gigs – THE CEO DRIVEHER

NO MORE FUNDING MY DREAMS, NOW IS TIME TO ALLOW MY DREAMS TO FUND MY LIFE

Here at the CEO DriveHer community our tagline is “Driving to Fund our Dreams”, but have you ever considered when that time would have you to fully transition in being solely sustained, dependent on the income of your business dream? Well I have over and over again and can now say I have officially reached that point and I am terrified, but ready for the full transition into full-time entrepreneurship. I’ve done enough in the gig economy and it is now time to utilize that knowledge obtained in it putting it to use. I was good at leveraging the platform, but like most things and most humans sorta became codependent in it all. The saying “a creator of habit” never rang so true and like some habits you outgrow them, sometimes forceabley.

So now that I have stepped away from the gig economy, what now? How do I manage without it now? Well I tell you how, I am thrusting myself face forward! I have nothing to lose, but everything to gain at this juncture in my life. I must admit I was still playing it safe working part-time in the gig economy, but was beginning to even hate the few hours I was on the various platforms, not because of the gig economy, but more so I was plagued with mental torment of not finishing and working on my true passions and goals. Can you believe it, here it is I am making money, doing well in the gig economy, but failing to work my dreams! Yes I funding them, but I wasn’t working them to my full capacity, as a writer and aspiring author dreaming of writing numerous New York Times Best Sellers, honestly work was getting in the way of my thought process and creativity. As a writer and creator it’s a bit complicated in regards to the process of developing in projects. There was so much that always needed to be done, but then I’d think of a bill that needs to be paid, investment in other software or add-ons for my businesses, and it was this constant feeling of running in a circle and getting nothing done, spending money to make money and seeing no return and if so, it didn’t last long. I knew with clarity that I had reached a point of drawing the line in the sand and having to call it quits for now in the gig economy, and honestly it is kinda forced. I’ve been at this point in my life before and it always works out for my betterment. But, I am almost petrified, I feel gripped with fear, but I am in survival mode and know I must move forward in this. Movement in thrusting myself in this position in life is my only option and I am willing to do it with vigor. God has me in all of this! I am literally casting all my doubts, fears, thoughts, business plans, ideas, even my writing into his hands. I throw my hands up and trust he, God, is throwing his marvelous hand down towards me to lift me up out of the wreckage of fear.

My dreams I know are multi-million if not billion dollar concepts, my books will sell massively and my clientele will be too numerous to count yet even fathom, I know this to be fact, I see it, I hear it, I feel it! Something I know to be so true seems so distant, yet so within my own reach. What is this called? What is this conundrum? I don’t have the answers, but what I do know is I must move on faith and not look back for now. The gig economy is on the backburner as for working within the field, I am solely focusing on creating content and information to help other giggers, entrepreneurs, freelancers, etc. using my gift of speaking and writing to maximize my reach.

So what is it that I am looking forward to? I am looking forward to having a solid schedule! No more late nights and working into the early morning. No more working off hours and filling my weekends with gig work. I plan of expanding my social life and enjoying activities I’ve placed on the backburner for so long. I am looking forward to going to bed early and early morning workouts like I use to do. I am looking forward to only working for myself and creating all the day long. I am looking forward to putting that same driver, hustling, go pro mentality to my businesses at 200%, this use to bother me the most because I knew if I gave my businesses a fraction of the attention I gave my gigs I’d be producing like crazy and making money hand over fist! I have come to the conclusion that the gig economy at some point began to serve as a security blanket of sorts, a blanket that’s now ripped from off me leaving me exposed to my dreams to manifest them in their totality.

Is it now time for you to let go of that job, the gig, the part-time, that side hustle, and now time for you to put in that work in your own passions? Was that not the point, working to fund your dreams right? Whelp all the money that’s been made is beginning to dry up to force your hand to allow your dreams to now fund your life. I am now going, who else?

If you need help transition out of the traditional workforce into the gig economy, or out of the gig economy into your business checkout my services provided on both sites http://www.ceodriveher.shop and http://www.knbresume.com where I offer an array of services to help you build your business and maximize your earnings!

DELIVERIES IN THE GIG ECONOMY CAN BE A CASH COW & GRANT YOU HUMILITY SIMULTANEOUSLY

the wins….

The delivery aspect of the gig economy I believe is overlooked and underrated. Maybe because of our culture viewing the proverbial “delivery boy” as the low income high schooler side job, no real effort required or needed, just go from point A to point B, easy enough; right? Well I will show you in short how much monies are left on the table because of pride. In this era, in this day academia accomplishments and status still reigns, but at what costs? So many people are choosing jobs/careers/work for status and not essential living, not quality of life, not even money, but reverence from family and peers. Success is cloaked in an illusionary tale and the gig economy has aided in my ability to see what true success is.

I must be honest, I am writing this from both perspectives, I was that judgemental person that thought of these gigs as worthless having no ability to add to the development of an individual’s professional career. Now, do not be mistaken you must, you must, you must ultimately see how to use the gig economy to leverage and develop in your profession of choice; allow its intricate paths to be a guide towards your success. If your only fulfillment in the gig economy is money it will be short lived and not as profitable as you’d like for it to be.

It took me awhile to see the endless possibilities in the gig economy. Once I got over my bitterness, depression, and lack of worth due to my layoff of my job of 15 years, I was truly transitioning as a person in so many ways. It has been 2 years and 6 months roughly since my layoff and I am still learning aspects of myself as an entrepreneur, leader, employee, and individual. I have learned more in this period of my life than any other. I have compounded information, data, and experiences that I would’ve never obtained if not for the gig economy, and I am grateful for that. I thought as an officer dealing with the general public and criminals (usually in crisis) granted me a wealth of knowledge, and it did, but it was one-sided. In law-enforcement I had lost hope, compassion, and patience for people, for society, for government. The gig economy cultivated my ability to care again, to have some patience, and most of all to serve others.

You are probably asking “what the hell does this have to do with the gig economy being a “cash cow”” well I will tell you. I say it’s a cash cow when you see the benefits in it that helps develop you as an individual, you begin to see the fault lines of opportunity so you perfect your craft to be profitable. I have met and watch on YouTube many drivers that for some reason or another make decent/mediocre money doing gigs, but they are unfulfilled as individuals primarily because they lack from my observation, mastery of the gig economy and personal development. They are so fixated on being their own boss that it clouds their ability to be a servant to their craft. They appear to believe they’re owed something, when in fact their entitlement mentality keeps them in a loop of despair and unprofitable. Whether you like it or not, whether you agree of not the gig economy primarily is a gig that requires you to serve others. The good thing about this is the ability to generate more tips for the great service you grant to others. Tips generate $400 – $500 extra to my monthly earnings. My positive attitude, smiling, and common courtesy I attribute to this.

Another aspect of the “cash cow” ability is knowing how to sign up on as many platforms as possible and developing in each one as much as possible; that is in accordance to your market. This takes skills. You must know when it is best to work each. You develop a six sense on these platforms, effortlessly you’ll be able to earn.

I see myself as a professional! I don’t think less of myself or anyone else for that matter for earning a honorable wage, but as a professional we must be and maintain humility, serving in this capacity does exactly this for me. The earning aspect is high and easy when you simply consider the following:

Serving. I assure you you will not like everyone and you will come in contact with some disgruntle individuals, but sometimes those were my best tippers. I have come to learned that most of the time it isn’t personal they are dealing with their own stuff and realize their actions.
Skillset. This takes skills, trial and error, and discipline. The market changes constantly and you must be able to discern the contents tempos.
Goal Setting. This should be done weekly and mini ones set daily. Shoot for numbers. Body counts are my favorite. I know on average every trip averages out for me $10 a ride; 20 rides/deliveries can equal $200.
Time. You must commit the time daily on days of choice. Factor in at least on peak hours slot of the day and work it for at least 2-3 hours. Learn to meed demands at these times in accordance to your market.
Multiple Platforms. You must serve on at least 3-5 delivery platforms in my opinion. Again the demands changes and you don’t want to box yourself in with just one platform.

IS YOUR CAR AN ASSET? WELL DEPENDS HOW YOU USE IT.

I believe in this emergence of the gig economy our vehicles and homes, but in this text we’re focusing on our cars, can be liken to the modern day mule. It’s a valuable work-beast if you allow it to be. I am constantly met with an unjust argument that me, you, others are fools for using a car rental service or our own personal vehicles for the gig economy. I often see on my YouTube channel Kimberly CEO DriveHer these statements “what about the wear and tear on you vehicle” “don’t your car depreciates?” “you’re making less money due to wear and tear and fuel costs” the comments are endless and moronic if you ask me. I believe the only ones that see it that way are those that simply have lacked being profitable in the gig economy and rideshare. Newsflash people, every piece of property you buy, own, rental depreciates on some level, even your bodies people. Now this blog will be not be loaded with statistical data and facts, I don’t have analytical numbers and charts to prove my point, but what I do have is common-sense and perspective. I plan to quickly help alter your perception and mind in how you can and ought to use your vehicle in such a way that you make it more of an asset than what it already is. This is opinion based, but opinions based upon facts for certain. So hear me out and hopefully you can begin to yield a greater return on your investment, that being your vehicle a tangible asset.

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Let us begin with the word “asset” asset is defined in Merriam Webster dictionary as a: an item of value owned; which I believe best sums it up! Whether you are renting, leasing, financing, or own your car in this day to make a valuable return on it, you must use it optimally. Cars and meant to be driven. They produce new vehicles and the production of many of them are low quality and cheap, they are not built to last so you may as well work that mule to the death. Yes take care of your car, yes keep up with the maintenance, yes use it wisely, but for goodness sake USE IT! The argument of wear and tear to justify not doing rideshare is just ridiculous. Now if you have a vehicle on it’s last leg maybe you need to stick to primarily deliveries and not rideshare. Be smart, use your vehicle wisely. If you have a beat-up pickup truck maybe gigs like Byrd, LIme, and Roadie are best suited considering the caliber of jobs and heavy loading.

In the rideshare gig community I believe some people tend to overthink this process, you don’t utilize what they have appropriating it properly. Don’t go out purchasing a new vehicle stay on middle ground, remember things will happen. Newer vehicles cost more insurance wise, that’s risky. Your vehicle in the gig economy is an instrument, an investment, keep all costs low in reference to it so that it yields a higher return financially.

I currently use the Uber rental program and really like the option of not have to pay car insurance, nothing is in my name, and that is one less loan on my credit. As a minimalist to some degree this option works best for me. I use the rental for many of my gigs not just Uber. I maintain the vehicle, keep it clean, get it serviced regularly (at no cost to me on the servicing), and keep it damaged free. The entire cost for me to rent it monthly is $980, but if I complete 75-90 rides I get an extra $120 or $195 weekly bonus. If you subtract that I am actually paying less than $400 a month for the rental! Now, it still requires you to work a bit to get all those rides, but the trade off is sweet overall. I get unlimited miles, can take it anywhere I want, work where I want, and use it to do my other gigs!

So, if in the gig economy stop focusing on wear and tear and focus on profitability, focus on how you can make this “modern day mule” your ultimate work horse. Here are some rules to recap on:

Don’t go into debt trying to get the nicest pricest vehicle.
Use what you got and until you can afford to upgrade using cash no financing!
Keep costs low. Use fuel points, cash back rewards on fuel, etc.
Keep up with the maintenance but but in a cost effective way.
Use you vehicle for multiple gigs, not just one.
Start to see how your vehicle brings you value on a daily basis.
Consider which gigs are best for you to do in relation to the type of car you have.

RIDESHARE POSTURE

Rideshare posture is simply a more formal way of simply saying “daily goal”. The thing about posture is it is always subject to change, it allows for you to properly gauge the current climate via apps and market demands; from your assessment you adjust your daily goal that makes you profitable. Merriam-Webster defines “posture” as (b) conscience mental or outward behavioral attitude. I love that last part “outward behavioral attitude; making the perspective more personal and customized to your own individual style and desire in accomplishing your daily goal.

ARE YOU POSTURING YOURSELF FOR DAILY SUCCESS?

The problem I have found in those I coach within the rideshare/gig economy is most are using tips and generic solutions by other “giggers” in the community trying to make it applicable to their own markets when in fact that can do more harm than good (not all the time but some). What matters is your developed perspective. It is like fitting a square peg into a circle, sure it’ll fit somewhere just not there in the circle. What I encourage is you find your wave in your market find out what each day can grant you, but the only way to doing this is by trial and error on a daily basis over time.

You cannot set nor achieve consistent feasible goals unless you consistently work these various platforms; this is how “rideshare posture” is developed! When you develop rideshare posture you become extremely confident in being profitable regardless of how/how much the market change which can literally be on a daily basis. We simply adjust and ride the torental waves of this gig economy lifestyle.

Rideshare posture if compulated with a solid goal plan allows me to expand and maximize my profitability as well as my time! In the Youtube Community Board I posted the following things to consider when setting your daily goals:

Set your hours.
Minimize breaks.
Decide what you going to make within those hours.
Do not detour from your desired goals.
Drink tons of water and no sugary drinks, this is for mental clarity and focus.
Create a route mix (see post for details on route mix).
Set number of trips in accordance of hours being worked (see post for more details).

These are some basic, foundational goals, add anything to this list just keep them reasonable and attainable. Sometimes, if you’re anything like me we dream in bright color and “over reach” with dreamed up unrealistic goals (lolz), so let’s stay grounded in our desires. Now, this principle can and should be used in all your gig jobs and freelancing opportunities. If you seek coaching or a consultation please email me at ceodriveher@gmail.com to inquire of my prices and services.

12-HOUR SHIFTS WITH RIDESHARE || YAY OR NAY

So I decided two weeks ago to do a small experiment on implementing shift work in the gig economy seeking to figure out the following. 1. Will it increase earnings. 2. Is it a better method in regards to granting an individual more time on the back end. 3. Can you be just as strategic. At the end of it all my conclusion actually surprised me in the oddest way.

So I began this experiment on a Thursday and it was in my opinion an utter fail from the start. Did I make a lot of money over the course of those 4 days, well yes of course, but I made the same amount just a little more than usual. In short my findings proved that working 12-hour shifts doing one solid platform be-it Uber, Lyft, of Door Dash is pointless unless in odd situations whereas the demand is an all time high, but that is rare. I will maintain my firm belief that strategy out weighs work hours in exchange for higher earned income.

First issue with working 12-hour shift, if there is dead time you’re stuck and left to just wait it out when in fact if you stay to strategic split shifts you in turn can make more of a profit, have more time to expend on what you want, and incorporate a nice mix of other gigs. Second issue with working 12-hour shifts, SLEEP deprived! This by far was exhausting and for someone like me that likes to be mobile and fluid in my day-to-day activity this limited me severely. Sitting in a vehicle just isn’t sustainable and extremely unhealthy. As a holistic wellness coach I notice I got more lazy, I started to swell up, and my eating was off big time. A big factor to consider with rideshare or any gig for that matter, for the most part the demands come in waves. Staying logged on in down-time is literally a waste of time, as a business owner you’re best investing that time in other endeavors and contributing more time to resting up. Third with 12-hour shifts, irritability and lack of mental clarity and sharpness. It seemed as if my days were running in to one big lump. I literally felt like a slave to the road, which defeats the point of doing this gig. I refuse to be an employee to it. I work on my rules, terms, and when I wanna.

The surprising overall effect! So after a day or two of recouping I noticed after a few days I was able to work longer hours effortlessly. Working the 12-hour shifts caused me to become adapted in a new way in regards to how I went about doing rideshare. I use to space out my time hoping off and on and not following through on time when logged in. I seen myself declining fewer rides and trusting the process. When logged in I was committed for the long haul. My work time went from averaging 4-5 hours a day to 7-8 hours a day. I was more targeted and strategic in my earnings. I made more money is less than the time I had when working those 12-hour shifts. In all the greatest thing taken from those twelves is I was able to push myself more seeing what I was capable of doing. Me being uncomfortable those few days was enough to quickly condition me to work more efficiently.

So in my humble opinion if your only option is rideshare and you don’t seek to do anything else and don’t mind long dead time then it just may work out for you, but I can guarantee it is not suitable for the long time. If you’re an entrepreneur like myself this is like dying a slow and painful death completely tormenting to the entrepreneurial soul because we seek to be profitable every waking moment. Wasted time is dollars, taking away from us committing time in other avenues.

WHY SO MANY GIGS?

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Hello y’all it is your girl Kimberly ~ The CEO DriveHer and I want to quickly set the record straight on why I encourage you to embrace a wide array of gigs to use on a day by day basis within the gig economy. Some people speak against being a Jack of all Trades so to speak, but as a developing entrepreneur it just may be the very thing that helps to to figure out what avenue will work best for you. As a gig economist having been laid-off 2-years ago of a job of almost 15-years I absolutely love being an entrepreneur. The hardest part of this process for so long was I painfully had to learn how to change my employee mindset to a full entrepreneurial mindset. I had to learn how to budget and plan, planning was easy for me, sticking to the plans what was usually hard because of my bad finance management. This was a means of survival and I did not want to have to go back to work by no means necessary! For an entire year I only used two gig platforms for my income aside from little part-time cafe gigs which never lasted more than 5 weeks or my life-coaching / holistic-wellness practice that was barely registering clients. The two platforms worked were Uber and Lyft, but primarily Uber. I quickly was able to see my burnout rate working these platforms which was somewhere around the 35 hour mark. These platforms are just not sustainable for long work hours at least not for an entrepreneur and writer as myself. These gigs were never meant to be the end-game nor were they a career goal / passion of mine. Sure I really like doing rideshare, I love the flexibility, the ability to generate income extremely quickly, meeting new people and places, but being isn’t my passion I grew depressed. I felt me doing it would eventually set me up to become codependent on the platforms and I feared that. I had walked away from a career that I allowed to make me comfortable and in an instant me and my co-workers were tossed on our asses.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvLLilVlKKdNOMaYNFulk2Q

As I was still finding my niche working on my own companies I began to see that I love variety, I do not like being committed to one solid platform. Diversity in the gig economy granted me a bit more emotional and financial security. As we all know in any moment you can become deactivated on a platform, the app can crash for hours, or demand is extremely low. I experienced to many close-calls to be taking a chance so I began to strategize for the worse case scenarios. There is no greater/empowering feeling than to turn off an app and to turn on another quickly making money on the other while the other is bone dry. Take for instance this scenario, when it is colder here in the south or it’s bad weather sure some people are doing rideshare, but a lot may opt to stay in and order out. This is a great time to capitalize on delivery i.e. Uber Eats, Door Dash, Grub Hub, or Postmates. Sometimes in the winter the demand for rideshare is so low you actually lose money driving folks around, it just isn’t worth it.

So as to why I encourage my fellow gig economist to regularly use an array of platforms to me seems clearly apparent, but I will briefly explain my point of view. Here are a list of them below:

Variety PlayHouse: it makes working gigs fun and you don’t get burnt-out.
Eclectic: this breeds creativity and helps you work more efficiently
Identity: no doubt you will favor one over the other, but if balanced you will not become so emotionally tied to one. You will understand that you are not an employee and may the highest payer win. This is BOSS move!
Trust Fund: this is the gig version of such, worst case scenario you have at best 5 out of the 8 (hypothetically speaking) granting you the ability to generate income.
Experience: this is overlooked often, I am introduced to new places, eateries, people etc. due to many of my gigs. I learn so much simply by having a broad span of experiences through my gigs.
Purpose: for me as a creator and someone building her own platforms and apps, it reminds me to continue to work towards my own goals and businesses. At the end of the day I do not own these various platforms.
Flexibility: a given of course, but so many people believe they have flexibility when in fact they don’t. They work some of these gigs like a full-time job, and though there isn’t actually anything wrong with that, what can happen is codependency and comfortability. In such a volatile roller-coaster market that is just dangerous. Using your flexibility by incorporating an array of gigs limits that from happening in my opinion.

So I propose the question to you! How many gigs are you signed up for? How are you creating a solid gig mix, a healthy gig mix, so that you don’t get burned out? Are you willing to sign-up on multiple platforms even if you don’t see you working it much? I tell you, you may not see how important it is until it is to late. Most people jump ship when the ship is either sinking or needs temporary fixing. Don’t be that person, be open to variety, you own none of these platforms nothing ONLY but your professionalism and due diligence when working as a partner with them. I believe in giving them your best on the clock, but understanding you ultimately are doing it for yourself!

If you’d like coaching from me your Gig Economist Strategist and Coach please email me at ceodriveher@gmail.com I’ll be more than happy to help you to understand and build within the gig economy so that you use these platforms for leverage in funding and building your own entrepreneur dreams.

Also checkout my YouTube channel for daily/weekly vlogs on tips and gig strategies. Find me by typing in Kimberly CEO DriveHer. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvLLilVlKKdNOMaYNFulk2Q

GAME PLANNING YOUR GIGS FOR THE WEEKEND (VIDEO INCLUDED)

Most gig economist bet on highly profitable days, among those days are weekends and holidays. The problem is they themselves and everyone else are banking on the same thing sometimes causing highly saturated markets causing little to no money being made. You cannot bet blindly, you cannot afford to assume the pickings will be plentiful, trust me I use to do that until I started having a form of strategic planning to maximize my profitability in the gig economy business especially as it pertains to rideshare.

ASSESSING: I say this all the time, but it is key, you must be able to gauge the climates in which you work, yes both natural element climate and economic climate. There are many variables that play into this but for the sake of keeping a short blog I will stick to these few:

Weather, if you’ve done gig jobs weather plays a big part in the construct. If you do gigs such as GrubHub, UberEats, DoorDash, you usually will see a spike in demand because people choose not to travel in the rain especially here in Atlanta when the driving is horrific in the rain. Depending on the time of day you can really make bank.
Events, this seems easy, but you must be strategic here as well. Sure you can simply wait outside of venues hoping to catch a unicorn ride or slight surge but I can assure you a lot of wasted time. I believe if I am out my wheels need to be moving at all times! When you check out the events are sure to check out the venues too, take note of the capacity and see if online the events were sold out. This will help you really see if it’s worth working the area.
Hotels, call your local hotels and ask the help desk if they are booked to capacity or go online and see what rooms are available and the price. If high prices I can assure you the capacity level is high. They raise the prices due to demand!

Assessing the local economy and possible demands will help you game plan. Sometimes I do the complete opposite of what I know most will do. Take for instance big concerts, I avoid them especially at a venue that holds 40,000+, the reason being I know most drivers will flock there in hopes of making big bucks. What ends up happening is the driver is left in gridlock traffic and the probability of a rider going over 10 miles is slim. Unless the pickup is somewhat early and the pickup is strategically placed it just not worth it. I, on the other hand, will work 5-8 outside of that area catching the bleed overs making often much more than those stuck in standstill traffic.

Take for instance the Shaky Knees concert that will be her May 3rd, 4th, and 5th. The draws in a nice crowd full of locals and out of towners. This crowd will be widely spread out and the pick-up area is well organized so it will be worth working. I know this because I’ve already done my research and can somewhat gauge the demands.

Another thing a lot of gig workers that tend to do more of the food delivery services will hop on driving more this weekend, which will leave me the opportunity to play the other side of the field in slow times with rideshare. The human conditions can be very easy to predict, so I use that to my advantage. So let me ask you the following:

Do you plan on using multiple gig platforms?
Are you willing to take 1-2 hours to research some data to see what areas may be profitable to you?
Have you assessed the climate of the weekend? What’s coming to town? i.e. Here in Atlanta we have a 3 day music festival/concert, Amazon is hosting a free conference which has brought thousands, there are other major conferences in town, and Sunday is Cinco De Mayo; as for the weather it is projected to rain Friday, Saturday possible thunderstorms, and more rain on Sunday. All these variable make a huge impact on how one is to work their selected gigs.
Do you have a daily budget and goal of pay?
Do you have specific times you want to work? This is important, you don’t want to just be driving around off and on you ought to and must set time schedules as to when you do your gigs. If you don’t you will burn out!

In all make your assessing measurable, keep it simple, think of a plan, write down the plan, execute the plan. Always leave room for flexibility and chance; if anything changes or through you off at least you have your plan to revise and assess. This will help you with future plans and what will begin to happen is you’ll start noticing trends, profitability, and consumer patterns. This is how you develop a 6 sense if you will for these gigs. I strongly suggest you write down your assessment / strategic plan either on 1 full sheet of paper or in your notes on your cell phone. This will keep you on task and focused on the bigger picture!

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:

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.
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.
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.

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!
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.
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!
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!”.
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.