(Money/Entrepreneurship) I don't really know what to do...

[BPH]

Does your family have a power washer?

I know some people that make a killing doing power washing of trash cans/houses/driveways, etc...

One of those things that's not too expensive but a lot of people don't have one.

We do not.

I actually asked Gemini to do some Deep Research on this, because I'd seen videos of young guys making good money doing this. Unfortunately, it seems to have a lot of the same problems lawn care has: high upfront cost for equipment, ongoing cost for maintenance, seasonal, several licenses and insurance needed, and restricted to a general area around where I live.

The baseline pressure washer recommended for regular commercial use starts at $1,000. I think I'd be making most of the same expensive mistakes I'd made doing lawn care if I were to do this.

Those videos you see on YouTube where driver cancels an exclusive, sometimes several exclusives in a row. That's fake garbage. We don't cancel an exclusive ride. Exclusive ride is blue accept button. Blue accept button you always accept. Why those videos are fake? If you cancel 4 exclusives in a row you loose uber diamond status for the next 100 rides. If you cancel 4 exclusives in a row, you loose uber platinum status for the next 100 rides. No platinum no diamond and it's not really uber anymore. They make fake videos on YouTube, otherwise people that don't drive uber make videos. That's what you dealing with.

Look man, without dashcam it's your word against rider's word, and your word is always more believable. Don't get dash cam. Don't record your ride. As far as about being killed or robbed, there is this rider rating feature,

View attachment 15990
it gets you only best rides, only best behavior. 4.8 is also not bad people, but are less polished around the edges. 4.8 can for example want to put their big dirty travel bag inside, instead of trunk.

You see, we drivers correct behavior and rate uber riders every trip. Car is always locked. You can't get inside. Driver has to observe you. Otherwise if car was to be unlocked, drinks and food would get inside. People with dogs would get inside. Dog is a big issue, according to ADA drivers have to take service dogs and people use this fully. The only way out is to arrive, and cancel as can't find rider. In extreme situations when you know probability of rider complaining is high, cancel and take a cancellation hit for the next 100 rides. This where your instincts come into play. You observe rider before arrival and if there are certain red flags you bail. For example, I would bail if I approach a perfectly safe apartment building and I see someone walking a dog or standing with dog. That don't mean it's my rider. But it could be. Pickup is risky. It's things like that you deal with. Dogs, and people with food and drink.

Sometime you can get hospital call and get a retard. Also happened. Cancel as can't find rider and move on. Worst thing I had happen to me was a call in black neighborhood. I got ambushed. That's when rider is not seen, you park, and they approach from behind. I did not see her in the mirrors. It's classic throw baby in the car behavior. I was new back then. I unlock and there is mamma with a baby. I didn't take them. No car seat. They were going just a few blocks down. They end up calling me cracker and slamming door. In response I end up writing a safety report and documenting incident. I waited full 2 + 5 minutes on them and got my cancellation fee, plus their account got flagged.

Nowadays, I always observe, either directly or position my car so that I can see in mirrors. Food. Drink. Dog. Kid. Lots of ****. Can't find rider, move on. They still managed to sneak up on me even after my careful positioning? Bail just in case. Ambush is a red flag. Normal riders don't ambush rides.

4.9, remember.

As far as money. Uber diamond makes $500 on average every two shifts. That's enough to cover vehicle for $414 and fuel for two days. Fuel is $25 to $50, per day, really depending on miles. Daily it's $200 to $300 in your pocket, really.

Uber gold would pocket $100 to $200. Uber platinum same thing, only much better quality riders and easier rides.

Uber blue would under perform and get short cheap rides with bad quality riders.

People that open up uber driver app, register, and begin driving, get 25 trip gold trial. 25 completed rides is 1 full shift plus half a shift the next day. They end up cherry picking rides they like. They end up cancelling exclusives, instead of arriving and doing can't find rider. After 25 ride trial they end up with uber blue and then complain how bad is uber and how much it sucks.

But uber begins at uber platinum, and uber diamond is really where it's at. Besides that, driver must know red flags, use filters, and get rides in good neighborhoods.

Uber is a skill.

Here is an article with some interesting statistics regarding rideshare, specifically sexual assault, murders, likelihood of accidents, etc.:

Lyft and Uber Rideshare Sexual Assault Statistics (2026)

Lyft and Uber rideshare sexual assault statistics show that 406,000+ riders may have suffered abuse. Get the latest Lyft and Uber statistics.

www.sokolovelaw.com

Some notable statistics:

• 36 fatalities from physical assaults in 2021-2022, an 80% increase from 2019-2020. Drivers were the victim in 61% of those deaths, and 32% of those deaths were the result of a carjacking
• Between 2017 and 2022 Uber alone had 400,181 reports of sexual assault of misconduct documented, or 1 report every 8 minutes
• Insurance premiums are roughly 28% higher and due to the nature of the work, drivers are 73% more likely to be involved in a car accident

Here is a Reddit post linking to an article by MIT stating that 74% of Uber/Lyft drivers earn less than minimum wage after expenses, with the median income being $8.55/hour:

Lyft and Uber Rideshare Sexual Assault Statistics (2026)

Lyft and Uber rideshare sexual assault statistics show that 406,000+ riders may have suffered abuse. Get the latest Lyft and Uber statistics.

www.sokolovelaw.com

Even if I were to disregard all that information, as I said before, each of our family's cars has over 200k miles on it and would likely not last long driving so much, so frequently.

No, you're thinking of influencer affiliate marketing. I'm talking about OG affiliate marketing ie setting up a website (ideally multiple websites) for a specific niche and using SEO.

It's even easier now with AI, they can literally build a website for you and dish out tons of articles very quickly. My friend just did it for a sports betting website and used AI to make all the websites and he already start making some money from it.

Ahh, I see what you meant. I'll look into it; I just don't know what I'd be marketing, as evidenced by this post.

Again, take this with a grain of salt. I’m just giving you my opinion, and I don’t have any research to back it up.

I think you need to manage your expectations. The first year of running a business can often be unprofitable, and the people who make “**** you” money are few and far between. Some people might treat entrepreneurship as a side hustle, but those who are really in the trenches have to put in extra hours and be boots on the ground.

I also think the dream of making money from home is long gone after the pandemic. There is just so much competition, AI, and the marketplace has become so globalized.

I’ve been working in my industry for over 10 years, and I’ve only met one person who I’d consider to have something close to “half **** you money.” Interestingly, his employees complained about how cheap he was and how he wouldn’t buy the supplies needed to finish jobs. Apparently, he had a hot wife, he was like 40 years old 10 years ago but spent all his money building a big house with Italian tiles and putting his kids through expensive hockey programs and making his wife happy.

Anyway, I’m probably not much help, but hopefully some perspective is better than none. Good luck!

P.S. I’ve also heard of people getting into the trucking business by buying an 18-wheeler, hiring a driver, and using the profits to gradually build a fleet.

P.S. 2: We have a customer who buys roughly half a million dollars’ worth of products from us. Apparently, the owner is a 70-year-old Italian perv with no wife or kids. The only way our sales rep managed to get into his good graces was by opening a Tinder account.


Disclaimer: I work in the welding industry.

Well, I'm not deluded into thinking I'm going to make a ton of money out of the gate.

HOWEVER...I need to find SOMETHING that will make me SOME money NOW...and I can build on that and improve over time. I don't know what that is.

As far as your trucking recommendation, I know truckers can make quite a lot of money. One of my exes had a friend who was dating this guy (I think they're married now) who got into trucking working under his dad, and slowly worked his way into more lucrative jobs. They're loaded.

I'd be most concerned with staying awake for those long hours of boring, open roads, and then only spending a small portion of your time NOT working and driving.

 

[BPH]

Part 2 due to length...

Unfortunately, that puts you at a disadvantage.

Few entrepreneurs hit paydirt straight out of the gate.

You either need to find something you enjoy doing enough so that it doesn't necessarily need to pay off, ever.

OR you need to realize that is going to be a low-paying side hustle while you work a regular job until the side hustle grows enough to replace your necessary income from doing a job you don't like.

This means your social life will necessarily take a hit.

Taking an enjoyable side hustle and morphing it into a full time income generally takes a few years, at least.

Which is possible if you're willing to pay the costs (a year or two with little social life).

But most aren't willing to pay the costs, which is why most would-be entrepreneurs are in your exact some position.

"If only I could find a lucrative side hustle that would pay me a full time hustle within a few months I'd be Golden!"

I agree, and it's pretty much the same thing I said to @Clockwerk50:

"Well, I'm not deluded into thinking I'm going to make a ton of money out of the gate.

HOWEVER...I need to find SOMETHING that will make me SOME money NOW..."

The reason I originally left my job was that dating coaching was showing signs of life, and I thought quitting would give me the time necessary to scale and pursue it, as opposed to just doing the bare minimum and going through the motions during my post-work hours.

That didn't work out, and now I'm back at the starting line. Which is fine - I just don't know what to do now.

@BPH "As a lot of you know, I tried my hand at dating coaching. I stopped doing that about a month or 2 ago, because after a little more than a year, my only clients were members from this forum"

You sound surprised that you weren't rolling in the $$$$$$$$$$$s after a little over 12mos. Last anyone heard, it takes awhile for a venture to become profitable. As others have said, take a regular gig if need be, nonetheless don't throw in the towel so soon

ESPECIALLY if you're among the few who's sincerely dedicated to serving others, and not one of the many who's simply in it to rake in easy money

I didn't expect to be "rolling in the $$$$$$", but I did think it would progress, and it has not.

I've written a whole e-book as a lead magnet. I've run ads where every booked call was a no-show. I've uploaded content 5x per week, then 10x per week for months, and months...and every single sale was from a member or lurker from this forum - never ONCE from somebody outside of it.

Outside of this forum, I had girls' boyfriends try to fight me because I tried to record a genuine approach that they were just in the background of. I had old co-workers share my Reels and TikToks, coming up to me last Thanksgiving Eve, laughing and asking, "How's your little pickup business going?" I've had multiple women who were interested in me, or who had already hooked up with me, discover those business accounts and decide to stop seeing me, blocking me in the process.

You have to remember that I see these people in my real life every single day. I only see you guys when I turn on my computer and come to this forum. I'm happy to provide advice for free, as I've continued to do here, but I was dealing with everything above, and more, and NOT getting paid, as my last sale was all the way back in April.

So I don't think I can keep doing that the way I'd been trying, no.

The one nice thing with AI being in the picture is that it's still a relatively a new thing that a lot businesses (even the large enterprises) just have no clue how to utilize it. If you have sales skills and you know your way around SEO and social media, you could potentially build AI workflows for businesses.

In fact, you could probably spend a week or two doing a market analysis within your current area and find businesses willing spend money on implementing AI.

That sounds more efficient and quicker to turn a buck than driving for uber or becoming a plumber.

I kinda tried that by implementing a workflow using GoHighLevel to allow mortgage loan officers to be in control of their own ads, since the major pain point was not trusting somebody else with their lead generation. Despite running this idea through multiple MLOs on LinkedIn, all of whom said they were interested, NONE bought once the product was completed.

That's why when I tried the dating coaching, I got sales (proof of concept) FIRST, because I realized there's a huge difference between somebody saying they'll buy something and actually buying it.

If you're good with computers/IT you can start an IT service company. There's a lot of people who need help with their computers at home.




My cousin drives Uber in London, she makes good money.

Maybe. That's kinda what email deliverability consulting was supposed to be - helping businesses with their computers, their website configurations for outbound email, specifically.

I vaguely remember somebody starting a business when he realized old people need a lot of help with basic computer tasks...not sure who or what it was, but I remember reading it somewhere. I can look a little more into that.

your early 20s... ?? live with parents... in better shape physically than average. know how to tolerate bs when you must.... know how to look good when necessary.... don't have a clue how to break into the adult income plan!!

if your not a felon.. and a us citizen.. take a look at military. serious... just go talk to them, all the choices... you can have allot of fun, do some cool stuff... eat every day... learn more game from men that are gods... and come out the other side already in the adult income plan.

if you do that.. don't try to beat the system, just go with it and max it out.

32, halfway to 33.

I've known and worked with enough veterans to understand that the common complaint is always how they're treated once service ends. Nobody wants to hire a veteran because nobody wants to fire a veteran. I've been on the phone with dozens of angry veterans when I was working at the mortgage lender in my early 20s because I had to tell them they didn't qualify for a loan that was specifically for veterans.

Even if that weren't the case, at 32 years old, I'm definitely late to the party, if I were allowed in at all.

I don't mean to sound like I'm poo-poo'ing everybody's suggestions. If I saw an easy solution, I'd be acting on it. The fact that I'm doing nothing and am in this current state of stagnation is because nothing I've done so far was a good idea, and nothing in front of me looks like a better idea.

 

[sevbucmash]

Here is an article with some interesting statistics regarding rideshare, specifically sexual assault, murders, likelihood of accidents, etc.

You know big balls are the main cause of complaint for bad dancers.

 

[Clockwerk50]

We do not.

I actually asked Gemini to do some Deep Research on this, because I'd seen videos of young guys making good money doing this. Unfortunately, it seems to have a lot of the same problems lawn care has: high upfront cost for equipment, ongoing cost for maintenance, seasonal, several licenses and insurance needed, and restricted to a general area around where I live.

The baseline pressure washer recommended for regular commercial use starts at $1,000. I think I'd be making most of the same expensive mistakes I'd made doing lawn care if I were to do this.



Here is an article with some interesting statistics regarding rideshare, specifically sexual assault, murders, likelihood of accidents, etc.:

Lyft and Uber Rideshare Sexual Assault Statistics (2026)

Lyft and Uber rideshare sexual assault statistics show that 406,000+ riders may have suffered abuse. Get the latest Lyft and Uber statistics.

www.sokolovelaw.com

Some notable statistics:

• 36 fatalities from physical assaults in 2021-2022, an 80% increase from 2019-2020. Drivers were the victim in 61% of those deaths, and 32% of those deaths were the result of a carjacking
• Between 2017 and 2022 Uber alone had 400,181 reports of sexual assault of misconduct documented, or 1 report every 8 minutes
• Insurance premiums are roughly 28% higher and due to the nature of the work, drivers are 73% more likely to be involved in a car accident

Here is a Reddit post linking to an article by MIT stating that 74% of Uber/Lyft drivers earn less than minimum wage after expenses, with the median income being $8.55/hour:

Lyft and Uber Rideshare Sexual Assault Statistics (2026)

Lyft and Uber rideshare sexual assault statistics show that 406,000+ riders may have suffered abuse. Get the latest Lyft and Uber statistics.

www.sokolovelaw.com

Even if I were to disregard all that information, as I said before, each of our family's cars has over 200k miles on it and would likely not last long driving so much, so frequently.



Ahh, I see what you meant. I'll look into it; I just don't know what I'd be marketing, as evidenced by this post.



Well, I'm not deluded into thinking I'm going to make a ton of money out of the gate.

HOWEVER...I need to find SOMETHING that will make me SOME money NOW...and I can build on that and improve over time. I don't know what that is.

As far as your trucking recommendation, I know truckers can make quite a lot of money. One of my exes had a friend who was dating this guy (I think they're married now) who got into trucking working under his dad, and slowly worked his way into more lucrative jobs. They're loaded.

I'd be most concerned with staying awake for those long hours of boring, open roads, and then only spending a small portion of your time NOT working and driving.

Well, sometimes you have to make sacrifices. For example, you can hire a driver, or you can drive the 18-wheeler yourself. One of my colleagues bought a truck from someone else and ended up with a lemon, so there are risks either way, so that didn't work for him. Sometimes you have to be willing to do the work yourself.

In a marketing course I took at university, they talked about the Red Ocean and Blue Ocean Strategy. The idea is that instead of competing in an oversaturated market, you look for opportunities where there is less competition and room to establish yourself. Sometimes you have to think outside the box and be willing to venture into something unfamiliar. I personally think almost everything is saturated right now, but that doesn't mean opportunities won't emerge. You have to recognize the right moment and be ready to act when it does. The key is knowing when to stay on the defensive, preserve your resources and wait, and when to go on the offensive, take the initiative and act decisively.

Good luck!

 

[Sega Genesis]

I was especially depressed this past July. Nothing was going my way; I hadn't had any calls booked, I was spending a ton of money on mentorship and coaching, had aches and pains popping up

^^Something to consider because I have been there myself but do you think it's possible you're depressed NOT because of things not going well in your life or other unfortunate circumstances....

But rather, you are not motivated or interested in doing much of anything and finding excuses to reject every suggestion given precisely because you are depressed.

Meaning the depression came first. Your feeling unmotivated and uninterested (in life basically) is a direct result of the depression.

I can literally feel it in every post on this thread BPH. The defeatist attitude, your excuses and rejection of every single suggestion given.

Have you considered being evaluated by a doctor or mental health professional? Many people suffer from depression it's nothing to feel shame about, I've been there and so have a few other members of this forum.

I can't say for sure as I am not a doctor, just something to consider.