Yahoo Finance $70k a month: Side hustle puts Aussie mates in driver’s seat
The friends started off by renting out a handful of cars in their driveways.
A group of Melbourne mates have turned their side hustle into a small business and are raking in around $70,000 a month.
At the start of 2023, Adrian Bucca, John Anastasiou, Martin Schwab and Danny Pham were working together in construction. But when things started slowing down for them, the group decided to start up a side hustle renting out their cars.
They started off renting out a handful of cars, including their own personal vehicles and company vehicles, on car-sharing platform Turo. But after the business quickly started taking off, they soon added more cars to their collection.
“When we started hiring cars we were doing it from our driveways,” Bucca told Yahoo Finance. “Now, we’ve got an established factory where it’s like a proper business. But in the early days, it was a side hustle for the first five to six months.
Less than a year on, Bucca and his friends have a fleet of more than 40 cars, including luxury vehicles, Teslas, SUVs and utes. Most of their current bookings are from holidaymakers and those looking to travel around Victoria.
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Bucca said the money they were making was going straight back into growing the business, with the team now having seven staff on board.
“It’s definitely grown way bigger than we thought it would,” Bucca, who still works in construction as his main job, said. “When we first did it, we thought we might do it for a few months just to fill some gaps. Now, we’re planning on expanding to the Gold Coast and Sydney.”
3 tips for renting out your car
While Bucca and his friends have created a small business, there are ways Aussies keen to earn some extra cash can do the side hustle on a smaller scale.
According to Turo, most Aussies typically rent out one or two of their cars to help offset the cost of car ownership. On average, the platform says Aussies can earn around $1,000 per month.
Bucca said it was important for car rental hosts to focus on good customer service and making their cars accessible for renters.
Here are his three top tips:
Make it available: Offer more flexible pick-up hours. Making your car available at times other rentals aren’t - such as later at night - can help boost your bookings.
Offer extras: Offer pick-up and delivery for customers. This can make the rental process more convenient for them and help increase bookings.
Focus on reviews: Like Uber or Airbnb, Turo allows guests to give their hosts a rating. Make sure you focus on getting a positive review history to help attract new customers.
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