It's the End of the Podcast As We Know It (and why it's a good thing)

Just Eat Takeaway, who purchased Grubhub less than a year ago for $7.3 billion, has announced that they may consider selling off part or all of the Grubhub.

What happened here?

Did Jitse Groen (CEO of Just Eat Takeaway) buy a lemon? This is an expensive case of buyer's remorse for the Dutch delivery giant.

Within just months of closing the deal, investors were pushing for the company to bail out on Grubhub. Apparently, they finally decided to listen.

While it doesn't mean it's a done deal, I can't help but think they have to be pretty serious about the idea (more than just “exploring” the thought of a sale) if they're going so far as to make it public. One has to wonder if they're already in talks.

We address this topic in the latest episode of Deliver on Your Business. Even more, we dive into just what happened with Grubhub. A few years ago, Grubhub was Doordash. They were the dominant king of the delivery industry with no real rival.

How did this happen???

Related links

Episode page on EntreCourier website

Want to see it on Youtube?

Discussion with UDM about the changes with Grubhub

Discussion on EntreCourier about the Grubhub Just Eat merger

Discussion on EntreCourier about Grubhub (and others) response to pandemic

Topics:

• Grubhub used to be the king 2:50
• The root cause of Grubhub's demise: Arrogance 3:49
• My story of delivering for Grubhub and what I liked about it 4:30
• When things started to change: 7:22
• Fast food, Taco Hell and the explosion of Cherry Picking 9:19
• Grubhub begins cracking down on drivers 11:46
• Driver loyalty to Grubhub erodes and erodes FAST 13:34
• Grubhub's relationship to restaurants erodes 18:53
• Adding restaurants to platform without permission 19:13
• Fake websites and marketing charges 21:44
• Grubhub botches restaurant relations during the pandemic 23:00
• Grubhub's relationship with customers goes south as well 27:10
• What happens next for Grubhub? 35:19
• Who would possibly buy Grubhub? 39:10
• The case for (and against) an Uber sale 39:27
• The case for a sale to Amazon 43:43
• The impact of Just Eat Takeaway moving to an employee model in Europe 45:05
• Could the same fate happen to Doordash in the near future? 45:45

Dustin Walsey, co-founder and President of Buckle Insurance, joins us to talk about all things insurance.

If Buckle is in your state, you can sign up here. If they aren't in your state, you can still sign up and get notified of when they are available. During the interview I misspoke their URL as GetBuckle.com (instead of BuckleUp.com). Dustin said he thought that probably would get you there as well, and it turns out he's right.

If you are a gig economy driver (Doordash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Instacart, Shipt, Uber, Lyft and many others) this is an incredibly important topic that you MUST pay attention to. A shockingly high number of gig economy drivers are uninsured when out working the apps, especially in the delivery industry.

Buckle Insurance is the first insurance company I'm aware of that was created specifically for the gig economy. They work closely with many of the gig platforms. As of the posting of this episode, they're only in a handful of states but they cover about 30% of the U.S. population.

We cover questions such as:

What is Buckle Insurance and how did they get started?
What are the challenges for a new insurance company trying to get approved to provide coverage in every state?
What kind of coverage does Buckle provide?
Why is delivery considered high risk to insurance if we aren't carrying passengers?
How the explosion of delivery during the pandemic impacts our society and the need to protect contractors who are out in the field
Looking at different types of insurance and how Buckle compares, such as personal policies, rideshare endorsements, commercial policies, and hybrid commercial policies.
When should a person consider full coverage instead of liability only, even if their car is paid off?
How do state insurance regulations and different kinds of risk impact insurance premiums?
What states are served now by Buckle?
What can someone do to make sure they're covered in states Buckle isn't yet serving?
How do credit ratings impact typical premiums and how is it different with Buckle?
What kind of relationship does Buckle have with different gig economy platforms?
What kind of coverage does Buckle provide if you're driving for a platform that Buckle does not have a relationship with?

Buckle is available at GetBuckle.com.  Some products on the website and podcast are ones I have an affiliate relationship with, and if so, I may receive compensation for products purchased.

Comments or questions? Shoot me an email.

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Many Dashers are convinced that Doordash gives their Top Dashers better delivery offers. However, Doordash themselves don't even promise that. 

I decided to test the theory. I started out in February not having Top Dasher status. I accepted 100 straight deliveries in February so that I could not onlly make Top Dasher for March, but also have a record of every delivery. 

Then in March, I took another 100 straight delvieries. I kept track of everything: Offer details, how long deliveries took, how far I drove, all of it. Then I could compare.

I talk about my experience taking 200 straight deliveries on Doordash and the comparison of deliveries as a non-Top Dasher and as a Top Dasher. 

This will be the last episode of the Deliver On Your Business Podcast.

At least as a somewhat regular weekly podcast. There may be further episodes, possibly one off topics of interest here and there.

Today, I'm just telling my story. We talk about how I got started with all of this, and how that story is leading me to this point where it's time to put the podcast (as we know it) to rest.

The point of the story though is it's a good thing. There are two things here:

For me, it's part of a bigger picture. That's what the story is about - how all of this was always part of something bigger. Making this step means I am able to do what I've always wanted to do.

For you, I hope it's a good thing as well.  More than anything, that it's something that encourages you to think about your own bigger picture.

How does the delivery life fit into your why? How does the day by day of what you do help you accomplish the bigger picture? Have you developed a bigger picture?

Gig economy work should always have a purpose. Any work or job or anything should have a purpose. It's more than just making money. It's making money so you can....  what?

That's what I hope today's episode can help you think through. 

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Outside the big three on demand delivery companies, I'm not sure anyone else has reached into as many markets as catering specialist DeliverThat.

Aaron Hoffman joins us today to talk about DeliverThat and the opportunities available to delivery drivers. 

• How he started DeliverThat from his dorm room in college
• Challenges of starting his first deliveries in a world dominated by large tech companies
• Philosophy of being a company for drivers made by drivers
• How DeliverThat can provide unmatched personal support for drivers
• How was their delivery model impacted by COVID?
• How Aaron sees the place DeliverThat can have for independent contractors who deliver for other platforms
• Describing the delivery opportunities on catering orders
• The type of markets DeliverThat is in and how they launch new markets
• What does he see as the biggest challenge when using independent contractors?
• What are the challenges to fulfilling all of their orders?
• Thoughts on independent contractor status and where the country is going with that.

At the end, I share some thoughts on my takes as a DeliverThat catering contractor. Overall my experience has been positive. There are a couple of things about how they do things that may not be popular.

Overall, I think DeliverThat is a true gig economy opportunity. As contractors in the delivery space, we work delivery by delivery. Because they do catering orders, there can be some very attractive deliveries. Other times, options from other platforms may be better.

You can sign up for DeliverThat here. If asked if you were referred, just let them know Ron Walter sent you!

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In this week's episode, we talk about what may be the best way to learn how to make more on Doordash, Uber Eats, Grubhub and other gig economy platforms.

The answer isn't me giving you all the answers, because let's be honest: I don't have all the answers.

I think the answer may be to bring all of us together into a community where we can share what we have learned with one another. We talk about that more today.

What do you think would be a good feature in a community? Email me and let me know your thoughts!

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Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) $300 per week payments ended September 4. People will order less, and more may turn to deliver for apps like Doordash, Uber Eats, Grubhub and others, further saturating the market with drivers. 

At the same time, these apps seem to be racing to see who can pay us less. What do we do when it's harder to make a profit? Is it time to hang it up and move on to more profitable things?

We discuss a strategy that might help keep profitability up. Or even increase it. 

Multi-apping.

And I don't mean just switching between the three main apps. Start looking at other types of platforms. We look at a few of them:

• Lesser known food delivery platforms
• Catering platforms
• Last mile delivery platforms
• On demand package delivery platforms
• Shopping platforms.

You can find the dedicated page for this episode here on our website.

What do you think? What delivery platforms do you have in your market? What's your experience with them? I'd love to hear what options are out there, as I want to build a directory, so please  email your comments

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I want to give a shout out to Chad at GigTube (Twitter @Gig_Tube and  GigTube on Youtube) for posting the article that inspired today's title. Mike Bebernes at Yahoo News put up an article with a title worth discussing: The gig economy: Opportunity or exploitation?"

That's a great question. In light of last week's Prop 22 decision in California and the fact they're still trying to get PRO Act pushed through the Senate, it's worth discussing. Are app-based gig economy workers (especially in Delivery and Rideshare) exploited? Or is it an opportunity for people?

Yes.

I think both are happening. But I believe we have the power to decide which one it is.

What we talk about:

1:38    Introductions, the importance of multi-apping

5:00    Talking about other platforms besides the major 3 or 4 delivery apps

6:09    With PUA ending in September, things can change a lot for delivery. It's more important than ever to look into multiple apps

15:00  Finally diving into the topic - Gig Economy: Opportunity or Exploitation?

17:55  I believe that it's both exploitation and opportunity

19:44  Gig economy apps are trying to get employees but only pay for contractors

22:07  Gig companies bank on gig workers thinking like employees

25:45  Not being up front with what Gig work actually entails

29:30  The opportunity is in independence.

32:27  Delivery has been a life saver for many during the Pandemic

42:00  The best way to avoid exploitation.

You can find the dedicated page for this episode here on our website.

What do you think? Is it exploitation or opportunity? Leave a comment at the episode page linked above or email your comments

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We've been talking about strikes, about how Doordash is behaving badly, lower pay, hiding tips, all that good stuff. Or bad stuff.

It can feel like we're out of control.

But being in control is a matter of choice. This week we talk about 11 rules where you can take control of your app based gig economy business.

What rules would you add? You can comment on the episode page at EntreCourier.com

The rule that makes the other rules:

You are running a business.

Whether you deliver for Doordash, Grubhub, Uber Eats, Instacart or any of the others, or if you do ride share or some other app based gig contracting, you agreed that you were performing a service AS A BUSINESS.

The IRS taxes you like you are running a business.

The best way to succeed at running that business is to embrace the fact that you are indeed running a business. Treat it like a business.

These following rules will help you develop that business mindset.

1. Everything is your fault.
While it sounds negative, it's the most positive thing there could be. Because that means you're in control. You're not at anyone's mercy. You get to make the decisions, you get to operate your business in a way that makes sense.

2. Know your Why.
Understand your reason for getting into the gig economy and let that guide you.

3. Know the relationship with the gig companies.
They aren't our employers. They're not our bosses. They are our customers.

4. Running a business means your customer will try to screw you.
It happens everywhere. And businesses thrive. Remember that you're the one in control of the relationships you get into.

5. Think profit.
The money you make is NOT the money that gets paid to you by Uber Eats, Doordash, Lyft, Grubhub, Instacart or others. What you earn is what's left over after expenses.

6. Give Yourself a Paycheck.
Get a bank account just for your business. You can try Novo (affiliate link).  Save money for expenses, taxes and paid time off (Hurdlr has a great calculator for figuring taxes). Then pay yourself the difference.

7. Give your time a value.
Time is money! But how much money? Decide what your time is worth.

8. Set your price
Based on your why and the value of your time, set a standard for when gigs are worth accepting.

9. Make Business Decisions.
You decided your why. You set your price and value for your time. Make decisions based on how it impacts your business, not on emotion and definitely not based on anyone's ideas of how you should make decisions.

10. Be Awesome.
A key to success for any business is how great they are. Gig work is no different.

11. Have an exit plan
Laws could change. Your preferences could change. Start planning for the great "What's Next?"

A couple other rules came to mind:

• No one owes you anything
• Never rely on just one customer.

What rules would you add? Contact us at one of the links below to let us know:

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The government has been busy lately trying to get things pushed through. We've seen in the past few days the Infrastructure bill and Budget Reconciliation stuff go through the Senate.

One of the things that's been a priority for Democrats has been the PRO Act. Protecting the Right to Organize. One of the things the act does is implement the ABC test that was the heart of California's AB5, and the ABC test would then determine classification of employee verses independent contractor for purposes of labor laws.  If it's passed and stands up to court challenges, PRO Act could force Doordash, Uber, Grubhub, Lyft and other gig companies to hire employees rather than employees.

Steve Johnson of UberLyftDrivers.com joins us to talk about employment, being an independent contractor, the repercussions of being an employee, and whether Pro Act has a chance of passing. Steve has had several guests on his Rideshare Rodeo podcast and shares insights he's gained from his many conversations on the topic.

Additional reading on PRO Act

AB5 and Prop 22: A listing of articles about California's AB5 which implemented the ABC Test, and about Prop 22, the ballot initiative that exempted gig platforms from AB5.

What is PRO Act?

Driver App London is a blog by Mourad, a frequent guest on Steve's podcast. Later in the episode Steve talks about how some places in Europe are a step ahead of where they are in the US including an app worker designation.

What we talk about in today's episode:

The following was the general outline we attempted to follow. Things may have gone a little out of order here and there.

Introductions:
Steve talks about his gig economy background, how his website and podcast got started, and then talks about the different guests he's had on his podcast to talk about PRO Act (guests both in favor of and against the legislation).

Employment verses Independent Contractors
Why is this even important? What is there to lose if we are employees?

What is PRO Act and how does that impact things?
What is the ABC test from California's AB5 and that is now part of PRO Act? How does that compare to the current IRS test

Doordash, Uber, Lyft, Grubhub and others as bad actors
Part of the problem does lie in the way gig companies treat their contractors. Is there exploitation of the independent contractor model by these companies? How do their actions contribute to how some want to force a change?

Can PRO Act be passed into law?
PRO Act is stalled right now. Does that mean that it's safe? What kind of things can lead to it passing?

Is there a better alternative?
Is forcing gig companies to hire employees the only answer? Is there a better way to handle the bad acting of gig companies?  

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