Tag: female driver

THE GIG VISION FOR 20/20???? DON’T GET BLINDSIDED

The power of the number 2020 is massive. New year, new decade, new mindset! In short I want to encourage to take the good, the bad, and ugly and use it as a tool to help you metamorphosis in your gig business. You, me, we are sitting on a wealth of information, experiences, and know-how; but now we must effectively use what we’ve learned to earn more and do more collectively. So let me ask you what is your vision? What have you mapped out for your annual goals? Have you at least made some projections of what you seek to obtain for 2020? Well let me help you begin to do so, let’s go!

LIST IT OUT

This process is simple and is not to be overthunk, the only rules are you cannot second guess yourself nor can you sell yourself short on your desires. You will make a list of 5-25 entries for each. List the following:

  • For each of the 12 months write in your desired earnings i.e. 4K for March, but 6k for June.
  • List all gigs currently working and those you will apply for. In the list example briefly job description (1 sentence i.e. food delivery, dog walker, rideshare, handyman, freelancer, etc.
  • List educational courses that would complement your gigs, those that will allow you to expand/broaden your skill-set so that ultimately you can use towards employment or business.
Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com

I believe you get my drift. You’re not limited to just these listings, but this should help you get a head start on things. You cannot afford to take a simple generic approach in planning out 2020 mapping of goals. It is a must your are detailed oriented and laser focus on what it is you want. As I always say the gig economy is here to stay, but not meant to stay in your life for the long-term, you must have a multifaceted portfolio of gigs, jobs, opportunities to be highly profitable and maintain some sort of “gig security” due to the climate of gigs currently.

So, let me ask you “what do you see?”. Is your vision filled with worry, despair, debt, and frustration because of life circumstances and lack of gig opportunity? Or is your vision filled with strategic planning, pivoting tactics, proper money management, and motivation? One thing I have learned about the gig economy is a large portion of it is contingent on your own perception, I am not saying to ignore its ugly truths and harsh sometimes unprofitable realities, but rather allowing your perception to be positive because ultimately you come to the realization that these gigs are to work for you, you don’t work for them, per say. An optometrist would define 20/20 vision as visual acuity, the clarity or sharpness of vision, measured at a distance of 20 feet. Now, believe it or not 20/20 vision isn’t actually calculated as the best, but rather a good balance of sight on average. 20/20 vision does not factor in other important aspects of vision for instance peripheral, depth perception, and to see colors. I say that to say this, as you map out this annual plan of year 2020, clearly outlining your goals, desires, and visions for your work-life, collectively your 20/20 vision gains color and depth; virtually mental, spiritual, and physical clarity; it all becomes sharpen and clear to obtain. Have you ever tried to visualize a map, let’s do a little mental exercise, right now try to envision your current city and picture you in the middle of it with a 10 mile radius of all the stores, gas stations, parks, schools, hospitals, police station, post office, homes, etc.. Now, if you’re pretty familiar with your community you may have a good recollection of things at about 40% – 60%, but it wouldn’t be precise, I guarantee you you’ll either under or over estimate distance, time span to get from point A to point B, you would only be able to guesstimate but so much. Now, imagine you unfolding a map with all the precise miles, distances, homes, stores, etc. it’s so clear and colorful, in fact you may be surprise to find way more streets, avenues, neighborhoods, opportunities, better routes, etc. That is exactly what happens when you carefully create a 2020 visual map of your gig/entrepreneurial life and desired goals.

Photo by Gabriel Peter on Pexels.com

Again don’t over think this process, all you need right now is a journal, pen, cellphone, and mental glasses for clear vision to map out the future. Get bold in your demands, proclaim were you will be, don’t worry about were you are right now, but maintain sight on the ultimate goal and accomplishments you’ll soon experience! In a later post I will share my Gig Vision of 2020 in depth. As of right now I have the following gigs signed up on.

  1. Uber
  2. Lyft – inactive
  3. Roadie
  4. Door Dash
  5. Lime – on pause
  6. Bird – on pause
  7. Postmates
  8. Wonolo – inactive
  9. Fiveer – inactive
  10. Airbnb
  11. Instacart -inactive
  12. Shipt – inactive

As of right now I have the following businesses in operation.

  1. CEO DriveHer – Multifaceted gig teaching business and business coaching.
  2. LipstickNFit – Holistic Wellness and Life Coaching Practice
  3. Lady Lifter of Life Publishing Co.
  4. KNB Resume & Portfolio Services
  5. Bodacious Media
  6. WhipLashed
  7. YouTube Creator

From that list I will prioritize all gigs and businesses, outline my desired income from each monthly, and hours committed to them monthly. Some gigs are better in the summer than winter so many will only be active partially. Doing this will keep me focused. In addition for them all I will write a master plan for each detailing how I plan to use them, how they will benefit/compliment my other businesses, and how to scale them so I am profitable whether using them or not! I am a firm believer that you ought to be creating some form of passive income from EVERY gig on some level. I do not care if all you are receiving is a $25 referral credit a week, imagine if for all the gigs you’re signed up on that you averaged a total of just $100 bucks a week, that’s $400 added income for doing nothing, but share your information.

Right now I need you to just ponder over it, think of what you’re doing and think of what possibly you can do more of. Yes, maybe you’re busy, but just busy in the wrong type of way. There’s nothing wrong with being busy, what is wrong is being busy unable to scale and manage what it is you’re doing, especially if you’re lacking being profitable in it.

For more of my content and services please be sure to checkout my websites http://www.ceodriveher.shop for gig services, or http://www.knbresume.com for resume and interview coaching, and lastly http://www.lipsticknfit.com (under reconstruction) for life coaching and holistic wellness services.

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.