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Why Lyft is the Perfect Second Source of Income

I’m always looking for easy ways to make money, it’s kind of like a hobby for me.  Some people like to watch tv or play sports, but I’m always on the hunt for hobbies that align with viable business opportunities.  The first time I realized that I could make money off a hobby was during college when I started coaching volleyball.  Obviously it wasn’t the same as getting paid to play, but I did get paid to hang out with my friends(who were also coaches), hit balls at a bunch of kids (as hard as I could!) and exercise for a couple of hours a day.

Now that I’m older, my hobbies have changed but I still like making money.  So when I first heard that Lyft drivers were making $40-$50 an hour driving their car around my ears perked up.  It sounded too good to be true, especially considering that that was more than I made per hour at my day job.

After some initial research, I realized that not everyone was making that much, but it was very possible to make $40 an hour or more if you drove during peak times.  I was sold.  I was ready to give Lyft a try and it ended up being even easier than I thought to get started. [Read more…]

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My First Week as a Lyft Driver

I’ll be honest, the main reason why I started driving for Lyft was for the money.  I’m obviously passionate about the future of peer to peer ridesharing but what really motivated me to sign up as a driver was the pay.  I don’t ever plan on driving 8 hours a day but it’s pretty cool to be able to turn on the app whenever you want and make a little extra money.  I’m getting kind of old too so taking a Friday night off and making a couple hundred bucks sounded a lot better than a massive Saturday hangover.

My First Ride

My first ride happened on a Wednesday a few weeks ago when I was on my way home from work.  I was running some errands near a large shopping mall and I figured what better time than now for my first Lyft-perience?  Within a few minutes, I got a buzz and I was en route to pick up my passenger.  Everything went pretty smoothly although I forgot to give him a fist bump when he came in and our conversation was a little awkward (his fault, not mine haha).

My ride ended up right next to a Trader Joe’s so I hopped in and got some stuff for dinner and my first day of Lyfting was over just as quickly as it had started.  I know most people might find it odd to do only one Lyft and be done but it was the perfect way to dip my toes in the water.  I wasn’t sure how much I made but I guessed it was anywhere from $5 to $10 since it was only a 10 minute, 2.5 mile ride.

The next day I got my daily digest and saw that I had made $7!  Not a huge sum of money but it was pretty cool to get paid for basically driving to the grocery store on my way home.  I was pretty nervous too on my first ride so I drove very cautiously, missed a couple lights that I easily could have made, etc.  I could have done that route in about half the time and made close to the same amount.  That’s when I realized the potential of making some serious cash with Lyft. [Read more…]