26-Year-Old’s Side Hustle Hit $170k a Month — and I Tried It

Up till 2021, Stephen Alvarez, now 26, labored at a dental provide firm and fueled his ardour for vehicles in his spare time; he owned a few automobiles and drove for Uber to complement his earnings. Nevertheless, one other profitable side hustle caught his eye in 2018 — Turo, the automotive rental firm that permits prospects to lease automobiles from native hosts.

^{Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Turo. Stephen Alvarez.}

Alvarez noticed an Instagram advert that includes a profitable Turo host in Canada. The person, in his early 20s, started by renting out his Hyundai Elantra on the platform, and inside only a few months, he was in a position to improve to a Porsche Panamera and repeat the method. Alvarez instantly “fell in love with the idea of Turo” and listed his vehicles on the platform.

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Alvarez’s father had all the time taught him the significance of investing in himself and seizing good alternatives. So, when his boss on the dental provide firm informed him he was transferring to Israel and needed to promote his automotive, as he’d solely be visiting the U.S. each couple of months, Alvarez recommended another: He may put the automotive on Turo and handle the itemizing for a proportion of the earnings.

“I grew my fleet huge by having my very own vehicles…after which additionally different individuals’s vehicles.”

Alvarez’s boss agreed, and as soon as that enterprise transfer proved profitable, word-of-mouth referrals adopted. Earlier than lengthy, Alvarez co-hosted extra automobiles on the platform. “I grew my fleet huge by having my very own vehicles, vehicles below my title, after which additionally different individuals’s vehicles, mainly [as a] co-host,” Alvarez explains. “That is how I grew the corporate rather a lot.”

Alvarez constructed his fleet as much as 240 vehicles — and his side hustle earnings grew with it. In 2022, Alvarez averaged $85,000 to $90,000 a month, together with reimbursements. That ballooned to $120,000 month-to-month in 2023 and $170,000 month-to-month by the tip of that 12 months, with about 150 vehicles lively at a given time, Alvarez says.

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Then, the subsequent huge alternative got here. A buyer who’d rented from Alvarez 10 occasions needed to amass the enterprise. Alvarez ended up promoting him a stake within the firm, and the 2 of them are 50/50 companions as we speak as Alvarez continues to manage the team and grow the business.

“Anyone can do that” in the event that they’re prepared to place within the effort and time, in accordance with Alvarez. You simply must pay shut consideration to the operation’s logistics — it might take a big period of time to show round a car so it is prepared for the subsequent buyer — and go above and past with communication. “Communication is without doubt one of the most important issues,” Alvarez stresses. “It is advisable to be very attentive to your prospects [and] be on high of every thing.”

Making an attempt Turo as a buyer

In June, I had the possibility to attempt Turo from a shopper standpoint. My husband and I have been on our technique to a marriage in Chatham, Massachusetts, and as New York City residents with out a automotive of our personal, we wanted to lease one to get there.

We have used conventional rental automotive corporations to depart the town prior to now — with combined outcomes. Though they obtained us from Level A to Level B, typically the automobiles we obtained have been very completely different from those we booked, and ready in a considerable line originally or finish of an extended journey wasn’t excellent, both.

We have been excited to check out Turo as a result of it eliminates each issues.

You understand which car you are getting since you’re the one to choose it out. You possibly can filter the choices by car sort, value, host ranking and extra to search out the automotive that matches your wants and make the most of extra perks, together with pay as you go refueling and limitless mileage.

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What’s extra, you bypass ready in line altogether. The host will drop the car off at your residence for a further price, or you possibly can organize for pickup at an airport or different space. You possibly can unlock the automotive with the Turo app and entry the keys within the glove compartment.

We accessed the car with out problem, snapped the really helpful pictures of the outside and inside, and have been off. Then, as soon as we accomplished our journey, we parked the automotive close to our constructing (regardless that parking wasn’t accessible instantly in entrance, the car has a tracker that permits the host to view the drop-off location), positioned the keys again within the glove compartment and relocked the automotive through the app.

It was most likely essentially the most seamless automotive rental expertise we have ever had, and we might undoubtedly use Turo once more.

Turo supplied credit prematurely of this protection.