side jobs – THE CEO DRIVEHER

WILL GIG JOBS FORCE VACCINATIONS ON GIG WORKERS?

To take the jab, or not take the jab. The latest trend on both sides I must add are shaming those that have or have not taken the vaccination. I will try to refrain from injecting my social political ideologies from this discussion, (“try” highly emphasized) and not be subjective on the matter, so my apologies in advance if I’m not able to.

Right now the trendy thing is to flash your vaccination card on social media or curled arm with kiddy sticker saying I got my shot. This is terrifying! Your medical records should always be kept private unless you really seek to bring awareness to a matter. With all the health discriminations from insurance companies, and jobs why on earth would you publicly speak on anything; as it relates to your health that can later be used against you? (rhetorical question)

Remember, these are still classified as “experimental drugs” that are NOT, FDA approved nor are any of the pharmaceutical companies held responsible / liable for any adverse affects of the drug. Many of the providers have been liable in pass time for unethical practices and issuance of drugs. Have you seen the late night commercials asking if you’ve been diagnosed with an illness or side-effect from a drug / vaccine between the years of 19XX – 20XX? Well, you get my point.

With all that being stated, can and how will this effect our once somewhat protected private medical files? As an independent contractor, gig worker, freelancer, can you see how this degree of possible superimposed measure can lead to other infiltrations that can lead to discrimination? Are you in a financial position that if adverse effects occur you are medically covered or can take the time off needed to recoup? Will we have any financial help for any long-term effects? Most gig workers and freelancers I know do not even have medical insurance.

Who will protect us, and our rights? Right now, absolutely no one! You and only you is your first line of defense in this area. When it comes to gig platforms like Uber, Lyft, Doordash, TaskRabbit, Grubhub, etc. it will be interesting how this all plays out. Can they afford to force a huge part of their bottomline to be vaccinated (us the partners)? As independent partners can they in fact impose this being we are not traditional employees? What about ride-share drivers? If they are forced to take the jab would that not be a requirement of all parties that enter our vehicles? Can we impose that need too?

This is the slippery slop; I can clearly see in not only the gig economy but in all businesses of sorts. But, this is the biggest question; how and if this measure of action is infringing on our constitutional rights as American citizens? We all should have the choice, and each ones choice should be respected and honored! If forced to do this, do we have legal standing in the courts to holding these businesses liable for any affects?

trade jobs over degrees a massive shift

It is simple to find a trade; look for any skill, and type of work that requires a degree of human concentration and from what can be gathered always primarily need the hand of a human being. I have known for decades that trades are highly underrated and even sometimes look down upon. We live in a highly marketed educational system that is a complete fraud. A college education puts you in debt and quite often you’re forced to not even utilize the degree you obtain.

Then there is the individual that lack the ability to see the value in both trade and higher learning. My position is this, go to college and get the cheapest degree possible and specialize in something that compliments your trade and talents you pursue. Higher learning is great no doubt, but it is great when you learn how to leverage it within entrepreneurship and having trade(s). I also believe a degree should not be pursued until after years of servicing and working in various fields. This would limit debt of most individuals and allow them to truly seek a field that aligns with their purpose, plus most employers will now pay for your education and college degrees.

One time me and a friend went to apply for the same job with a major insurance company. She begged me to apply so I did it for laughs. It was a seasonal job and we both knew we were qualified and looked at it as a way to work together and have fun. At this point I’d been living as a gig worker and entrepreneur for about a year full-time. My friend has a Biochemical degree or something like that. She’s a very smart girl and actually had experience in the job we were both applying for. I on the other hand had zero experience in the medical data field, had only some college, and lack any background info on the company outside of what I studied/researched to prep for the interview.

Long story short… I got the job, my friend did not. Initially they hired us both. In addition I was hired making $2 more than what she was being hired at, making well over $20 an hour. Why? For one I had a great professional background that I knew how to leverage as well as my trades that awarded me the ability to sell myself on interpersonal relationship skills and quick learning. I also knew how to negotiate my wages.

Having served as an interviewer on maybe thousands of interview boards, I personally knew that a degree only will take you so far. Employers are looking for experience and trainability. They want individuals that are well rounded, educated yes, but education is now at the fingertips of everyone and anyone with a smartphone or computer! We can literally watch a Youtube video and do projects and learn skills that may have cost someone a great deal of dollars and time, in a matter of a day!

I encourage online learning and free education by all means. Take up trades that you can put into action within months and build upon the skills you learn within those trades. Look for trade schools and schools offering learning in robotics and coding, this is our future and a very profitable one if you pair education and trade together creating a synchronicity in it.

APPS YOU NEED AS AN ENTREPRENEUR IN THE GIG ECONOMY

I am calling this the supa dupa of management, apps that is. Often you hear me speak of business management and the need for constant accountability of finances, time, and data. Entrepreneurs, giggers, freelancers fall for the age old trick of feeling a sense of accomplishment when in fact we’ve done absolutely nothing in comparison to what we thought or think we’re doing. Being self-employed is attractive, seductive, alluring, and can easily grant a false sense of production, because let’s be honest “we’re always busy” with some aspect of our business or the business of others. We go from here to there, drained; seemingly masterminding (talking about what we gonna do) with others yet still getting nothing done. So how can we actually measure our daily productions, information, and income without all the in depth data analysis and time consuming reports? Well, I believe by the use of some simple, easy to use, and free/low costing apps to help you gain perspective on in your gig business life.

Now, if you’re anything like me, you find some way to squeeze in some new app. I am an app groupie, but often I do a cleansing evaluating those I use on a regular basis from those that are taking up space. I am going to briefly showcase some apps that you may want to consider for use that are multifunctional and simple for you daily accountability needs. Some of these apps do cost or have free versions, but I will be honest I found it worth paying the low annual fee if applicable, your investment will yield you a greater return. I have come to realize, growing wise in the notion that we tend to value and use those things which we actually pay/invest in. You want to maximize the operation of these apps so you can maximize your efforts and gain more efficiency and time in your life and business life.

Before I begin suggesting apps for use I must say I am only speaking from being an iOS user. If you use android check and see if available and if not may I suggest reading up on some reviews of apps of its caliber in comparison and consider using those, you may find some that are actually better!

Hours (yes that is the app’s name). This app allows you to list all your gigs and color code them. You can ad in work hours, break, and amount earned. The only thing is you’re only allowed 5 gigs to list so I suggest you list only your 5 top earners or rather those that require a lot of your time weekly. You clock in and out like a real job and can export the data into Microsoft Excel program if you choose. The paid version which is $19.99 annually on iOS is unlimited and well worth it.
House of Gigs. It is a little plain Jane(ish) but I must say my favorite because it’s so simple and you can enter all the info at the end of the day regardless of how large or small the gig was. This app is free and creates awesome goals and charts for you and your earnings. This app is so simple and you can list an unlimited amount of gigs. I do some gigs like Roadie, which is considered an “on the go gig”. The Roadie app doesn’t do a go breakdown of hours worked and earnings in my opinion especially when I literally may only pick up 2-5 gigs a weekly on the platform. This allows me to track my gigs so much better and see actual weekly earnings without penning them down myself.
Dropbox. This is one of my ultimate favs! I have a resume company, publishing company, and media company where I create a lot of content. I use multiple devices and it was tiring having to always convert documents and email them. Dropbox is definitely a great investment. Now the app is free, but depending on the storage and monthly usage you may have to pay a subscription fee. I use a great deal of the app and have yet had to pay. You can have others send you documents for signing or video, etc. without the conversion issues. I store important documents for easy access to, like, drivers license, EIN’s, business certificate, etc. for forwarding or in case I lose them. I highly recommend this app if you’re a serious business owner.
Simple (yes that’s the name of the app). This is a nutrition app specifically for intermittent fasting. Use entrepreneurs either need reminders to eat or something to keep us from eating/snacking throughout the day. Our nutrition tend to fall to the waist-side because we’re constantly eating on the go. As a business owner, gigger, anyone having multiple hustles that vary from day-to-day hands down the best option for us is intermittent fasting. It keeps us disciplined to eating in a specific eating window and keep the weight gain at bay. This app is pricey, the annual cost is $39.99 or month to month for $7.99 on iOS. But, please trust me this app is worth every penny! I absolutely love the app and it grants you awesome data!
Focus Keeper!!! This app is really good for us content creators that tend to like to do 10 things at once. If you create vlogs, blogs, an author, or do consulting and web building, etc. anything that requires in depth concentration and focus this app is perfect. I can get in some great workflows in creating content, but I have a bad habit of wandering in my mind and on my phone while working. I will be on a roll for 10 minutes then check my emails, IG, website, or worst watch YouTube clips of something stupid like cat drives truck, next thing you know 15 minutes and 8 videos in I’ve wasted time and mental space. This app sets work time in increments of your choosing, I usually do 20-25 minutes and take 5 minute breaks in between. It is free and fun to use! I love the low-key ticking sound that subconsciously reminds you you’re running against the clock which for a competitive person like myself is awesome!

These were just a few of the ones I believe will buy you back more time, earn more, and appropriate your time in a manner that will cause you to feel more driven and in control of your work/life balance. So many entrepreneurs stay busy doing absolutely nothing, once you see how much you are actually doing or rather what you’re not doing you will shape up hopefully. Remember we are our own boss, meaning you are actually an employee too! You work for you, now let me ask you this, if you were paying someone (you) would you hire or fire them? Are you working optimally? Well here’s a way to do so if not.

App organization is the key to you being the efficient business owner you envision yourself to be, start today, hold yourself accountable.
CEO DriveHer

Be sure to visit my website at http://www.ceodriveher.shop for my ebooks and consulting/coaching services. You can find many of videos on YouTube at CEO Driveher and follow me on Instagram @ceodriveher for daily motivation and gig info.

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.

WHY SO MANY GIGS?

Be sure to email me at ceodriveher@gmail.com about services.

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

IS YOUR GIG JOB(s) A LLC?

In this day of the ultimate gig economist, contracted worker, independent contractors, digital nomads, etc., if you fall in any of these categories it is a must you establish your business construct as a LLC. Now, let me preface this with that I am not a financial advisor nor am a business lawyer, these are simply my opinions drafted from my own personal experiences, research, and conclusions. You are free to do what best fits your need, I just want you all to weigh your options so that you:

Protect your employment
Grant yourself some job security.
Be cost effective. maximize your earrings, and cost savings.
Take full advantage of the rewards and opportunities that serve businesses more than individuals.
Limit co-mingling and maintain good bookkeeping.

What is a LLC.? LLC stands for Limited Liability Company which is a corporate structure in the United States whereby the owners are not personally liable for the compan’s debts or liabilities. They have the characteristics of a corporation with those of a partnership or sole proprietorship. Every state differs a bit but the benefits outweigh any other option if you’re an individual (sole proprietor) owner of a company.

Why to create a LLC. compulating all your gig jobs allowing your LLC. to serve as an umbrella/cover (insurance policy) over your businesses. Establishing a LLC. is releatively easy and cost less than $500 which includes everything, but I will explain how to later in this blog. You want to create a LLC. for legal protection, but mainly to use as leverage for your own personal and business finances. Once LLC. is established you can easily acquire the following:

Fuel Cards: these are really good for bookkeeping purposes and you save more money on fuel cost. Most of us are using our own vehicles to complete these gigs.
Electronics: when you use your business credit for tools i.e. phones, computers, laptops, instruments, apps, etc. you can really build business credit and save build using entities such as Dell, Apple, Microsoft etc. They are really good about extended credit which is helpful when you’re first building credit. As a digital nomad and freelance writer this is big for me because I use 2 cell phones, 1 ipad, a laptop, and numerous software. In the event I need a replacement or better equipment I’d prefer to use my LLC. business line of credit instead of straining my own.
Affiliate Partnerships: this allows other businesses to see that you have established a legitimate business and there’s some accountability on your part. Hence they’ll want to do more business with you or even invest in your company.
Better Tax Incentives: hands down if you run your books right and you leverage it right you’ll be able to really save! Rideshare drivers are now seeing tax laws change on mileage and tax write-offs that now is chipping away at their returns.
Financial Protection: this is a highly informative area and varies from state to state so I suggest you research this area for yourself, but to summarize it’s better someone come after your company than you as an individual!
Multiple Streams of Income: self-explanatory, you can structure your business in such diverse ways that allows you to create content, passive income, and merchandise.

CHECKOUT MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL, LIKE, AND SUBSCRIBE!

In short I will outline what you need to become established as an LLC., now this is a generic listing being certain requirements differ in various states some more lenient while others can be heavy-handed in acquiring; overall it’s still relatively easy. Ok to get started I suggest the following in this order:

Business Name (make sure you verify it hasn’t been trademarked at
http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=4801:opytx7.1.1 from the https://www.uspto.gov/trademark website for trademarks and patents.
Logo: create an unique logo easily for cheap on http://www.fiverr.com
Purchase a Virtual Office: includes actual address and business line this will vary in need contingent on your business structure.
Website & Domain Name: you can purchase this for cheap, no need to be fancy, you can always upgrade, keep it simple to like a landing page or 2-3 pages listing products/service, about page, and pricing. Again keep it simple.
Bio: this needs to be professionally done, you’ll be surprise how many seeks out your credentials. This needs to be short, sweet, but highly informative. FYI I do these professionally part of my http://www.knbresume.com business. If you need one I’d love to write one up for you.
Certificate of Organization: you usually obtain this through the Secretary of State (you must have this for a DUNS# and Business Checking account)
EIN#, Duns & Bradstreet Number: this is your tax i.d. AND IT IS FREE (beware of sites that charge, only go to the IRS website
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxpayer-identification-numbers-tin after received apply for your DUNS# at
https://www.dnb.com/ this will allow you not to have to use yourself as a personal guarantee to obtain business credit. Both are free!
Legal Docs: this simple depending on your business, start off with Release of Liability forms, and Non-Disclosures. These help protect you and your intellectual properties.

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.