The Uberpreneur: How An Uber Driver Makes $252,000 A Year

[PopEmersen]

This is genius. Guy drives UBER but sets up his car as a mobile showroom for his jewelry business. Literally driving in the fastlane while being in the fastlane!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyous...eneur-how-an-uber-driver-makes-252000-a-year/

His name is Gavin Escolar, a charismatic Filipino man with a laugh that’s even louder than his orange-and-red striped dress shirt. We’re cruising down Valencia street when I notice diamond earrings dangling on the dashboard. Around his wrist, an emerald bracelet gleams through the sunlight. In the seat pockets, glossy catalogs display more jewelry. The cover reads: Gavin Escolar’s 2014 Collection.

Then it hits me: I’m not in Gavin’s car. I’m in his mobile showroom. He’s not just an Uber driver. Nor is he just an entrepreneur. He’s an Uberpreneur, using the ridesharing app to promote his jewelry business.

 

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[wade1mil]

Smart, but I can see this being a conflict of interest.
Soon there will be guys pitching MLM's and shit, and passengers won't feel comfortable riding with them.

 

[MitchC]

Smart, but I can see this being a conflict of interest.
Soon there will be guys pitching MLM's and shit, and passengers won't feel comfortable riding with them.

"Of course, the dark side of Uberpreneurship is drivers who don’t have Gavin’s tactfulness. They may push products in our faces without waiting for signs of interest. But that’s where the rating system comes in. If passengers give poor ratings, others will know to cancel (as long as it’s within 5 minutes of your request) or Uber will deactivate them altogether. That way, Uberpreneurs can follow their dreams without creating nightmares for passengers."

 

[RHL]

Smart, but I can see this being a conflict of interest.
Soon there will be guys pitching MLM's and shit, and passengers won't feel comfortable riding with them.

Bingo.

 

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[edward222]

You nailed it.

Smart, but I can see this being a conflict of interest.
Soon there will be guys pitching MLM's and shit, and passengers won't feel comfortable riding with them.

You nailed it.

 

[Phones]

"Of course, the dark side of Uberpreneurship is drivers who don’t have Gavin’s tactfulness. They may push products in our faces without waiting for signs of interest. But that’s where the rating system comes in. If passengers give poor ratings, others will know to cancel (as long as it’s within 5 minutes of your request) or Uber will deactivate them altogether. That way, Uberpreneurs can follow their dreams without creating nightmares for passengers."

This. It has to be really smooth, wait for the customer to ask something about it. People expect a ride, not a sales pitch. But as soon as Uber finds it, I think he'll be in trouble.

Edit: After all, Uber supports it, the user ratings above all: “Absolutely,” Uber spokeswoman Kristin Carvell says. “One of the greatest things about the Uber platform is that it offers economic opportunity for a variety of drivers — full-time, part-time, veterans, teachers, artists, and students — in more than 260 cities around the world. Supporting and fueling the local economy is important to Uber and our driver partners help us to achieve this goal.”

 

[Semmy]

@phone from the above mentioned forbes article:

"Gavin may be savvy, but do passengers find him sleazy? After all, they use Uber to request a ride, not a sales pitch. I’m also curious: does Uber condone drivers speaking about side businesses?

“Absolutely,” Uber spokeswoman Kristin Carvell says. “One of the greatest things about the Uber platform is that it offers economic opportunity for a variety of drivers — full-time, part-time, veterans, teachers, artists, and students — in more than 260 cities around the world. Supporting and fueling the local economy is important to Uber and our driver partners help us to achieve this goal.”

While I find the idea creative and interesting I think the challenge is to scale it. But then the article states:

It’s these tactics that translate to sales. In the past year, Gavin designed many jewelry pieces for passengers, averaging $18,000 in transactions per month. Adding the $3,000 monthly gross earnings from Uber, he made $252,000 last year. Gavin used the income to expand his business, buying three more cars and hiring six new drivers.

If if he manages to create a franchise out of it, it might work, who knows. But I still see only a limited number of people he might be reaching. But its a great example on how to leverage an existing job into something bigger. Time will tell.

 

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[fastattack03]

Inspiring post.

“My passengers peel back the onion,” he says. “I never solicit. I only keep subtle hints to spark conversation if they notice. If they don’t, they probably wouldn’t be my target customer anyway.”

"does Uber condone drivers speaking about side businesses?"

“Absolutely,” Uber spokeswoman Kristin Carvell says. “One of the greatest things about the Uber platform is that it offers economic opportunity for a variety of drivers — full-time, part-time, veterans, teachers, artists, and students — in more than 260 cities around the world. Supporting and fueling the local economy is important to Uber and our driver partners help us to achieve this goal.”

These quotes are grabbed from the article.

I don't think it will be filled with guys pitching MLM's because there is a review system in place. I haven't used Uber before though, so I'm not sure how big of an impact this review system will do.

So far, looks like everything is going well for the guy so congrats to him!

~Edit: Semmy, you beat me to it.

 

[Semmy]

@fastattack03 - beats me how sometimes people discuss an article without actually fully reading it

 

[benhebert]

I once got pitched to invest in someone's company when taking an Uber Black car in SF. I think as long as you don't pressure sell in situations like this, driving people with Uber or whatever app can be a great opportunity to build network and clients.

Here in Austin there are a ton of drivers who double as real estate agents. They get to drive around and see properties plus build their rolodexes.

 

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[The-J]

I have a feeling that a local 'celebrity' in the GTA does this as well.

http://mlslistingstoday.com/

This guy is a pretty well known real estate broker with a silly name. His phone number is even sillier. His ads are on the back of every bus in this town. Come to find out that he's an Uber driver now.

http://imgur.com/aDH6yRl

Notice the car he drives. He knows how his people are.

 

[Silverhawk851]

I can see Uber + Singles dating blowing up.

The drivers know who the singles are, who are looking to meet who, and can talk to them to know their taste, and it's a personal "through a friend" relationship. Consists of all Local people, since they've used Uber.

Need some sort of database, records profiles, takes a quick pic.

hmm... more people would take Uber, and more signups.
Maybe even a app, something like tinder.

Opportunities are endless. Maybe I'll pitch this to a taxi company. See how it goes.

 

[wade1mil]

I don't think it will be filled with guys pitching MLM's because there is a review system in place.

The review system wouldn't stop people from pitching MLM's. It would only kick them out once it did.

@fastattack03 - beats me how sometimes people discuss an article without actually fully reading it

You know what they say about assuming...
If the media catches wind of even a few guys pitching MLM's and word gets out, Uber suffers.
Sure the drivers get booted, but Uber would have the reputation.
How do I know this? Because this exact thing happened at a previous job.
At some point in time, Uber will probably have a policy against this.

 

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[OzzieRob]

I like the concept of Uber but personally i wouldn't like a taxi to carry any type of bling or merchandise. Just too distracting in my opinion.

What we do need here in Australia though is MOBILE vans that sell food, merchandise etc just like the good ol days of Mr Whippy : )

 

[SEBASTlAN]

I thought this post was going to be about how this one guy with an Uber account hired people who couldn't afford a car and have them drive under his account..

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

This dude's a genius. Here's an idea that I just came up with if someone wants to take it:

Custom Car Interiors.

Partner with Uber drivers to create amazing interiors. In exchange, have them sell your service for a commission.

I'm willing to bet that over 90% of Uber riders will notice the interior and mention something: "Hey, this Versace interior looks great."

That's when the driver responds: "You know what...? It's actually pretty affordable. I had this awesome guy do it for me, and it only cost [insert amount]. If you want, I'll give you his info. You can even mention my name and maybe he'll give you a discount."

At that point the client knows the price, and if he takes down the info, he self-identifies as an interested buyer. From there, your likeliness of getting a sale sky rockets.

 

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[DEM]

Smart, but I can see this being a conflict of interest.
Soon there will be guys pitching MLM's and shit, and passengers won't feel comfortable riding with them.

Hi there,

Can I ask just through curiosity why MLM has such a bad reputation in this community. Now I am no advocate for MLM however I do have friends making £5000 a month doing this, some earn double that. They have worked their a$$ for it and dedicated themselves to it just like all other entrepreneurs do with their own business. Did they earn this overnight....hell no, they worked for 10 years to get there. Have they tried to push their business on to me...no. Thats because they have crafted their approach, their very success could be enough to sell me their business. MLM isn't always some scammy type place to do business if the product is good and beneficial to those who advocate it and buy it. Personally I think it has more to do with amateurs who start out pushing it on to their nearest and dearest, ultimately pushing away their own friends etc. I just think MLM if done right and is ethical then it belongs in the same arena as any other form of business. But anyway, I was just curious about this.

 

[Serks]

Hi there,

Can I ask just through curiosity why MLM has such a bad reputation in this community. Now I am no advocate for MLM however I do have friends making £5000 a month doing this, some earn double that. They have worked their a$$ for it and dedicated themselves to it just like all other entrepreneurs do with their own business. Did they earn this overnight....hell no, they worked for 10 years to get there. Have they tried to push their business on to me...no. Thats because they have crafted their approach, their very success could be enough to sell me their business. MLM isn't always some scammy type place to do business if the product is good and beneficial to those who advocate it and buy it. Personally I think it has more to do with amateurs who start out pushing it on to their nearest and dearest, ultimately pushing away their own friends etc. I just think MLM if done right and is ethical then it belongs in the same arena as any other form of business. But anyway, I was just curious about this.

My take on it is that the low barrier to entry floods the market with the majority of people who are not savvy and looking to do business the right way but are looking to escape from something to where the grass is greener.

MLMs are looked down upon here as they're generally sold to the potential candidates as 'own your on business' 'live the dream' 'be your own boss' where in effect they don't have control over the product or organisation.

In reality, it seems that there are certain levels of the MLM where the founder and a few levels down make some good money with many below who are struggling. My take on the forum on TMF is that it's not about some making good money but increasing the probability of making BIG money through controlling and building a scalable business.

In my day job/business I personally run workshops where I try to help direct selling groups such as mlms beat procrastination and take action as many of them want a better a life, see the event (the up line who is making $x) but not the process that it took to get there which ultimately is taking the right actions.

 

[randomnumber314]

Did they earn this overnight....hell no, they worked for 10 years to get there.

Yeah, that right there is a huge red flags and why MLM's get a bad rep. If I work my a$$ off for 10 years on "my company" I had damned well better earn more than $10k a month. To me that's an f-ing joke to work hard to make that little.

 

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[DEM]

10,000 thousand pounds a month will afford you a very nice lifestyle, unless you aspire to own your own island, yacht and whatever else Richard Branson and Bill Gates have at their disposal. I do not know of many people who would consider that type of money a joke. 120 grand a year is the same wage the prime minister of England earns. How in any shape or form is that a joke. Either you are very successful which I admire you if you are, or you are a wannabe Branson. And this is money which is re ocurring revenue whether you get out of bed on a Monday or take the day off at the golf course. Obviously, the kind of people that earn this type of money rarely have a day of so to speak because their mindset is one which knows they have to continue developing.
For the record MLM is not for me, however it isn't a joke, infact it's becoming a massive business model for hugely successful companies currently floating on the stock market. It isn't a joke to those who have grasped it and changed their lives around. Infact it is the opportunity you make of it. Sure some MLM products are terrible, the whole .ws website thing is horrendous, but it is a genuine business model with genuine results. I think it is highly ignorant to judge MLM without getting the facts. Again, I am not in to it at all, but I find it insulting to hear those comments. I have a friend who regular takes vacations throughout the year, skiing in the winter season, yachting in the carribean, owns a farm with 6 bedrooms and 150 acres of land. Takes approx 25 grand a move living a lifestyle many only dream about. He did this through MLM. He now has property which he gains revenue from. So come on, be honest, can you say MLM's are all the same.
It is also nice to know someone like my friend made this life for himself, he would never have had his own company due to being flat broke. He has made a life for himself that many dream about.
You get the idea? I hope.