It’s no secret how huge ridesharing has become between Uber and Lyft. I personally have never used Lyft, but I’ve used Uber over a dozen times and the whole concept still amazes me. I can, from my phone, request a car to pick me up (from almost anywhere) and they’ll come in usually less than 15 minutes.
My sidepreneur guest today, Andrew Helling, runs a side business that offers advice, information and promotions to both rideshare drivers and users. His website is Ride Share Owl and I brought him onto Sidepreneurial to share with us how he’s doing it.
1. What Is Your Day Job And What Is Your Side Business?
I have always been involved in both the aviation and finance industries and as a full-time investment professional I have been presented numerous passive income ideas. None of these really connected with me, but last year I began driving for Uber and Lyft on the weekends with the simple goal of meeting new people. I really enjoyed the experience, but realized there are limited online resources in which new users can find helpful information about the business.
To solve this problem, I created Rideshareowl.com which focuses on all things rideshare. After launching my site, I saw great demand for my information and was able to capitalize on the web traffic by using both pay per click ads and new user referrals. So not only do I get to help new drivers in their journey into ridesharing, but I also get paid for doing it!
2. How Did You Choose Your Side Business?
When I was signing up to drive, I had a lot of questions and it seemed like there was nowhere to get answers. I figured that I was not the only one with questions and wanted to help be a resource to new drivers.
After seeing the ever-increasing traffic to my resources, I figured I could capitalize on it by using ads.
3. How Do You Find Time To Work On Your Side Business?
I think that every entrepreneur can attest that their side hustle is a passion and they will always be able to find time to work on their side business.
When my site was in its early stages I would ride early and stay up late and dedicate any free time to my site. However, now that my business is running, it requires minimum maintenance – I love passive income!
4. What’s Working For You Right Now In Growing Your Side Business?
Running a blog is hard work because the only good way to increase brand exposure is to really hit the ground running and reach out to other bloggers. The thing that has really grown my side business has really been just reaching out to others in order to get my name out there.
Writing content is the easy part – getting traffic to the site is tough and is a real grind, but once traffic is established you can really see the results.
5. What Advice Can You Give Someone Who Is Thinking About Starting A Side Business?
My best advice is that your business can grow to unlimited amounts if you are willing to put in the work. I think the biggest hurdle to starting a side business is that the average person does not want to dedicate the time to establishing a brand or business. The nice thing about a side business, though, is that your work has the potential to really make an impact in your life!
Secondly, once your business is established you can start to reap the benefits. Passive income is the best income so put in the work now and watch the money flow in!
