Yahoo Finance $30,000 a year: Side hustle helping Aussie dad give back
Removalist Jules Evans says he is often able to salvage furniture headed for the tip and give it to a new home.
A Sydney dad’s side hustle removing furniture and rubbish from deceased estates is helping him earn extra cash and give back to those in need.
Former technology worker Jules Evans started picking up odd removalist jobs as a way of supplementing his income, signing up to Airtasker to find gigs.
“Initially, I just jumped onto it and thought, ‘I need an extra $100, I’ll grab someone’s rubbish or move someone’s fridge’. And then it grew from there,” Jules told Yahoo Finance.
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Along with regular removal jobs, Jules started doing deceased estate removal tasks after noticing a demand on the platform.
“The family [often] wants to keep some keepsakes and precious furniture,” Jules said. “We take care of that and deliver that to the family. But with most things, it [goes to] the tip, unfortunately.”
Jules’ main job is now running an accessible removals company, called Truck of the Irish, which he started up following the success of his secondary Airtasker work.
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“My main business is doing residential house removals, which includes charity work including domestic violence escapes and helping them set up home again,” he told Yahoo Finance.
The business also donates furniture to those in need and Jules said he was often able to salvage pieces that were still in good condition from deceased estates that were otherwise headed for the tip.
“It’s cheaper for my customer because there is less weight, which means the tip fees are less. They also like to know it is going to a good, new home and we get to help someone,” Jules said.
The Sydney dad said he’d made some lucrative finds at deceased estates, including a pewter and crystal chess board and valuable books.
“We found a set of Norman Lindsay illustrated stories once, all personally autographed by his daughter Jane Lindsay. Individually, each of those books were worth $1,500,” Jules said.
He said families were often happy for him to keep or donate items, or to sell them to go towards helping his charity work.
Through his Airtasker side hustle, Jules said he was making an annual turnover of $30,000 a year. This amount goes to paying the people who help him (three people are often needed for bigger jobs), equipment, petrol and tolls, and finally to paying himself.
According to Airtasker, there is currently a high demand for removalists on the platform, with tasks increasing 22 per cent this year.
The average deceased estate task price is $288, with popular tasks including moving furniture out, tax returns and deep cleaning.
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