The best part of shoveling snow? Coming back inside for hot chocolate. After freezing for two hours getting in a good workout and breathing in the cold air, the moment those marshmallows hit your lips is one you will never forget. If you’re from the South and have never had the pleasure of shoveling snow before, be the opposite of a snow bird and fly up north. It’s an amazing experience.
Especially when you get paid for shoveling random driveways, sidewalks and small parking lots.
One app, called Shovler, is becoming the “Uber of Snow Shoveling.” Daniel Miller, CEO of Shovler, explains how his app works:
If you “want a shoveler:”
- Select Home, Business or Car
- Use GPS button or type address into the app
- The app sets a price (it’s a fixed-price concept)
- Once happy with the price, upload a picture for the shoveler (optional)
- Type in credit card information, and you’re done
If you “want to be a shoveler:”
- Sign up and download the app
- Enter zip code of the area you want to shovel
- Wait for jobs to ping in your area
- Start shoveling and making money
How Does The Pricing Work?
Because it’s a fixed-price concept, it doesn’t matter if you shovel the snow in 10 minutes or two hours; you’re getting paid the same amount.
Prices are based on the size of the area that needs to be cleared, temperature, snow accumulation, zip code and other factors. Here are the average payouts for shovelers using Shovler, according to The Penny Hoarder:
- $20 to $35 for a car parked on a city street
- $30 to $75 for up to a two-car driveway that fits three cars in length, an average walkway and an average sidewalk in front of a house
- 50 cents to $2 per square feet for a city sidewalk or small parking lots (for businesses)
Once you’ve accepted the job, Shovler takes 15% of each job, and you receive the rest. Like Uber, you are also graded and penalized if you don’t receive five stars.
So far, over 1,000 shovelers have made money shoveling snow since the app went live in the beginning of December, according to Miller. It is available nationwide, but has primarily been used in New York City and its surrounding suburbs.
Miller also said that he wants to focus more on “digging people out of parking spaces in cities.” Anyone who’s been faced with digging their car out on a Monday when you’re already late for work will understand the beauty of that particular service.
Shovler is not the only app that helps you make money. If you want to also mow or rake leaves once the snow melts, you can download the Plowz & Mowz app. This is geared towards professionals, so you would need professional grade equipment and General Liability Insurancce to use this app.
There’s also TaskRabbit, which is available in 18 cities around the country with plans to expand to more cities in 2017, where you can sign up to perform (or receive help with) any number of random tasks, from hanging pictures to shoveling snow.
Technology is a beautiful thing, especially when it comes to earning extra cash!
About the Author
