What does it take to pull in six figures as a Tasker? Insider recently published an article featuring William Young, a 23-year-old New York University graduate whose first job out of school was at an Amazon warehouse. He soon joined Taskrabbit as a way to earn more money, and before he knew it, he was making more than $130 per day—a threshold that gave him enough financial incentive to switch to tasking full time.
From William’s piece, we’ve gleaned nine tips that can help you make the most of your tasking experience. His story is a great reminder that you can start and maintain a successful business using Taskrabbit, and the flexibility it offers can go a long way in helping you blaze your own trail through life.
Build a Business Model that Works for You
Tip #1: Prioritize billable hours.
If you spend more time working and less time traveling or shopping for supplies, you’ll end up with more money in your pocket. You can do this by opting into categories that may require longer hours, or ones that give you an opportunity to upsell your skills and perform more services for your client.
While opting in to task categories that can net you the most paid hours may be advantageous, do remember that the more clients you get, the more opportunities you’ll have to garner great reviews and build your business. Striking the right balance is key!
Tip #2: If you’re in a city, minimize your Work Area map to reduce travel time.
If you live in a big city, it can help to draw a small Work Area map. Having a higher density of potential clients in a smaller area can be a treasure trove of potential work and a quick way to build your business with minimal hassle or travel time.
If you’re tasking in a larger work area and require more travel time, it’s advantageous to book longer jobs so that all the travel pays off. The key to a great business model is getting your travel time vs. billable hours balanced in your favor.
Tip #3: Dominate a category, or diversify your services in categories that you enjoy.
When building your skills and experience, it can be lucrative to master a particular category so that you can do it perfectly every time. While William performs Mounting tasks roughly 85% of the time (with his other categories being Help Moving and Furniture Assembly), he knows other Taskers who are generally handy and make great livings tasking in a broader range of categories.
Either way, it helps to task in categories that 1) you’re good at and 2) you enjoy. Your skills and positive energy will show with your clients, thereby helping you get good reviews, valuable experience, and more business.
Streamline Your Business
Tip #4: Slowly scale your rates based on your experience level.
The more clients you have, the more experience you’ll gain. This, in turn, can increase the quality of your work. As your skill level increases, you can slowly (and justifiably) raise your rates as a Tasker. By concurrently gaining great reviews, you can show prospective clients that you have a successful track record and are worth the rates you charge.
You may find that your rates will eventually shift based on how much you want to work. While you’ll likely find more task security and a guaranteed schedule with lower rates, you may find yourself in such high demand that raising your rates is the only way to find balance. This can help you build a more pleasant schedule without reducing your income.
Tip #5: Let your Skills & Experience description do all the selling
Your Tasker profile is the key to your success. For each category, you have an opportunity not just to create customized explanations of your skills and experience, but also to share photos of your previous work. If you make your Skills & Experience descriptions thorough, they can do all the selling for you.
Tip #6. Buy supplies ahead of time.
If you’re tasking in a few main categories (or even one main category), you’ll quickly learn what supplies you generally need to get the job done. William suggests buying supplies in advance every month to avoid wasting lucrative tasking time. Making multiple unbillable trips to the hardware store won’t net you more income!
Tip #7. Always prepare for the next day, and embrace routines.
William considers preparation for the next work day part of his “work cycle,” and for good reason: checking your calendar every night can help you mentally prepare for your tasks the next day. Whether this means packing your tool bag, planning trips to the hardware store (see Tip #6!), or planning your travel routes, being ready can only have a positive impact on your business.
William also checks his next-day task calendar every night during dinner, which is just one example of how building a routine can minimize any mental strain that comes with being busy. You may also benefit from structuring free time into your schedule so that you can decompress after those busy days or weeks. While routines aren’t for everyone, they can definitely give you some consistency in your busy (and sometimes unpredictable) life as an entrepreneur.
Service Tips
Tip #8. Don’t forget about customer service.
When you’re hopping from one task to the next to earn as much money as possible, you may feel overwhelmed at times. In situations like this, it can help to take a breath and remember that you’re there to make a client’s day easier. Good customer service comes with focusing on the task at hand and always giving your client the best experience possible. Whether you’re sharing friendly conversation, listening to their input, or quickly completing a task so they can move on with their day, never forget that clients give you a means to build your business in the first place.
Tip #9. Honesty is key, always.
Sometimes, life doesn’t work out perfectly no matter how hard we try. As a Tasker, you may run into bad traffic, scheduling conflicts, or emergencies that prevent you from being able to complete a task. William advises all Taskers to be honest with their clients when such challenges present themselves, because honesty—and clear communication in general—is just another method of good customer service.
By following the above tips, you can earn a great living on Taskrabbit. Gig work makes up a substantial portion of the current economy, and we’re proud to be one of the few platforms that gives you full control over your own hourly rates, task categories, and schedule. It’s always about freedom, flexibility, and choosing to make life work for you.
