes how you’re dressed and how well you’ve maintained your vehicle; if you look and feel respectable most people will honor that in return and as we say in the streets “they won’t try you!”.
  5. Part-take in some form of self-defense on a weekly basis and workout. This will build your confidence and prepare you for those moments of if and when you’re in flight or fright mode. I also suggest carrying a weapon of some form (I will discuss this more in detail in another blog, but as a disclaimer please follow the guidelines in regards to weapons of whichever rideshare platform you’re using.) A weapon can be anything *side smirk* if you know how to use it to save your life! I still suggest firearms training reason being is firearms are not just learning how to accurately shoot on target, but how to possibly disarm an individual or if they drop their weapon how you can use it against them, etc. It is highly informative and can allow you to react quickly in the unfortunate event a firearm is pulled out on. I also suggest training on the use of knives, but some self-defense classes incorporate this being rape predators tend to arm themselves with them.

Whelp I hope I haven’t scared you off and you see my position. As a driver for the most part I feel safe and I haven’t had a lot of incidents reason being I possess various skills that I feel grants some securities. Should these platforms do a better job at vetting riders? Yes. Should these platforms how riders accountable for inappropriate actions towards drivers? Yes. Should the bare the responsibility of protecting drivers? Damn right, but they just aren’t. So in the interim and as legislation forces their hand in various matters you must bare the responsibility yourself ladies or just opt out from this type of gig.

BUDGETING & BOOKKEEPING; UBER IPO SMOKE SCREEN

I have not always been the best with my finances nor can I speak as an expert on the matter, but I do know the consequences of not managing your day to day speeding and lack of knowledge of appropriating monthly income intelligently. Bookkeeping never really made sense personally to me because it just didn’t register (pun intended). The irony is I am certified in Management through the state of Georgia with well over 120 hours of curriculum training along with college credits to solidify skill-set in management and budgeting. I for years as a Sgt. contributed data and research to our annual line-item budgeting for my division in law enforcement. I specifically handled the ordering of various supplies, did purchase orders, and balanced the budget monthly on the ordering, except I only did it for my employment while never applying those skills to my personal life.

I guessed I always looked at budgeting on a macro scale, I never really had major bills but then again I barely cared to pay my bills. It was outta sight outta mind, but I’ve matured greatly and applying my skills not to just clients or employers but myself! So in this first segment in this ongoing discussion here’s a list of reasons/benefits of why to budget weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually. I’ve become obsessed with budgeting so much so it excites me to see how my money migrates. I don’t care if you only pay out 3 bills a month, it must be written down and outlined, here’s why:

  1. Visual Aid – our mind is really good about summing things up and creating estimates, the problem is often those estimates are way off and fleeting. We forget all to soon. Having the visual aid of seeing those numbers on a spreadsheet keeps you mentally aligned and in check on how/what to spend, save, etc.
  2. Accountability – I review my spreadsheet daily at this point, it reminds me of how much more I can save, reminds me of not eating out as much or make purchases that have not been allocated for. It really minimizes reckless spending.
  3. Financial Literacy – you will find yourself reading, studying, and applying various tools to help you spend and invest much wisely. You begin to see how your wealth takes shape because you have a financial timeline of your spending habits, bills, and investments.
  4. Truth – dollars don’t lie receipts don’t lie, you are forced to see what you spend your money on the most, coming to terms with your recklessness with money. Take for instance I know my issue is FOOD, I love fine dining, I have a rich pallet and don’t eat cheap. I don’t eat a lot, but I spend high dollar on quality foods, some of which I can really cut out. I know I can save an additional $50 – $70 a week if I stopped eating out and stopped buying Starbucks. that’s almost an extra $400 in my savings a month if I stopped.
  5. Power – financial literacy I believe is the new RICH if you can master the knowledge of how money migrates starting with you, it will make you an awesome business owner and a good judge of character. I hate to admit it, but a person’s relationship with money is a clear indicator of their overall relationships in life. Poor money management whether known or ignorant, tells you a lot about a person. Simply put, budgeting & bookkeeping is a vital tool in aiding in your desired freedom and success in acquiring “The American Dream” (an allegorical expression of the proverbial dream).

TO INVEST OR NOT TO INVEST?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Now, let us dive into this upcoming UBER IPO opportunity. I am amazed at how many people are believing UBER will have the same poor fate as LYFT (which I wouldn’t count LYFT out just yet) and I’m sorry, but I think that’s a false data, a smoke screen at best. UBER whether you like em’ or hate em’ whether you agree with their practices or not, is here to stay! I believe investing in their IPO will be a sheer win, sure it’s gonna bottom out, no it will not be that uniqorn everyone hopes for like some of the dot.coms in 90’s, but in time will prove to be a great investment. Look, I don’t have any data, no stats, just sheer wisdom and intuition on this belief of their success not demise. Everything in my gut says it will be well worth my $500 “gift” UBER has given some of it’s driver’s to invest back into the company. This will be the largest sum of money I’ve ever invested so this is my form of “high rolling” the dice. I am willing to take the chance refusing to believe the hype of not investing until it levels out. I am simply looking at this for the long haul with zero expectations of a huge immediate payout. I really want stake in this, why not use this unexpected tax free money to invest in my future! Sometimes we just gotta take the chance, roll the dice, and believe God is in our favor. YouTube is a great resource and is filled with great commentators, but this is the first time I disagreed with so many speaking ill of UBER’s upcoming IPO, big time investors saying NOT to invest smells suspect to me. They may be saying one thing while doing another, I am going with my gut, UBER IPO for the WIN how will you spend your money?

4|20 + RIDESHARE = $$$$$$$$

The rideshare game is just that, a game like the stock market it’s very volatile; sometime predictable other times not so much. There are so many components in this market that you must learn to become profitable. A lot of that is having experience and intuition, but here’s one of those moments you hope to cash in on and most likely will. The international celebration of 4 | 20 grows year after year especially here in the U.S. where more and more states are legalizing the “recreational” drug and decriminalizing it. Here in Atlanta is has been niche down to a simple city ordinance instead of a misdemeanor (considering the amount and packaging), and slowly being edged into legislation to be legalized. There is a very lax environment already for marijuana use and I believe soon will be legalized. With that stated, cities are seeing the profitability of the infamous herb hence equaling big bucks in various festivals, venues, and visitors.

This celebration also happens to land this year of 2019 on Easter weekend and the money I believe will be plentiful! For many this will be a four day weekend in the prime of springtime and they will be out and about heavily. Last year when I drove over the course of the 4 | 20 weekend I was caught off by surprise, the demand remained high and the surges were constant! I made a lot of dough over the course of those three days well into Monday. With a lot the folk flying out in addition it was a rainy weekend which always makes for good cash making in rideshare.

Here are a few tips on things to consider to maximize your cash flow on this high demand weekend in any metro / major city market:

  1. KNOW THE FOOD SPOTS: I always have a high tip average because I am an information head! I know the questions to ask, assessing my riders needs and pointing them in the right direction. I am not basic, I give them passionate detailed information on various spots. Let’s face it a lot of folks will be hungry and a lot of spots will be crowded. You want to be able to point folks in the right direction. I’ve had people on the strength of my recommendation change their destination in the app and tip me for bringing such great value and experience to their visit.
  2. HOTELS AND AIRBNB: the 4 | 20 crowd tend to be a more millennial group of folk, they are cost effective, but willing to spend hard cash just in the right places. They will sacrifice comfort or traditional modes of travel to save a buck. So, call and check the local hotels to see which are sold out, this will allow you to calibrate the demands in various areas and know if it’s worth lurking around. Last year I was surprised how many people used AIRBNB for their stay so I didn’t mind working the outer perimeter picking up folks going into town for the festies. So don’t be so quick to rush in the city for rides they will be scattered all around.
  3. Eventbrite: a quick google search can work wonders for you. Simply type in Eventbrite | Your selected major city | and The Events Calendar and map out areas that you see have the largest venues, serve alcohol, and lack parking. I love working areas that aren’t conducive to vehicles being there’s limited parking. People will opt to drive to minimize high parking fees, traffic, and walking. You can also just type in EVENTS and your city and see what populates, you just may be surprised.
  4. AIRPORT RUNS: the airport will be busy the entire weekend, I usually don’t promote working the airport, but I won’t be mad at you choose to lurk around the airport from time to time, you will quickly be paired with someone and the que will stay low most of the time.
  5. IG pages: I follow and know of numerous attractions and pages that are highly informative on local events, foods, services, etc. I advise my riders of the best ones according to their desires and that go ape being they have now a vault of information of where to go and what to do! The visuals add to my commentary of venues which really makes them happy
  6. DRIVER DISPOSITION: look don’t be so focus on making a dollar that you forget how to service your riders, be open, be patient (visitors tend to get confused so help them), build rapport, have a smile on your face and engage with the rider if they are engaging with you. Your energy is 80% of the rider’s overall experience in my opinion.

So there you have it, and let the truth be told again, you can use many of these daily in your gig economy jobs. It teaches you how to be strategic and smart about maximizing your monies. When you lack planning and strategy it’s like throwing darts in the dark hoping and praying to make target. At one point I worked like that, just hoping and anticipating busy days all to be highly disappointed. When we work smart there’s no need to chase the money the money chases YOU!

MY PLIGHT AS AN CEO

I think many of us like the idea of being our own boss, but lack to full concept of being our own boss and I as I continue to forge my way through the constructs of mastering my C.E.O status I will share with you many do’s and don’ts. I will spare you history and jumping right into my desired goal on this platform.

  1. How to hire and fire yourself.
  2. How to build various dimensions and avenues of income.
  3. How to create passive income using your various skill-sets.
  4. How to self-manage yourself.
  5. How to be your own self-administrator.
  6. Help you not think of business in the proverbial sense.
  7. DO. IT. ALL. Be willing to explore and express yourself in many sectors.
  8. Be your best client.
  9. Build personal & business lines of credit and be financially literate.
  10. Embrace the gig economy & create digital products.

The above listing summarize the bulk of my intentions. I will not speak from a typical standpoint. This will not be rehashed verbiage from YouTubers and bloggers, I will be using my own experiences and ideas to help you formulate a CEO path that is best fitting for you. In this day of social media over-kill I believe people have mastered looking the part and not necessarily being the part! It is easy to showcase the good side views; I kept wondering what I was doing wrong, why wasn’t things working out for me regardless of my great ideas and best laid plans. Well that’s because I was believing what I was seeing, I was measuring my success to others thinking I wasn’t doing things right when in fact I was doing things right, they just weren’t my true passions.

For almost 2 years I have been living entrepreneurially, doing various gigs, driving for UBER & LYFT, building my companies, working other part-time jobs, and so forth; and in it all, through all the grime and disappointments and many fails; I’d rather work for myself than be a full-time employee ANYWHERE! I would say that has had to be my biggest lesson, I had to see if I was really cut out to being my own boss for real. I’ve always had a side-hustle and business but too was always protected under the umbrella of a full-time job, with benefits, financial package, over-time pay, and flexible schedule until when I was laid-off took the leap of faith and went full-time self employed.

My hope is you learn through my mishaps and you too evolve by using my various strategic methods to being the best boss you ever hire! Welcome to the CEO DRIVEHER BLOG. Be sure to subscribe to my youtube channel as well.