RSG077: Meet the Minnesota Lawyer Who Delivers & Walks Dogs in His Spare Time!

Have you ever wanted to make money from things you already do in your spare time? It’s possible, and it’s not difficult! In this podcast episode, I interview Kevin, a delivery driver in Minnesota who’s delivered with Postmates, DoorDash, UberEATS and so much more about his strategies for delivery driving by bike plus how he makes a couple hundred dollars extra each month – in his spare time. 

If you’d like to read a transcript of this podcast, please click here.

Intro

  • What if I told you there was a way to make money for doing the things you’re already doing?
  • On this podcast, we’ve got a wide ranging interview with a lawyer from Minnesota who spends his downtime delivering food for Postmates, DoorDash, UberEATS, and he’s found a number of side hustles that fit well into things he already enjoys.
  • If you’re curious how he does it all, this is the episode for you!
  • Also, this podcast episode is sponsored by Take 5, and their goal is to get your oil change done in just a few minutes. In fact, Take 5 will actually allow you to stay in your car while they change your oil! Also, they really only focus on basic services like oil changes, transmission fluid, air filters, etc. so you won’t be upsold anything like “blinker fluid” (which doesn’t exist in real life).
  • Take 5 is not yet in California but they are available in the Southeast, and right now Take 5 is offering 25% off oil changes. Find more about it here!

Interview with Kevin of FinancialPanther.com

  • Kevin is an attorney and blogger at FinancialPanther.com, where he writes about personal finance, side hustling, the sharing economy and other gig economy apps.
  • While working at a big law firm, Kevin was looking for fun things to do on the side and signed up to do deliveries on his bike with Postmates.
  • He’s been delivering on his bike for 3 years and has done deliveries for DoorDash, UberEATS, Caviar, and Tapingo.
  • Kevin found that many people aren’t ordering food from too far away – they don’t want it to get cold – and that biking really made a lot of economical sense. Plus, it got him some paid-for exercise!

Logistics of Bike Delivery

  • For bike deliveries, where the order is going matters more – the app tells you which restaurants you’re going to, but sometimes you need to know where it’s going.
  • With biking, you don’t want to end up going too far, especially if you’re doing deliveries while on a lunch break.
  • If you don’t know where the delivery is going, turn on your delivery app after work/around dinnertime – Kevin turns it on when he’s on his way home.
  • As a bike deliverer, Kevin can see what items he’s picking up – while some people will deliver a bunch of pizzas, Kevin doesn’t want anything too big or bulky (soda!).
  • Two main things to pay attention to as a bike deliverer: how to carry things and where you are going.

Delivering with Postmates, DoorDash, UberEATS and More

  • Postmates was one of the first delivery companies in Minneapolis, where Kevin bikes, DoorDash and other came later.
  • Kevin finds new companies to deliver with through Craigslist.
  • Mostly delivers with Postmates, DoorDash, and UberEATS, one delivery a week with every company.
  • Kevin can usually make an extra $200 a month doing delivery in his spare time, and he doesn’t carve out large amounts of time to do deliveries – basically, he’s exercising and getting paid $200 to do it.

Tips for Delivery Drivers

  • Have fun with it and remember delivery is all about communication – make sure to text people that you’re on your way, etc.
  • 95% of delivery drivers are not going to communicate with their customers, but this just leaves the customer confused and maybe even frustrated. It doesn’t take more than a few seconds to send a “heads up” text.

Always Be Looking for Extra Ways to Make Money

  • On Kevin’s site, he also covers other side hustles he’s interested in, like Airbnb, Wag (dog-walking) and Rover (pet-sitting).
  • One of his new favorites, Wag, lets him walk dogs during his lunch break, since his office is near a lot of apartments and many people need their dogs walked.
  • Try to look for gigs that work with your schedule and would be something you’re doing any – do you stay home during holidays? You might want to sign up for Rover to pet-sit someone’s dog since you’ll be home anyway.
  • Kevin also attended FinCon, a conference for side hustlers, personal finance bloggers, and others looking to increase their income – check out FinCon replays here!

Outro

  • Thank you to Kevin for coming on and talking with us about bike delivery and working for delivery companies
  • For Kevin’s weirdest stories as a delivery driver, don’t forget to check out his site!
  • Over time, you can see that all of these side things Kevin does add up – he’s not taking a ton of time out of his day, he’s just adding it to things he already does
  • Also, this podcast episode is sponsored by Take 5, and their goal is to get your oil change done in just a few minutes. In fact, Take 5 will actually allow you to stay in your car while they change your oil! Also, they really only focus on basic services like oil changes, transmission fluid, air filters, etc. so you won’t be upsold anything like “blinker fluid” (which doesn’t exist in real life).
  • Take 5 is not yet in California but they are available in the Southeast, and right now Take 5 is offering 25% off oil changes. Find more about it here!

Show Notes

If you’d like to read a transcript of this podcast, please click here.