A struggling artist has revealed how he turned a simple side hustle into an income of almost $10,000 per month.
When sales slowed down for his artwork in 2021, Kyle Stockford turned to gig site TaskRabbit to make ends meet.
Using his Chevy Express van, he decided to become a freelance removalist, charging people as much as $98-an-hour to move their furniture.
Speaking to CNBC, Stockford said that he got the idea after realizing that he owned the huge vehicle, ‘but wasn’t making any money from it.’
The 29-year-old invested ‘probably around $50 in supplies’ like heavy duty blankets, gloves and straps, and then started moving furniture in Boston.
Struggling artist Kyle Stockford (pictured) has revealed how he turned a simple side hustle into an income of almost $10,000 per month
Using his Chevy Express van, he decided to become a freelance removalist, charging people as much as $98-an-hour to move their furniture
Stockford quickly realized that big jobs were harder work and less lucrative, so he focused on smaller gigs like moving college students into their dorms and doing Facebook Marketplace deliveries.
‘You know what to expect after a little while,’ he told CNBC.
‘It’s kind of the same group of furniture and the same couple trash bags of clothes.’
He also said that customer service is key to getting the edge over the competition.
‘I started to realize how stressful moving can be for people,’ he explained.
Stockford revealed that his biggest month was August 2023, where he raked in a whopping $9,740.
But he is far from the first person to start cleaning up on gig sites.
Aspiring actress Vanessa Garcia, from Los Angeles, decided to sign up for TaskRabbit back in 2017 on recommendation from friend.
Stockford quickly realized that big jobs were harder work and less lucrative, so he focused on smaller gigs like moving college students into their dorms
‘I thought it was amazing that you could get paid to put together IKEA furniture,’ the 30-year-old told Go Banking Rates.
‘Once I signed up for TaskRabbit, I found out you could do a lot more – everything from personal assistant work to event planning and staffing.’
Over the years, Vanessa has expanded her repertoire, advertising an ever-broadening scope of services to prospective clientele.
‘I offer 25 different skills on the app,’ Garcia said. ‘These range from personal assistant work to project coordination/management to organization to furniture assembly, event staffing and entertainment — to name a few!’
Right now, her highest rate is for cleaning – at just above $100 per hour – while her lowest rate is for ‘waiting in line’ – which starts at $46.45 per hour.
‘Transparently, any task could be a very high-paying one,’ Garcia explained.
‘It would ultimately come down to the high quality of work you can deliver. On my end, I can charge anywhere from $60 to $100 per hour for a task.’
