Many people reach their lifelong goal of retirement, only to discover that they miss the feeling of getting out of the house and being busy every day. But what if you could put extra money in your bank account in retirement without the commitment and pressures of a full-time job?
Fortunately, it’s never been easier for retirees to start a side hustle. Online gig platforms like Taskrabbit let retirees (and people at all stages of life) find projects and make money with everyday skills like house cleaning, home repair services, yard work, painting, and more.
We spoke with Dan W., a 79-year-old retiree and Taskrabbit Tasker who lives in Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota. Dan earns good money on Taskrabbit doing a much-needed job: furniture assembly. He started his Taskrabbit side hustle after retirement.
Let’s see what Dan’s experience as a retiree with a side hustle can teach us about making extra money, having fun, and providing a valued service to people in the community.
How to earn $49 per hour (or more) with a retiree side hustle
Dan W. provides professional furniture assembly services on Taskrabbit, and he charges $49 per hour. If you’ve ever struggled to put together new bunk beds for your kids or felt baffled by the instructions that come with a new purchase from a furniture store like IKEA, you know how helpful it can be to just hire a professional to put your furniture together.
Dan has earned a perfect 5.0 star rating on Taskrabbit and has completed more than 344 furniture assembly tasks. He enjoys working with his hands and doing woodworking. Before he retired, Dan owned a company that manufactured ready-to-assemble furniture for brands like IKEA — so he knows the ins and outs of putting furniture together the right way.
Dan said that focusing on earning high ratings from customer reviews is the key to commanding a high hourly rate of income with your side hustle. “The key to ongoing success in working with Taskrabbit or any side gig for that matter is to develop superb reviews,” Dan said. “When I was young, there were no such things as reviews. Today, they are absolutely critical because everyone checks them.”
Delivering a 5-star customer experience
To build a lucrative retirement side hustle, focusing on excellent customer service is essential. Dan recommends maintaining detailed communication with your clients. “Confirm the date and time and their expectations, arrive on time or slightly early, and if you are going to be late even by a few minutes, let them know,” Dan said.
Dan also comes prepared for every side hustle gig on Taskrabbit. “Having the correct tools is mandatory,” Dan said. “If there are problems such as missing or defective parts, let the client know as soon as possible and provide suggestions on how to remedy the problem.”
He also recommends making a point of being friendly and cordial, thanking the client for the project, and inviting the client to leave a positive review. “Share with the client how they can save you as a favorite on Taskrabbit, and encourage them to leave a review,” Dan said.
Design a side hustle for your retirement lifestyle
Life in retirement should hopefully feel easy and relaxing. Starting a side hustle can be a great choice for retirees because it’s flexible, without the all-consuming demands of a full-time job. If you can find the right side hustle for retirement, you can work as little or as much as you want and earn money on your own timeframe.
Dan said he decided to start his retiree side hustle to help give him some structure and routine, earn extra cash, and keep him connected with a larger social circle.
“I enjoy structure and people, and retirement makes that somewhat challenging,” Dan said. “In addition, rather than continuing to save, in retirement, suddenly money was just going out. A side gig provides the ability to continue to generate some income while also providing structure and contact with a variety of people.”
But Dan doesn’t want to work so much that it starts to feel like a job — he’s retired, and he has other things he wants to do with his life. Flexible scheduling and limited time commitment is a big advantage of choosing a side hustle for retirees.
“I set my own calendar and schedule,” Dan said. “If I want to travel, I can. If I want to be available to work all week, I can do that. If I simply want to sit in the sun and read a book or work in our garden, I can do that as well.”
He continued, “If you want to do a retirement side hustle, pursue something that makes you happy and provides you not only with a fair income but also the flexibility to enjoy your retirement and the freedom it provides. Avoid situations that require specific time commitments because then the gig becomes a job; and that’s not what you necessarily wish to have in your retirement.”
Bottom line
If you love to help people with home tasks like painting, cleaning, yard work, or handyperson projects like furniture assembly, Taskrabbit can be a great way to start a side hustle as a retiree.
Starting a side hustle in retirement can give you a healthy amount of extra “fun money” to spend on travel, spoiling your grandkids or pets, or replenishing your savings account.
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See How This Retiree Earns Great Money ($49/Hour) With a Side Hustle was originally published by The Motley Fool
