🚛 Get paid to help truck drivers

GM. This is Work "After" Work, the newsletter that trades you side hustles for animal silly bandz. But we want the rhino.

It’s Friday, let’s boogie:

• 🚘 Pilot cars

• 😂 Meme of the day

Before the heat: To the 102 new readers since my last email - Welcome to the WAW fam! 😊

Ever seen those oversized loads on the road holding entire homes? These things:

Well, what you might not have seen behind that whole house is another car with flashing lights and “oversized load” signs plastered all over it.

This little guy is like your 4-year-old cousin. Whatever they see, they call out - alerting truckers of potential obstacles and helping them dodge collisions like they're in a game of Frogger.

This is the job of the "Pilot Car" and it turns out, these people actually make decent money. Plus, you don't have to haul around a house or get your CDL to drive a truck.

How much can you make?
Around $14-21/hr. Not bad considering that equates to a $40k salary.

After doing some research, I found there's literally nothing you need to get started.

Some states will require you to take a course and get a certification, which I’d recommend to everyone regardless to make sure you know what you’re doing. But if you have a valid driver’s license and car insurance you can start doing this tomorrow.

There's two ways to go about this side hustle:

1. You can sign up with a company like Pilot Car Loads – they’ll find you jobs because they have the relationships, but I’d recommend #2

2. Go out on your own - being an independent contractor will give you way more control over your schedule, which you'll want since you'll be doing this on the side. You’ll have to build relationships but as I’ll show you, it isn't hard. Don’t want to work on weekdays? Don’t take the contracts. You run the ship.

SO HERE'S HOW TO GET STARTED DOING #2

1. Take the certification

This will teach you exactly what you need to do on the job and also give trucking companies a reason to hire you.

If you have no experience and no training, it's going to be a hard sell. Why would someone go with you vs someone else who has experience? The easy answer is: they won't.

Now, these certifications will vary depending on what state you live in and who you choose to train with. To be trained and certified in Minnesota it costs $180 but in New York, it's $40 and all you need to do is pass the test. So if you can pass it without training, then it's only $40.

2.  Deck out your car

The more obnoxious your car looks, the better. I’m talking flashing lights, signs, and red flags. Make that thing look like a damn Christmas tree.

In all seriousness, for a state like Illinois, this is what's required:

All this will most likely cost a few hundred dollars.

3. Get clients

Since you won’t be going with a company that sources the contracts for you, you’ll have to get them yourself.

This might seem a little daunting but that’s why you have me - here’s what I found! First, you can find leads on websites like Indeed or Craigslist.

It's also not a bad idea to ask around on Facebook groups how others have gone about sourcing deals.

This ex-pilot car driver on Reddit says that the best way to independently get contracts is to contact companies who are moving over-dimensional loads... you don't say.

Our Reddit friend does point out something valuable, though. "If you're willing to buy all the things you need as a pilot car you can make much much more." 

They claim 6-8k on casual months but that's full time. I'd say cut this is in fourths and you're looking at 1.5-2k a month doing this on the side.

Reach out to trucking companies
Tell them you have your certifications and are trained. Odds are they’ll have a job for you. Companies like this always need people.

Be upfront with them. If you have a full-time job but can dedicate the weekends to this tell them so whenever they have a weekend load you're on the list of people they call.

It will be slow at first but trust me, for this side hustle going out on your own is the best way to go. You’ll work as much as you want and can increase your rates as you gain more experience (and keep all the profit).

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MEME OF THE DAY

😂😂

That's a wrap ladies & gents! Enjoy the weekend :)

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.