If you’ve got a truck and some muscle, you can make good money delivering furniture and helping people move. More than a half-dozen online platforms, including GoShare and CitizenShipper, will even do your marketing for you. However, don’t sign up Lugg, one of three newly reviewed money-makers SideHusl.com looked at this week.
Lugg combines the least-attractive elements of working for yourself — expenses — with the most irritating aspects of working for someone else — getting bossed around. The result is a highly unattractive package. But that can be tough to figure out until you work with this San Francisco-based site. At that point, you’ll likely be singing the blues with the dozens of other freelancers, who complain they lose money while trying to make money with Lugg.
Newly reviewed money-makers
Lugg is the least attractive of three newly reviewed money-makers reviewed this week. The other two — Bacon and Hyre — are better workplaces. Unfortunately, they’re both geographically limited. So, while we’ll tell you about all three of these newly reviewed sites, we’ll also mention other money-making sites. The alternative sites may prove better suited to finding work.
We’ll start with the clinker — Lugg.
Lugg
Lugg is an on-demand moving and delivery service that enlists freelancers to do the moving and delivery work. Customers, who have reviewed the site on TrustPilot and elsewhere, seem largely satisfied.
However, the site is far less attractive from the standpoint of the “Lugger.” Luggers are independent contractors, who earn a portion of the delivery fees for using their own muscle and, sometimes, their trucks, insurance and gas to provide the service.
Luggers must be able to lift 100 pounds; have a smart phone with unlimited data; at least a year of customer service experience; and pass a background check. Once accepted to the platform, Luggers apparently are able to sign up for shifts.
But, once you take a shift, you are committed to sit in your (or the driver’s) truck for the duration — regardless of whether or not there’s work. If there’s no work, you don’t get paid. If there is work, you must take it — no matter how far it is from your current location.
Luggers say that these rules leave them cooling their heels for hours without pay. They also force freelancers to take jobs that don’t even pay enough for the gas they use to get there. If the “Lugger” refuses the job, Lugg retaliates by suspending them or booting them from the platform.
Better options
If you have a truck, you’ll earn considerably more with CitizenShipper and uShip. If you don’t have a truck, GoShare and HireAHelper are better options.
Bacon
Bacon connects warehouse, cleaning, catering and event workers with companies looking for temporary help. Workers will need to pass a seven-question quiz to get approved for work. However, the quiz is primarily about making sure that workers understand how the Bacon app works — and that they’re independent contractors, not employees.
Once accepted, freelancers can apply for any open shift since most of the jobs listed are for unskilled labor. However, the employer makes the final decision about which applicant is hired. Each job listing says what you’ll do; how many hours you’re needed; and what it pays. To determine your hourly wage, divide the total by the number of hours. Typically Bacon jobs pay between $10 and $25 per hour.
The catch? The site is cagey about exactly where it has jobs available. While Bacon says it operates in 14 states, it’s often in just one city in each of those states. That can leave workers frustrated when they sign up and see that the nearest jobs are hundreds of miles away.
Other options
Other sites that offer much the same work include Qwick, Wonolo and BlueCrew. All three are also more forthcoming about whether they operate in your area.
Hyre
Hyre, the last of our newly reviewed money makers, is a staffing company that enlists freelancers to work as servers, bartenders, cleaners and laborers in hospitality, health care and event security.
The only qualifications to work through Hyre is that you are at least 18 years old and able to pass a background check. However, you’re encouraged to create a profile that describes your experience, qualifications and how much you expect to earn. You’ll get at least the amount of pay that you set as your minimum expectation on your profile, which is both an advantage and a challenge. Why?
When an employer says they’re looking for someone with your qualifications, you only get matched with that job if the employer is willing to pay your rate or more. So, if you set your rate too high, you’ll miss out on opportunities that you might otherwise have wanted to nab. That said, workers review this site highly.
But, there’s one catch: Hyre only operates in a handful of cities in Canada. If you happen to live and work near Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal, this is a good place to sign up. Otherwise, look into Qwick or Jitjatjo.
Kristof is the editor of SideHusl.com, an independent website on the gig economy.
