Paulina Bajorowicz March 8, 2019

A study from Villanova University shows that there are three main reasons why women choose to work with gigs and side hustles. The first reason is that this way of employment offers them flexibility and control over their working schedule. Understandable, especially if we think about mothers who are raising their kids and don’t have endless time or are single moms that need to juggle work and family life. The second reason is, of course, money. Women, mothers or not, still need to contribute to the household economy and, of course, be fulfilled through work. Which brings us to the third reason: by taking up gigs, women have the opportunity to learn business skills and achieve personal development!

Still, the paying gap between men and women in the gig economy persists! How can that be, especially when it comes to platforms like Upwork or Fiverr, where the freelancer bids for projects or chooses his or her own ratings, you may ask? Simply, women accept less money for the tasks they perform. This, of course, needs to change and we hope that women empowerment and feminist movement will help women be more assertive and demanding when it comes to their pay.

working women
Image by Freepik

But let’s meet 3 women that have chosen to work as gig workers and are nailing it! Kaylania Chapman, a single mother from Orlando, Sarah M. Jordan, an author of the pet sitting business book, “Master Pet Sitting With Rover”, and Shana Green, a creator of The Wealth Vibe platform, where she shares tips gathered from her own experiences with budgeting, earning extra income, and paying off debt. They have some inspiring things to say and some advice to give to all women out there that may be thinking about entering the field of the gig economy but hesitate.

Meet 3 women that work with gigs and are rocking it!

1. Kaylania Chapman, aka The Blessed Driver

Kaylania Chapman is a single mother (of a teenage son) in Orlando, Florida that entered the Gig Economy in 2014. In 2016, she started driving for Uber and Lyft part-time and eventually went to drive more on a regular basis. She began vlogging her experiences in October of 2016 as The Blessed Driver on YouTube. She just wanted to have a little fun and just talked about her experiences on different platforms. And then her audience began to grow.

Soon she discovered Instacart, Postmates, and a few others. Around December 2016, she began to do Instacart full-time. Kaylania’s channel emphasizes the pros and cons of working the Gig Economy as a means of income both part time and full time, and how to make it work while juggling life on a day to day basis.

Web: theblesseddriver.com
YouTube: youtube.com/c/theblesseddriver
FB: facebook.com/theblesseddriver
Twitter: @blesseddriver1

1. As a woman, what is the greatest challenge you’ve faced when working with Shipt, Instacart, Doordash or Amazon Flex?

One of the greatest challenges a woman working on the gig platforms is making a consistent flow of income. I am a single mother, and it can be hard to save money without spending on car maintenance, food, rent, bills, and taking care of your children. These companies have hired so many workers that it’s hard to make a decent wage nowadays.

2. How has working as a gig worker been a positive experience in your life?

Being a gig worker has been a positive experience in my life by allowing flexibility in my schedule, freedom to utilize other platforms, and to interact with customers who can later be turned into potential clients.

3. What would you say to a woman who is thinking to start working with as a gig worker but is hesitating?

I would say, go for it, but test it out slowly. Do not quit your job (if you have one). Make sure you’re in an area that has enough traffic for you to make money. Start with one gig at a time and slowly build to see what does or does not work for you.

Check out Instacart in the US: in Seattle, Boston, New York City, Milwaukee, Orlando, Orlando and in other cities!

Check out Instacart in Canada: in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton

Other delivery driver platforms you can find on AppJobs: Doordash, Shipt, Postmates, Favor.

2. Sarah Maccarelli Jordan

Sarah Jordan started pet sitting after her beloved senior dog, Ziggy, passed on in early 2016. Since then, Sarah has cared for dozens of dogs and cats in Asheville and beyond. Sarah uses the Rover app in addition to her own pet sitting website: ashevillepetsitter.com

Check out Sarah’s book “Master Pet Sitting with Rover”
Web: sarahjordanwrites.com

1. As a woman, what is the greatest challenge you’ve faced when working as a gig worker with Rover?

My greatest challenge so far really has more to do with boundaries than my gender. Sometimes you can’t always tell a dog’s personality until after their owners leave. I’ve had dogs literally bark constantly for hours until they went home. So I’ve had to be really careful and thorough about screening my clients. Some women are taught to be accommodating and bend over backwards, and it’s something I’ve had to unlearn in order to be successful.

2. How has working as a gig worker has been a positive experience in your life?

Working as a gig worker has been so amazing! I love being able to work when I want to and being in charge of my own schedule. I get to decide the size and types of animals I pet sit for. If I worked for a brick and mortar pet sitting company, I wouldn’t have the same freedom.

3. What would you say to a woman who is thinking to start working as a gig worker but is hesitating?

Start now! We never feel “ready” or qualified until after we get started.

Check out Rover in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Dallas, Seattle, Tampa, Columbus and in other cities!

Other pet sitting platforms you can find on AppJobs: PetSitter, Sittercity, Gudog, Wag!, PetBacker, Pawshake.

3. Shana Green

Shana Green started working in the gig economy in October 2017 when she realized that she needed to earn more money to dig herself out of $108,000 in debt. She started to supplement her postdoctoral fellowship income to help her get out of debt faster. She creates videos on The Wealth Vibe YouTube channel to help other people eliminate their debt, grow their income, and build their wealth. She shows how working in the gig economy can help you live your best financial life.

YouTube: youtube.com/c/shanagreen
Instagram: instagram.com/thewealthvibe
Facebook: facebook.com/thewealthvibe

1. As a woman, what is the greatest challenge you’ve faced when working as a gig worker with Grubhub?

I haven’t faced a challenge as a woman working as a GrubHub driver. I think I assumed I might have challenges because I thought as food delivery work as a man’s job. But I realized that there’s no reason to think like that because there aren’t any limitations to what women can do to earn money.

2. How has working as a gig worker has been a positive experience in your life?

Working as gig worker has allowed me to gain financial independence. Although I am working to pay off debt, I feel like I am breaking free from debt each day that will give me freedom in my career, my relationships and other life choices.

3. What would you say to a woman who is thinking to start working as a gig worker but is hesitating?

Stop thinking and just do it! With more capital, women are freer and powerful. Securing your financial future is the best thing you could do for yourself and that helps everyone in the end.

Check out Grubhub in Nashville, San Bernardino, Indianapolis, El Paso, Tampa, St. Louis and in other cities!

Other delivery driver platforms you can find on AppJobs: Doordash, Shipt, Postmates, Favor, Instacart, TaskRabbit, EatStreet, Foodora and more!

Kaylania, Sarah and Shana are the perfect examples that working with app jobs is for everyone, no matter the experience, background and motivation to work. So what are you waiting for? Start now! There will never be a better time!

What is AppJobs and how can you find gig work with various apps through it?

working women

AppJobs in the fastest way possible to find a job that you can do with the help of your smartphone: almost all platforms presented on AppJobs demand NO CVs, long recruitment processes or interviews! So, go ahead and enter your city in the search field to see what gig platforms are available in your area. Read our descriptions about them and decide what is best for you. There are opportunities for everyone! You can find cleaning jobs, freelancing jobs, babysitting jobs, driving jobs, online teaching jobs and so much more!

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