side hustle – Page 2 – THE CEO DRIVEHER

MONDAYS ARE THE BEST DAYS

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL

If you ever wanted a great reason to restart anything or to get a fresh start on what you’ve already been doing, then Monday should be a great reason for you too. Mondays are filled with possibilities, you get to from scratch map, plan, set, and visualize your goals and intentions. Monday starts the countdown of a seven day plumb-line (a measuring instrument), it allows you to measure short-term and long-term goals.

Monday – Write out your plans, map your week, itemize your goals from greatest to least. Write out what is of most importance and how much time you need to commit to it for completion. You also want to set a budget! What needs to be paid, what are you planning to invest in, figure out how much money do you need to make this week. As a gigger, freelancer, entrepreneur we have an income that has many variables, so this is key. You do not want to be playing catch-up on anything. If there are bills that need to be paid, go ahead and pay them! If you have to cut back on expenses and you clearly see this, DO IT! Don’t assume the money is coming in, this creates a more stressful environment on yourself mentally.

Tuesday – Execute hard! Go full throttle on you mapped out goals, go as hard as you can, work that day like you have 1-hour to turn in your last assignment which is the biggest grade of the semester. This is a method I use because I notice it gets me way ahead of the curve ball later in the week, plus it sets the tone for good momentum.

Wednesday – REPEAT Tuesday. Review your Monday Mapping plan and see where you are on the plan, are you making progress, are you behind. Read over it daily so you’re reminded of what needs to be done and you don’t risk forgetting.

Thursday – Calculate what percentage of your goals have been completed. See what needs to be dropped and can be reassigned. This happens, don’t worry focus on what can be done and completed. Until you get good at setting measurable goals you often will have to tweak them. Again don’t feel like a failure, we tend to over stretch over reach on our goals, that’s okay; over time you’ll get better and know instinctively what needs to be niched down so that you’re successful accomplishing your mapped out goals/plans.

Friday – Reflect, reflect, reflect. Be real with yourself, ask yourself if you’ve given your best to your goals, have you stuck to landig? Now, while reflecting you’re still working, but working with full intention of completing tasks. Seeing where you can add more umph and drive to what it is you’re doing. Are you gassed up or all gassed out? Calibrate yourself and again be realistic, but know how and when to push yourself more. This degree of self-awareness and mental calibration breeds self-honesty plus you see areas in which you may need to outsource. We cannot do it all, but initially as business owners it is not a must it is vital to the success of our business(es).

Saturday – Coast on out! Ride the wave accept what you’ve done and begin to polish up and close out all tasks left or completion.

Sunday – Rest & Reflect. While going into reboot mode, at this point you’ve slowed down, you’ve accepted your projections, you’ve accepted what you’ve completed or not completed, and you are game planning mentally of what you can do better next week.

In closing I know this may seem like a lot, but in fact what I am asking of you may require only 10-15 minutes of your day exempting Monday which may require 60-minutes and that’s okay. You committing 60-minutes to the rest of your week on a Monday can save you hours of your time and money. Don’t sell yourself short by skipping this weekly ritual. Many businesses, corporations, and government entities use Mondays as a means to power-up and motivate their staff. I worked in government and we always set agendas, quotas, plans of execution so that we all could work optimally. If you’re going to be in business for yourself you must begin to do this immediately! Go in God’s speed, be motivated my fellow entrepreneurs!

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.

CHECKOUT MY YOUTUBE & SUBSCRIBE

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.

UBER AIRPORT ALGORITHM

I have found that many people that get in the rideshare game may go through YouTube vlogs and see tons of videos on how to make the most money driving for Uber or LYFT; and one of the biggest tips is ” to do airport rides”. The problem is the airport has now become saturated with what I call airport bums seeking that unicorn trip that will pay big dollars. Well that rarely happens and some drivers may find themselves not generating the income they wish to had.

I have found the following issue with a lot of drivers waiting for rides at the airport the end up implementing bad habits such as: 1. Cherry Picking, calling the rider to see where they are going, or actually accepting the ride then cancelling it once destination is viewed. 2. If forced to take the ride and the distance is short they’re rude to the rider. 3. Have a gross expectation of receiving large tips from rider. 4. Complacency, they get real comfortable just doing airport trips. 5. They saturate the market and like hogs don’t grant opportunity to other drivers to benefit from the occasional airport run. 6. Create fraudulent surges, a disgusting practice. Regardless of your stance with either rideshare company this is criminal and you lack proper business ethics. 7. It sorta allows certain drivers to monopolize the system.

THE ALGORITHM! This is where the game will be changed. What is an algorithm | algorithm | noun: a process of set rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer. Basically it is a procedure using numbers to sorta create/identify an equation then solving the problem. The thing about artificial intelligence it often needs tons of data to compute information, identify patterns, and only then the solution is made. Drivers don’t realize that every click of the button in the app, text messages, photos taken, drive time, distances, etc. all contribute to the algorithm setting your own virtual genetic blueprint, displaying your habits. Afterwhile those habits are compared to the habits of others and other things are taken into consideration. These drivers bag habits will facilitate their demise! With these bad practices you are signing your own death warrant in rideshare!

The “digital fingerprinting” which is a calculation of your actions is very real. Just because you have yet to have been caught doesn’t mean you will not be. This is why I encourage those I coach in the gig economy to be creative, in this, you still must work hard and treat what you do like your own personal business. I loath some of the practices of these gig based companies, but you, me, we cannot engage in unethical practices to make a dollar, it just isn’t worth it. I believe Uber particularly due to certain rollouts recently will be revolutionizing the rideshare platform once again and by AI (artificial intelligence). To survive they must change the game and I believe they have the data to do so, it’s now just a waiting game. Look, rideshare is here to stay and though a lot of us may be kicking and screaming at it’s practices I believe it’s best we forged some continuity and together make a better platform. I believe drivers will begin to once again take home 60% – 70% of their earnings due to the fact Uber will be doing a cleansing of their drivers. These unethical ones that believe they are owed so much, yes the pay should be much higher, but unethical practices are not justified.

It is time for the playing field to be leveled and the bad drivers ousted on their caboose so that the drivers that are fair and just can make a good living and riders are no longer being screwed over. Some people actually like the platform and are willing to meet Uber or Lyft half-way, but they will need to give what drivers want most and that is fair earnings.

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.