In this industry, things change quickly. On today’s podcast, we interview one of the most veteran drivers I know. Doug Hererra is a founding Lyft driver from Orange County who takes us on a journey back in time to when Lyft first launched in the LA area. Things were different back then and frankly a lot better. But there are lots of great lessons learned and reminiscing in this interview that new and old drivers should appreciate.
It’s always fun to look back at how things used to be but there’s also a lot of value in seeing what mistakes were made, how things have changed and what to expect going forward. Lyft has changed a lot in just a couple of years and while Uber often dominates the headlines, it’s no secret that many drivers prefer Lyft for their community oriented approach and fun-loving attitude.
If you’d like to read a transcript of this podcast, please click here.
Intro
- Today we’ll be talking with a founding Lyft driver from Orange County, Doug Herrera
- Pros and cons of driving
- Recognizing opportunities within the rideshare community
- Thank you to all current and new iTunes subscribers!
- Check out our video course, Maximum Ridesharing Profits
- Two levels for the course: intro level and gold level course
- Gold level comes with both intro and gold, so it’s a great option if you want to learn more about maximizing your ridesharing opportunities
Interview with Doug Herrera
- Maintains the ridesharingdriver.com website
- Founding Lyft driver in Orange County, CA
- Driving since summer 2013
Lyft Driving in the Beginning
- Lyft experience at the beginning fairly different from how it is now
- Community group on Facebook with scheduled driver meet ups
- Paid $15 an hour regardless of demand
- Lyft made you schedule hours in advance – you could request 40 hours but only get assigned 5-10 hours
- Lyft at the beginning was very warm and fuzzy for both drivers and passengers, very proactive about training
- That model was unfortunately not that scalable
Mistakes Lyft Made Along the Way
- Over-managed the market, micro-managed hours
- Difficult to point to one big mistake, more like general growth issues
- Rate wars with Uber was a mistake, affected dedicated Lyft drivers
- One thing Lyft did really well is offering promo codes to drivers to recruit new drivers
Lessons Learned
- Still a lot of room to grow with Lyft
- For drivers: stay on your feet because this is an unpredictable market
- Be happy with the driving you’re doing now and live in the moment
- This isn’t a stable career, but it can be enjoyable
- Great flexible opportunity
Ridesharing Driver
- Looking for a site out there by drivers, for drivers
- Wanted to answer questions drivers had that Uber and Lyft don’t address
- Was able to combine passions for writing and being a driver
- Want to start your own business? Start small, start cheap when being an entrepreneur
- Take the opportunity to be an entrepreneur, because it’s worth the effort
- Your first attempt might not work out, but you’ll open your network and learn more about the process
Outro
- Opportunities and jobs can evolve over time, it’s all about seizing new opportunities
- Nothing in this industry is constant, but if you can take opportunities, you’ll be successful
- Mix these opportunities with your passion to be truly successful
- Questions, comments, or feedback? Send me an email!
- Sign up for our email list
Show Notes
- Check out our Maximum Ridesharing Profits Intro course and the Gold course
- Check out Doug’s site at Ridesharingdriver.com
- Contact Doug at Doug@ridesharingdriver.com
- Get $20 off your first service with YourMechanic with the code ‘RSG15‘
If you’d like to read a transcript of this podcast, please click here.
If you were a founding Lyft driver, I’d love to hear from you. What was your experience like and how have things changed over time?
-Harry @ RSG
