TaskRabbit recently hit the headlines after IKEA purchased all the company’s stocks. This platform allows you to perform odd jobs on a per-job basis. Like the rest of the gig economy, you work on your time and your schedule. As with other platforms, some find TaskRabbit incredibly lucrative—others, not so much.
So, how much money can you earn with TaskRabbit? How do you earn top dollar for your services, whether you’re repairing someone’s house or folding their laundry?
What do Taskers earn?
The company reported in 2015 that between 10 and 15 percent of its Taskers earned upwards of $6,000 per month. Taskers perform a wide variety of odd jobs that generally center around house and yard maintenance and perhaps repair work and grocery shopping. It offers a step up from Craigslist for both worker and client—you get the benefit of a guaranteed payment, and your client has the confidence that you have been appropriately vetted and background checked.
How do Taskers earn more money?
TaskRabbit’s draw can also be its downfall—it’s versatile, but sometimes the versatility leaves Taskers unable to bring in the income they need.
So how do you earn more on TaskRabbit? Many Taskers have reported earnings of over $2,000 per week using these simple tricks.
1. Be flexible
This one should go without saying in the gig economy. However, it’s easy to search on TaskRabbit for only one kind of work (whatever you happen to specialize in). Remember, though, that the value of a job is determined by what the client is willing to pay. If they’ll pay you $70 to fold t-shirts because they really need it done fast, great! Take it—and be looking for it.
Aside from being willing to do (sometimes very) odd jobs that are out of your comfort zone, remember that there’s another thing clients will pay for: time. Be on the lookout for clients with time-sensitive projects. The closer to the deadline they are, the more willing they’ll be to pay a higher rate for your prompt services.
2. Capitalize on your skills
TaskRabbit is all about skilled workers. Carpenters and handymen often command rates of $150 per hour. However, if you never went to school for a trade like that, you don’t have to worry. Many of the high-earning Taskers learned their skills from previous job experiences or their own side projects around the house. Did you learn to hang drywall while remodeling your house? Try doing it for someone else. Did you get tired of paying to have lawn equipment serviced, so you spent some quality time with YouTube and learned to service it yourself? What’s stopping you from putting those skills up for hire?
TaskRabbit is a versatile platform and that means you have to think about what marketable skills you may have.
3. Invest in your business
Remember, working in the gig economy is like running your own small business. No one is going to invest in you on purpose. You have to invest in yourself. That can look like spending time developing a skill. It can also look like paying for a certification or a piece of equipment. Browse around TaskRabbit in your area sometimes and see what clients are looking for—and what you might be able to bring to them. If you invest well in your business, it can let you bring greater value to your clients, which will, in turn, allow you to command higher rates.
