# The Uberpreneur: How An Uber Driver Makes $252,000 A Year



## arto71 (Sep 20, 2014)

Jon Youshaei, Contributor

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*2/04/2015 @ 2:14PM |23,291 views*
*The Uberpreneur: How An Uber Driver Makes $252,000 A Year*
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"It's a genius way to start a business nowadays, especially because nobody's doing it."

The man sitting beside me is sharing the most insightful business advice I've heard lately. His ideas are as unconventional as the location of our conversation. We're not in a coffee shop or a corner office. We're in an Uber and he's my driver.

His name is Gavin Escolar, a charismatic Filipino man with a laugh that's even louder than his orange-and-red striped dress shirt. We're cruising down Valencia street when I notice diamond earrings dangling on the dashboard. Around his wrist, an emerald bracelet gleams through the sunlight. In the seat pockets, glossy catalogs display more jewelry. The cover reads: _Gavin Escolar's 2014 Collection._

Then it hits me: I'm not in Gavin's car. _I'm in his mobile showroom_. He's not just an Uber driver. Nor is he just an entrepreneur. He's an _Uberpreneur_, using the ridesharing app to promote his jewelry business.

I find myself hoping we hit more red lights so I can hear more of Gavin's story. He tells me how he immigrated from the Philippines to start a jewelry company in San Francisco. He recalls his initial struggles and how he became an Uber driver to make ends meet.

"My passengers surprised me," Gavin says, remembering his early days. "I thought they would be silent or on the phone. But most people wanted to talk. When I mentioned my jewelry, they asked for business cards, but I didn't have any."

That's when a light bulb went off in his mind: _Why stop at business cards? Why not just show them my jewelry?_

So Gavin turned his car into a showroom. He positioned jewelry everywhere and stored extras in the glove compartment.

"My passengers peel back the onion," he says. "I never solicit. I only keep subtle hints to spark conversation if they notice. If they don't, they probably wouldn't be my target customer anyway."

"It's a salesman's dream," he continues. "I have 10 minutes to make an impression. Would that happen if I went door-to-door? Or if I bought tiny online ads? My way, I get quality time with quality leads. Best of all, I'm being paid as I do it. It's like Uber is providing a base salary before I make any jewelry sales."

Gavin may be savvy, but do passengers find him sleazy? After all, they use Uber to request a ride, not a sales pitch. I'm also curious: does Uber condone drivers speaking about side businesses?

"Absolutely," Uber spokeswoman Kristin Carvell says. "One of the greatest things about the Uber platform is that it offers economic opportunity for a variety of drivers - full-time, part-time, veterans, teachers, artists, and students - in more than 260 cities around the world. Supporting and fueling the local economy is important to Uber and our driver partners help us to achieve this goal."

His passengers seem to agree. Gavin's ratings are 4.85/5.00 on Uber Black, 4.87/5.00 on UberX and 4.95/5.00 on Lyft, which he also uses. Those ratings have held up over time; Gavin drove over 3,829 passengers in the past 18 months.

These passengers include "executives who people pay thousands of dollars to meet at networking events," Gavin says. He's met Vogue fashion editors and Silicon Valley's top brass, including legendary investor Shervin Pishevar.

"I've had a lot of amazing drivers, but Gavin is one of the best," Shervin told me. "I was in his car with my daughter when I saw his jewelry designs. I thought they were wonderful and gave him a lot of encouragement to pursue his dreams."

I had to see it for myself. So I spent a day with Gavin picking up passengers (we used Sidecar, another ridesharing app, to avoid breaching Uber's policy on driving with companions). For most rides, he barely says a word, respecting passengers who are on the phone or disinterested. Even when he speaks, it's not a monologue. It's more about the consumer, asking them questions and understanding their needs.

They're these tactics that translate to sales. In the past year, Gavin designed many jewelry pieces for passengers, averaging $18,000 in transactions per month. Adding the $3,000 monthly gross earnings from Uber, he made $252,000 last year. Gavin used the income to expand his business, buying three more cars and hiring six new drivers.

"The best generals are always with their soldiers," he said. "That's why I drive at least eight hours every week. It keeps me up-to-date so I can tell my drivers where to pick up customers, which hours to drive and when big events are happening."

For his top drivers, Gavin "graduates" them from the low cost UberX to the premium Uber Black, where they meet more affluent passengers who might buy jewelry. One day, he hopes to buy a Tesla to make his mobile showroom feel on par with his brand.

But Gavin's growing business doesn't tell the full story. As he's become more successful, he hasn't forgotten about his fellow Filipino immigrants.

"I reach back to my roots," he said. "When hiring new drivers, I find underemployed Filipinos and give them the jobs first. Most don't know much about smartphones - and that's okay. I teach them about Uber and Lyft.


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## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

Like!

I'd love to know what he nets, though.


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## toi (Sep 8, 2014)

If he makes $252k a year why would he "hope" to buy a $85k Tesla???
Uber Koolaid imho


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## cybertec69 (Jul 23, 2014)

He makes that selling his jewellery, not from the uber fares. More power to him, I might start a pimping service myself.


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## toi (Sep 8, 2014)

cybertec69 said:


> He makes that selling his jewellery, not from the uber fares. More power to him, I might start a pimping service myself.


My point is : if one makes that much money no need to hope for buying a tesla. There's a contradiction , stop hoping , just buy the car.


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## stuber (Jun 30, 2014)

Despite that the story sounds like UBER PR fluff, I still kinda like it.


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## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

toi said:


> If he makes $252k a year why would he "hope" to buy a $85k Tesla???
> Uber Koolaid imho


Well, because if you make $252,000 per year, but your expenses are $232,000....


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## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

toi said:


> If he makes $252k a year why would he "hope" to buy a $85k Tesla???
> Uber Koolaid imho





toi said:


> My point is : if one makes that much money no need to hope for buying a tesla. There's a contradiction , stop hoping , just buy the car.


Gross numbers! That's why I said I'd like to know his net.


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## toi (Sep 8, 2014)

This guy and uber man Randy are Unicorns in the uber eco system.


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## RideshareGuru (Nov 17, 2014)

At least he isn't claiming that he's making that off of fares.


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## ElectroFuzz (Jun 10, 2014)

These articles pop up regularly.
It's part of the reason people think we are all making a killing.
Not a bad PR for Uber either, the company who lifts (oops did I say that out loud)
up people and gives them economic opportunity.


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## A4UberLady (Dec 23, 2014)

cybertec69 said:


> He makes that selling his jewellery, not from the uber fares. More power to him, I might start a pimping service myself.


I have had 7 clients from giving them my cards.


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## A4UberLady (Dec 23, 2014)

A4UberLady said:


> I have had 7 clients from giving them my cards.


I keep my makeup kit in my car along with my square.Im glad to see this article.Are we allowed to promote ourselves with uber?


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## Shine'ola (Oct 7, 2014)

$3000 gross from Uber is all he brings in with tons of trips, hours milage, and gas, this is the shittiest gig period !


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## mizzrock (Jan 3, 2015)

ElectroFuzz said:


> These articles pop up regularly.
> It's part of the reason people think we are all making a killing.
> Not a bad PR for Uber either, the company who lifts (oops did I say that out loud)
> up people and gives them economic opportunity.


And I keep opening my big mouth saying I make $100+ a day (before commission).


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## RideshareGuru (Nov 17, 2014)

A4UberLady said:


> I keep my makeup kit in my car along with my square.Im glad to see this article.Are we allowed to promote ourselves with uber?


If you get a couple of complaints, they'll deactivate you. The key is subtlety and letting the pax ask you.


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## A4UberLady (Dec 23, 2014)

They always ask if Uber is my inly gig and what do I do.They ask for the cards I also have my company magnet on my car sometimes.


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## MikeB (Dec 2, 2014)

Total BS. 3k per month driving 8 hours a week? 95 bucks an hour?
Year and half ago when he started driving for Uber he "was struggling" with his new jewelry business and now makes over 200 grand per year with it?
They drove with this BS article author all day in Sidecar and if he had made ONE SALE that day you think she wouldn't described it?
He expands his driving fleet and hires Filipinos; do they drive for under his name, or paying him for the use of his cars? What in the world are THEY making?
This is such a bull.shit uber propaganda, worst than Nazi's.
Cheap rides don't buy jewelry from Filipino uber driver.
No way in hell.


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## Long time Nyc cab driver (Dec 12, 2014)

MikeB said:


> Total BS. 3k per month driving 8 hours a week? 95 bucks an hour?
> Year and half ago when he started driving for Uber he "was struggling" with his new jewelry business and now makes over 200 grand per year with it?
> They drove with this BS article author all day in Sidecar and if he had made ONE SALE that day you think she wouldn't described it?
> He expands his driving fleet and hires Filipinos; do they drive for under his name, or paying him for the use of his cars? What in the world are THEY making?
> ...


Exactly


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## rtaatl (Jul 3, 2014)

Never thought of it that way...cool idea to use Uber as a way to market your own business. Whether the numbers are exaggerated or not is besides the point. Ride sharing can definitely be a way to promote your own side hustle...more power to him.


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## MikeB (Dec 2, 2014)

rtaatl said:


> Never thought of it that way...cool idea to use Uber as a way to market your own business. Whether the numbers are exaggerated or not is besides the point. Ride sharing *can definitely be* a way to promote your own side hustle...more power to him.


*Definitely NOT*.
I have a business which grosses 9-10 a month. Tons of business: ladies buying clothing online. I've made hundreds upon hundreds of rides with young and not so young females and gave them references to it. Not even 1 rider has ever bought anything.


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## Walkersm (Apr 15, 2014)

A4UberLady said:


> I keep my makeup kit in my car along with my square.Im glad to see this article.Are we allowed to promote ourselves with uber?


Think it is in the terms of service that you cannot solicit uber customer with other businesses. Think they originally did that because they did not want limo drivers telling uber customers to call them directly. Like said before they will only deactivate if they get a complaint.


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## Long time Nyc cab driver (Dec 12, 2014)

MikeB said:


> *Definitely NOT*.
> I have a business which grosses 9-10 a month. Tons of business: ladies buying clothing online. I've made hundreds upon hundreds of rides with young and not so young females and gave them references to it. Not even 1 rider has ever bought anything.


Uber clientele, useless cheapskates.


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## 3MATX (Oct 6, 2014)

Something tells me this isn't real. Either that or uber misreported the numbers like always and he earns 25k instead of 250k.


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## JJcriggins (Dec 28, 2014)

I Love this:

"Does Uber condone drivers speaking about side businesses?"

"*Absolutely," Uber spokeswoman Kristin Carvell says*. "One of the greatest things about the *Uber platform is that it offers economic opportunity for a variety of drivers* - full-time, part-time, veterans, teachers, artists, and students - in more than 260 cities around the world. Supporting and fueling the local economy is important to Uber and our driver partners help us to achieve this goal."
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<_Expletive_> Please!
Of COURSE Uber condones this, Another Sleazy way to deflect any responsibility or obligation of helping the drivers make any money

Next week i am going promote my other businesses in the car (subtly)

*Willy Wonka DealerShip*
"Look with your eyes kid, not with your hands"









*Party Patrol App-*
"Hey mr Uber driver, is that a giraffe in the back seat , or are you just happy to see me?"


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## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

A4UberLady said:


> I keep my makeup kit in my car along with my square.Im glad to see this article.Are we allowed to promote ourselves with uber?


According to the article, yes.


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## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

MikeB said:


> *Definitely NOT*.
> I have a business which grosses 9-10 a month. Tons of business: ladies buying clothing online. I've made hundreds upon hundreds of rides with young and not so young females and gave them references to it. Not even 1 rider has ever bought anything.


Amway?


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## CLAkid (Oct 23, 2014)

The story works for me because it shows how he basically used Uber to better himself and make real money.


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## Oc_DriverX (Apr 29, 2014)

Given that Uber loves to deal in gross numbers when it deals with drivers, it is likely that the $250k number is probably this guy's sales number.


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## bscott (Dec 4, 2014)

News flash! It's reported that Gavin got jacked for his wares. R.I.P.


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## MikeB (Dec 2, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> Amway?


eBay


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