You’d like to have a career where you could help people, while making good money doing it. Certainly being your own boss would be nice. Working when you want to work, charging what you’d like to charge. But what could you do that would fulfill all those wishes? Simple, starting your own senior errand service.
Running errands for seniors is a great way to make nice money, while doing something for senior citizens. Many are homebound and unable to complete errands that most of us do every week, such as grocery shopping, stopping at the bank, picking up dry cleaning, and more.
Starting your own senior errand service is not a get-rich-quick scheme, nor do you need specialized training be able to do it. It probably won’t pay for your mansion in Hawaii or that jet plane you’ve had your eye on. But you can make a nice amount of money without working long hours. How much? A typical errand service business charge between $20 and $35 an hour, depending on their location. The national average is $30 an hour. If you work a 40-hour week, that could mean $50,000 a year.
When charging your customers, most errand runners charge by the hour instead of by the task. If a customer asks you to do an errand that is outside of your normal range, consider charging them a mileage rate as well. The IRS currently allows 58 cents a mile for business-related travel. Many errand runners have adopted this rate for themselves.
In addition to the normal tasks you’ll be asked to do, consider offering others, such as pet and house sitting. Most errand runners charge between $15 and $25 for a half-hour visit. That means you can make between $30 and $50 an hour pet or house sitting! In the case of pet sitting, you’d most likely be performing the normal daily tasks you do with your own pets: feeding them, taking them out for a bathroom break or walk, and giving them the love and attention they deserve.
If you’re asked to do an errand outside of your normal business hours or on a holiday, it’s a good idea to charge your customers more. Many charge an extra $6 an hour for errands done outside normal hours and an additional $10 an hour for errands done on holidays. It is also customary for a customer to give you notice 24 hours ahead of time if they’d like your services, and/or 24 hours ahead of time if they need to cancel your errands for that day.
You can make good money fairly easily by becoming an errand runner for seniors. You get to help seniors, plus make good money doing it.
To learn more, read Start Your Own Senior Concierge Service.