I know we tend to cover what it’s like driving for Uber and Lyft in California a lot, but it’s by far the biggest and most lucrative markets. Have you ever thought about picking up and moving here to drive? Today, senior RSG contributor Jay Cradeur interviewed a man who did just that: Jeremy moved from Florida to San Francisco to become an Uber driver and here’s how he planned his move, got the right coaching, and how he’s doing since the move.
Over the past couple of months, I have had the privilege of getting to know a young man named Jeremy. I first met Jeremy when he contacted me in March 2019 to ask if I would do a rideshare coaching session with him. He told me he had read some RSG articles and watched some of our Youtube videos about rideshare driving and he was interested in coming to San Francisco to pursue full time driving.
Now, over three months later, Jeremy is here in San Francisco, driving full time, and saving, $5,000 per month, after all of his expenses. This article will lay out the planning and execution of Jeremy’s transition from living in Florida to becoming a full-time Uber and Lyft driver in San Francisco.
Investing in Driver Coaching
Jeremy is a former military man. He served as a Green Beret for six years. I don’t know if that is where he learned to make a plan, but that training certainly guided his actions toward being a well prepared full-time driver.
Moving to San Francisco was not something Jeremy did without thinking about all the ramifications.
After creating his plan, Jeremy was smart to contact me and go over his plan in detail. During our coaching session, he asked me if he could legitimately make $2,000 per week. I told him he could since I have the paystubs to prove it. I told him what I thought were the best parts of the job, the hardest parts, buying vs. leasing, and finding decent bathrooms in San Francisco.
With all that knowledge, Jeremy moved ahead with his plan and jumped on a plane to the city by the bay.
Creating a Driving Strategy
Upon arriving in San Francisco, Jeremy needed to get a car. He understood the value of leasing a car and avoiding all the wear and tear and depreciation on a personal vehicle. He got a Hyundai Sonata through the Fair for Uber car program.
- California and GA drivers – click here to download the Fair app and get your first week FREE
- Drivers in other states – click here to download the Fair App and get $100 off your Fair car rental (or enter code “RSG100” at checkout)
This was a perfect fit because Jeremy was easily hitting the 120 trip mark per week and earning a $305 weekly bonus. Even though the Uber bonus has dropped a bit, Jeremy is still driving a Fair vehicle, which is the smart move for any full-time driver. Driving a Fair vehicle allows a driver to put tens of thousands of miles on a car without incurring any depreciation expense. All the wear and tear is on somebody else’s car.
I met with Jeremy just a few weeks after he arrived in San Francisco to interview him for my Rideshare Dojo podcast. Jeremy was making about $25 per hour before bonuses, so he had some questions to ask me about routes in order to increase his per hour earnings.
This job, in order to be as profitable as possible, depends on the driver’s knowledge of routes. There are certain areas to drive toward, and there are certain areas from which to drive away. Each city has its busy areas and dead areas.
Getting to know when and where to be, is vital knowledge for the successful driver. For example, during the morning commute, a driver should know where there are high-density residential areas to pick up folks going to work every day.
Best Part Of Being a Rideshare Driver
I asked Jeremy what he felt was the best aspect or quality of being a rideshare driver. He said he enjoyed how each driver is fully in control of his or her own destiny. If you have good discipline, you will work consistently each day and make good money. If you are not disciplined, you will struggle.
There is also tremendous flexibility in this job. If you want to take a long weekend or go away for an extended vacation, you can do that. It is all up to each of us as to how we run our business.
Jeremy also said he likes the upside to being a rideshare driver. In most jobs, you can only work, or at least get paid, for 40 hours. With rideshare driving, you can work 12-hour days, or you can work 70-80 hours a week. Your ceiling is pretty high.
Jeremy is currently earning between $2,000 and $2,200 per week after paying for his Fair vehicle. He and I have talked about doing a marathon week in which we go for a $3,000 week. I am not sure if this old man (me) is up to the challenge. I have no doubt that Jeremy could put in the hours to get it done if he really wanted to. However, there are some downsides to being a full-time driver and making the leap to move states and earn more.
Worst Part Of Being a Rideshare Driver
Jeremy says the worst part is the best part. Everything falls on your shoulders. You can work hard and make good money. But you can also find plenty of excuses and reasons why you don’t need to work, and then your big earnings don’t materialize.
Being an IC (independent contractor) is a double-edged sword. You can just as easily work as not work. You can easily get distracted. You can procrastinate. I notice that after a nice run of seven days in a row, I will start to think to myself: “OK, we are on a roll now, it will be OK to take tomorrow off!” Even though I have set as my goal to work 14 days in a row and put $4,000 in the bank, it is just that easy to get thrown off target.
Best Part: Freedom and flexibility. Worst Part: Freedom and flexibility
Always Have a Goal or Plan B for Rideshare
Jeremy’s plan remains to pocket $5,000 per month and have $60,000 saved up at the end of his first year. He is very focused right now and has limited distractions. Jeremy is also pursuing becoming a notary signing agent to increase his per hour earnings and augment his rideshare driving. Jeremy, Nathan Daulton and I meet twice a month for a mastermind group and we go over our goals and share things we have learned.
Our goals may change over time, but only for the better. We are three men who are very focused on making good money and living a great life.
Key Takeaways
Jeremy is probably more the exception than the rule. Most people don’t want to work too hard. Most people spend more time complaining and less time planning and executing the plan by taking action. Jeremy is definitely an action taker. I have no doubt that he will save up more than $60,000 in his first year and after that, the sky’s the limit.
A strong work ethic combined with a prudent plan often leads to great success. Be safe out there.
If you’re ready to make the move to California and sign up to drive with Uber or Lyft, let us know how it goes.
Readers, have you ever made a drastic move to earn more? Let us know about it in the comments below.
-Jay @ RSG
