If you are looking for a side hustle or a full-time gig to earn an income, you naturally want to evaluate different possible income-generating activities.
You want to know how you match up to the skills required for the different jobs, their potential income-earning potential, working hours Vis a Vis your lifestyle, and so on.
One viable option to look at is working with Doordash as an independent contractor delivering food and other items. Do you want to learn how to make $500 a week with Doordash? Read on.
What Is Doordash?
In the past, students and full-time employees would be hired by food outlets to deliver food items to consumers.
Doordash is an improved version of this model. Here, you can work independently, making deliveries for all types of businesses, from delivering food for restaurants to medicine for drugstores and so on.
As such, Doordash describes itself as a tech company that connects people with the best of their neighborhoods. The company has a presence in the US, Japan, Australia, and Canada.
With some effort and foresight, you can make up to $500 a week with Doordash. If this just made things interesting, let’s start with the basics then get to the money.
How It Works
Doordash is an online app specifically designed to connect businesses that do not have an in-house delivery team to people who can make their deliveries.
With this app, a business does not need in-house delivery guys. This is advantageous, especially in terms of costs. Permanent employees require a salary and additional benefits. Using individual contractors on Doordash per delivery job is negates the need to pay these costs, which saves businesses money.
Should you decide to work on Doordash, you will get delivery fees for every delivery service you provide.
Most users find Doordash very easy to sign up for, convenient and very user-friendly. For customers, orders are made from a restaurant but on the Doordash website. The website, in essence, connects the seller, the customer, and the delivery service.
How to make $500 A Week with Doordash
Let’s talk cents.
As with any venture, you want your efforts to pay off handsomely. This means finding out what you can do to maximize your profits. Working on Doordash is no exception.
With an average hourly wage of $17, some delivery guys on Doordash make as much as $750 a week. This should tell you that $500 weekly is also doable.
Here are some tried and tested strategies to help you make $500 on Doordash.
1. Be Strategic About Your location
When it comes to deliveries, location is everything. Generally, some areas are busier than others. Operating from these areas means more potential for delivery gigs, and in turn; more money.
Even when you are unclear on which areas you will be delivering to, parking near busy eateries and stores can give you more deliveries. You are also more likely to get more repeat customers.
Let’s explain this point.
Repeat customers will not necessarily pay more, but it puts you on familiar routes that are much easier to navigate and, therefore, faster to get to. Naturally, the quicker you can finish a delivery, the sooner you can take another job. And the more trips you make, the more money you are able to make.
Some busy areas in the country include:
- Chicago
- Miami
- Washington DC
- Atlanta
- Brooklyn
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
If you live in any of the above states, you are already at an advantage because these are considered busy states. However, this does not mean you are doomed if you are outside them.
Instead, try parking at different busy spots during the week and identify spots with the most jobs.
Hours Worked
The number of hours you work will also factor into your total pay at the end of the week with doordash. For example, someone that works on Doordash six to eight hours a day will naturally make more than a different person working 3 hours a day.
Aside from how many hours you work in a day, you can also set weekly targets for yourself. Of course, this would require you to take advantage of peak pay.
Peak hours are an essential aspect of your earning potential as a dasher. Peak hours are when businesses have a lot of orders for deliveries coming in. Aside from getting more deliveries to handle, Doordash is also happy to pay a little more to incentivize Doordash drivers to work and meet the demand.
If you can take advantage of the peak hours, you get to make peak pay where you are paid slightly higher fees for the same amount of work. Not just that, but you also get to pick and choose your orders. This is always a great way to boost your weekly target and hit the $500 mark.
Peak hours vary from week to week and even city to city but are more common around weekends, holidays, and bad weather. If you are willing to work when most Doordash drivers are not, you will reap the benefits.
Vet Your Orders
You indeed tend to make more by taking on as many deliveries as possible. However, you still need to vet your trips and figure out which will deliver more money.
It’s therefore important to be selective in your orders, keeping in mind that you will have certain costs you need to cater for in the end.
As a rule of thumb, try and pick orders that will offer $1 per mile of driving to the destination. With this, you can sort out your taxes, fuel your car, handle running costs for the car, and make something for yourself as well.
Get An Efficient Car
Doordash is not very particular about the type of car you can use to make deliveries. As such, you can ensure to get the most economical car you can get.
Smaller capacity cars are often cheaper to maintain and consume very little fuel.
Essentially, the more you can minimize your running costs, the more you can make on this platform.
Become A Top Dasher
To become a top dasher, meet the following targets by the last day of each month:
- Complete 100 or more orders, whether delivering food and other items
- Maintain a customer rating of 4.7
- Maintain an acceptance rate of at least 70% of all orders offered to you
- Have a minimum of 200-lifetime orders
- Complete at least 95% of all accepted orders
Becoming a top dasher makes you more money by giving you priority access to high-value orders. These are typically upwards of $30 on cart value. In addition, these high orders will often accompany higher tips. This can help you meet your $500 weekly target.
Try And Encourage Tipping
Customers will include a tip on the app before checkout. This will show on your dashboard, and you get the entire amount from Doordash. This can be pre or post-delivery.
While there is not much you can do about the pre-delivery tip; you can influence the post-delivery tipping and the in-person cash tip.
Granted, you do not have much control over this. However, being personable, courteous, and flashing a brilliant smile can at times get you more tips or higher amounts.
Similarly, collect some freebies for the customer when they are available and communicate with them to offer updates when en route. It doesn’t hurt to try!
You can also receive On-Time Extra Pay if you get the delivery to the customer at the requested drop-off time and no more than 10 minutes early. These extra time payments might seem negligible, but they add up with each completed delivery. All extra money counts.
When Will Doordash Pay Me?
This question has probably crossed your mind. After you have made your deliveries, when will Doordash pay you?
Doordash makes consolidated weekly payments to their drivers’ accounts every Monday. This payment includes compensation for all jobs done from Monday to Sunday of the previous week. During the week, you can track your earnings from the ‘’earnings’’ tab on your app.
Once payments are made, it takes 2-3 days for the payments to be processed and reflect in your account. You can then access your money on Wednesdays.
There are some criteria for payment, however.
First, you must have been a Doordash driver for at least 14 days before the day payment is supposed to be processed.
You also need to have made a minimum of 24 deliveries for your first payment and seven deliveries each week after that.
Fortunately, these targets are pretty easy to meet, especially if you work during peak times.
Getting Signed-Up
Signing up for Doordash is relatively easy. Here are the steps to follow.
- Visit the Doordash website and go to the ‘sign-up’ page
- Create an account by filling out all the required information
- Remember to enter your correct contact details
- Select a vehicle and consent to a motor vehicle and background check
- Add bank account details
After your account is set up, you can begin working after approval.
Why Work With Doordash?
There are multiple avenues to make money online today. Why go for Doordash?
There are several advantages to working with this app. The first is convenience. You can pick your hours and work when it’s most convenient for you. This flexibility means you can work full time or part-time around your full-time work or school schedule.
Another attractive benefit is that you can be a dasher anywhere. This means you can work in your neighborhood or out of town. In addition, if you love traveling, you can dash to different regions as you enjoy your adventures.
How Is My Doordash Pay Calculated?
Dasher pay is made up of three parts. This includes the base pay, which is calculated using the order’s distance, estimated time, and desirability.
The second part is the tips customers include in their order.
The third bit is any promotions being offered in that period.
What Do I Do If I Don’t Get Any Deliveries?
You can try and find available deliveries near you by looking for hotspots on your Dasher app. These will be the parts on your map that are marked in red.
You can also go and park outside or near popular restaurants. Again, this should increase the likelihood of you getting a gig.
How Long Does It Take To Start Working?
The sign-up process only takes a few minutes to complete. Once you create your profile, you can begin working in a matter of days.
You can check the status of your account on the website by tapping on the ‘’Already Started Signing Up” button at the bottom of the page. Then, you log in using your email address and phone number. You will see the status of your account here, as well as notifications on whether your profile has some missing information you need to provide.
What Do I Need To Be a Dasher?
You do not need to pay any fees to get onboarded as a dasher. However, you will need a smartphone to navigate your orders and a mode of transportation. The standard options are cars, scooters, motorcycles, and bikes.
There are no specific car requirements. You, however, need to have a valid driver’s license and insurance.
Do I Need Experience?
No.
While you do not need prior experience, experience in rideshare, courier services, and other online delivery services is always a bonus.
Doordash welcomes drivers and riders from other gig economy platforms like UberEats, Lyft, Eat24, Waitr, AmazonFresh, and so on.
You need good interpersonal skills as a delivery driver as you will be dealing with customers and other personnel in the different businesses you will be delivering for. You also need sound navigation skills to get to customers quickly and in good time.
What Is A Delivery Like?
The Doordash app is user-friendly. Once a delivery opportunity comes in, you will see where the job is and what you will make pre-delivery tips included. Then, you can accept or reject the job.
There are generally three simple tasks to complete if you choose to take up a gig. These are;
- Drive to the restaurant
- Collect the food
- Deliver the food to the customer
How Long Does A Background Check Take?
Doordash background checks are done by Checkr, a third-party employee screening agency.
This takes 5 to 7 business days to complete. If you have completed your profile and submitted all your documents on Doordash and you’re yet to be approved, the background check might be the cause of the delay.
You can contact Checkr to get updates on your status if the process takes too long. In addition, US residents can check on their background checks here.
Which Hours Can I Work On Doordash?
Well, there are two sides to this question. The Doordash app itself runs 24 hours a day.
However, restaurants, convenience stores, and other businesses might have opening and closing hours. These dictate when there is most work and the opening and closing times.
Final Thoughts on How To Make $500 a Week With Doordash
Technology has made it possible to earn money online on platforms like Doordash. If you have a car and a valid driver’s license, this is yet another venture you can try out. Follow this link to get started.
