Me After Making Over $20 an hour on DoorDash

When I first hopped in the delivery game, I thought it was just lil side money—gas money, snacks/food—you feel me?

But once I peeped the cheat codes, I started stacking orders like Pokémon cards and boom… $2K a month steady.

At first I was loyal to one app. Big mistake. Some nights I was just chillin’ in the whip, no pings, no bread. Then I realized—DoorDash, Waitr, Roadie, even them lil local apps all hit different. I started multi-app hustlin’, switching whenever one slowed down. Downtime?

Never heard of it. I kept apps open, bouncing between them like tabs on Safari. Orders stayed flowing, bag stayed growing.

Get on when people want food.

Lunch rush (11–2) and dinner rush (5–9) = prime time. Weekends? Straight money printer.

Personally I did breakfast and not lunch because I am not big on traffic. Early morning has good orders with little to no traffic.

Know your city. It comes in handy.

Not all people tip the same. Knowing the city will help you decide if that $3 order will come with a tip. Plus you want to be strategic with orders. Why drop off in Brookstown and then go all the way by Gardere for the next order? Why drop off in Central if you have to go 10 minutes to get another order? Work smart and not hard.

Oh…you don’t DoorDash because you not “trynna spend all yo money on gas”?

Gas was eating me alive at first. Fixed that quick—fuel rewards, tight routes, car maintenance. Using apps for cheap gas. Tracking and counting my miles.

Every mile gotta count.

Another tip is pay per mile. A good rate is $0.50 for Baton Rouge—or was. So basically $7 order—14 miles.

Not $7 order, 28 miles. That’s like $0.25.

$1 is ideal. So $10, 10 miles. Think like a truck driver when screening orders.

Real talk, people tip better when you act like you care. Quick text, double-check the order, pull up fast, say thank you. That lil extra energy turned mid tips into fat ones.

Treat it like a job. You are basically a food runner on wheels. A waitress in a car.

Get those delivery bonuses.

Apps throw out challenges like “10 deliveries in 3 hours = extra $20.” I treated those like side quests. Knocked ‘em out, stacked the bonuses, boosted the bag. Easy money. You can’t skip out on it.

Let’s seeeee 🤔

Oh. Don’t just treat it like a job. It’s really a business. Track everything.

I wasn’t just wingin’ it—I tracked mileage, expenses, and income like a mini CEO. That really helped me see what worked, and tax season? Saved me bread with deductions. Got money back most years—my surveys and stuff made me owe one year.

But this is how I made $20+ an hour, $2000+ a month using my car. It took a little time but having a job kept me afloat.

Can’t wait to buy another car and get back in the field.

Baton Rouge