How much can you make a week with uber eats

Is it really possible? To earn that much from Uber Eats?? Yes, it is – and many drivers have proven it. All you need to earn $1000 a week from Uber Eats is determination and some inside info that will have you making money hand over fist in no time. 

We’ll cover the following topics to provide coaching and ideas to help you push your earnings up to that $1000 per week level:

• Business strategy
• Delivery strategy
• Tips: Go the extra mile
• Sit back and collect 

Uber Eats business strategy

Maybe you started delivery driving as a side hustle. Perhaps you switched to it from rideshare after the pandemic shattered that side of the business in 2020. Or, maybe you’re just starting out as a delivery driver and Uber Eats caught your eye.

In any event, if you want to make $1000 a week delivering the goods, you have to take your driving very seriously and treat it like a business – one you rely on to feed you, clothe you, and take care of all your expenses just like any other kind of job.

You probably know this already, but the biggest difference between working delivery and working as an employee for a company is that with delivering (for Uber Eats or other platforms), you are your own boss. That means no one is going to account for your costs, help you minimize expenses, or turn you on to tax breaks and the other nuts and bolts of running a business. 

Do you have a business strategy? You’re going to need one, so start working on it with these tips:

Master the art of self-employment. As an Uber Eats driver, you’re an independent contractor. That means the company isn’t going to withhold your taxes, provide insurance, keep track of your earnings, or tell you about tax deductions. You’ll have to do all these things for yourself.

If you want to maximize your tax advantages, open an official business entity. You can incorporate (create a corporation) or you can work as a limited liability corporation (LLC). You can also work with a DBA (Doing Business As) arrangement, but the corporation or LLC will do a better job of protecting you from liability. 

Establishing a corporation or LLC offers better tax advantages than being a sole proprietor. For instance, if you simply collect your earnings into your private account, you’ll be charged self-employment taxes in most states. And paying extra taxes is something we all want to avoid, within legal limits, as much as possible.

Every Uber Eats driver needs to learn about self-employment, and there are some great resources you can review. Check out the CareerOneStop website about self employment which will help explain the basics. You can also check with a professional tax accountant, or look other websites to learn more about actually creating a business.

Decide what you will do with your business. Is delivery driving going to be your only gig? If you want to do both delivery and rideshare, you’ll have to meet additional requirements. Read our insights regarding Uber vs. Lyft: Which is better for rideshare drivers? to learn more.

Scope out your market. Look at the area around you to see where you’re likely to get the most deliveries. Where are all the restaurants? Where might people be more inclined to order deliveries? What hours do you want to drive? What activities might be going on around those times? Think about late-night and after-school times as well as breakfast, lunch, and dinner times.

Be realistic about the potential for your area and aware of new services opening up. For example, in New York, there is already a tab on the Uber Eats app that allows customers to order groceries. In our article about the best food delivery service to work for you’ll see that Uber Eats stacks up well against other delivery companies, mainly because of its potential for expanded opportunities for drivers to earn. 

Reduce your operating costs

Always bring your own food, water, and soft drinks from home. Any delivery driver will tell you that hunger strikes harder when you’ve got awesome-smelling food in your car. Having something with you will save you the cost of buying snacks in between trips, and allow you to have fewer interruptions. That translates into more earnings for you.

There are also deals that will help you cut the cost of maintaining your ride. Check the Gridwise Perks tab and you’ll find ways to save every day, from gas discounts to specials on oil changes and dollars off phone plans. 

Another way to save some money is to get value from your phone plan. Learn more about phone plans for gig drivers. 

Keep track of your earnings and expenses. Tracking your mileage and other expenses is the best way to make sure you’re taking advantage of all possible tax breaks. You can either use the standard mileage deduction or deduct all your expenses. The amount of mileage you log and how much you spend on maintenance and fuel will determine which of these you should use. Take a look at this Gridwise Features page for great information about expense tracking.

The standard deduction will work out well for delivery drivers who log heavy amounts of mileage. If you’re in a concentrated urban setting, or you don’t drive long distances, logging all your vehicle-related expenses will be a better bet. You can test out both methods when you file your taxes. 

In the Gridwise “2021 rideshare and delivery driver tax deduction guide,” you’ll find a wealth of info about tax deductions for drivers. Always use Gridwise to track your earnings and expenses so you’ll have complete records for your business.

Key takeaway: If you want to make $1000 a week with Uber Eats, you have to get serious, and putting together a business is a big part of that.

Uber Eats delivery strategy

Your goal of making $1000 a week with Uber Eats will be within your reach once you create a strategy that works, and you stick to it. Naturally, you’ll want to take the least amount of time and effort to make the most money. What can you do to make that happen?

Scrutinize your schedule. What are your other obligations? Do you have to take care of family members, or work another job?  Will those commitments allow you to work at the times when people are most likely to order food? If not, how can you change your schedule, or find other services you can deliver with aside from Uber Eats? You’ll have to find time slots that will work for you, so you can make the most out of the time you spend delivering for Uber Eats.  

Check out the days and times that are busiest in your area. That’s when your pay is likely to be higher, due to surge pricing, quests, and other incentives. Uber is hot to get people to drive for them these days, so look for special bonuses that can add to your income. Read more about incentives for delivery drivers.

Don’t believe for a moment that people only order during typical meal times. At all different times of the day (and night), customers request deliveries from Uber Eats. If you can figure out when these time slots are in your area, by studying the customer side of the app as well as the driver side, you’ll raise your odds for making great money.

Discipline yourself to drive.

You are your own boss when you deliver for Uber Eats… but if you don’t show up for work, you won’t get paid. You’ll have to work enough hours, as well as choose the right times to drive. Experiment with various shifts that work for you, then create a schedule that will allow you to consistently make the most money. 

Being a delivery driver is a lot like being a mail carrier. “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night …” is certainly applicable. When the weather is less than pleasant, people will order more. This is the case even when it’s too hot outside. Carry gear with you that allows you to weather any kind of storm, and you’ll be fine. You’ll probably find tips are bigger when customers are glad you let them avoid going out in the rain, sliding their way through a January snowstorm, or sweating through an August heatwave.

Be aware of traffic.

Traffic jams, crowds, road construction, parades, and major events can affect delivery driving. Your efficiency will rise when you know what’s happening around you. To learn more about local news, traffic conditions, weather, and more, check Gridwise. You’ll even get alerts about traffic and weather events that could slow you down.

Be flexible.

Earning $1000 a week often depends on your flexibility, and you’ll need to adapt to changing circumstances. Even if you don’t feel like driving on a Saturday afternoon, for instance, you might find that a ball game or other big event everyone is watching will create reasons for people to order delivery.

You might also want to plan around time slots when people probably won’t be ordering delivery. These might include times when families in your area typically gather for home-cooked meals, take Mom or Dad out for their special days, or when certain segments of the population leave town for school breaks or summer vacations. During times like these you’ll want to be resourceful, and also work extra before or after such events occur.

Know your strengths.

If you’re undaunted by urban parking situations, then you don’t need to worry about working in a city. If you’d rather not deal with the hassle of high-density traffic, though, you should stick to the outskirts. You can earn good money delivering meals in the ’burbs. You just have to time it right and stick to places that are on the expensive side to make the longer drives worth your time.

Don’t double-dip.

It’s up to you, of course, but we recommend you pick a company (Uber Eats in this case) and stick with it. That’s because driver programs like Uber Pro depend on your loyalty to driving for the company. So, the more deliveries you do for Uber Eats, the more points you earn, and the more perks (and money) you will ultimately get.

Be a stickler for setting goals.

You might not need a life coach, but any good one will tell you how important it is to set goals. You can do this as a delivery driver by knowing how much you want to make ($1000) in a time period (one week), and putting a plan in place that enables you to meet that goal.

Having a target makes you work harder – and when you work harder, you’ll make more money. You can read this Gridwise post to learn more about setting goals and being a successful rideshare and delivery driver. 

Tracking your earnings is the best way to know how you’re doing with your goals, and Gridwise will help. Link your Uber Eats driving app to Gridwise, and all your earnings will be recorded for you. You can enter your own expenses, and get the full picture of how your business and delivery strategies are working with slick, informative graphs like these:

Tips: Go the extra mile

A nice perk of being a delivery driver is the opportunity to make big tips. Uber Eats, like most other delivery apps, encourages customers to tip generously. Still, there’s a lot you can do to make sure you get even bigger tips. Here are a few suggestions:

Smiles make a difference.

Even if you drop a delivery at the door, chances are the customer will see you coming. Make sure the first thing they notice is your smiling face. A cheerful, can-do attitude will almost always incentivize customers to drop a little more into the virtual tip jar.

Super service.

Being on time is super important, and when you’re going to be late, communication can save a lot of aggravation. Text your customers and let them know if there has been a delay at the pickup point, or if you’re stuck in traffic. They’ll be so glad that you were courteous enough to alert them that you’ll be later than expected.

Get the right stuff.

To do the delivery job efficiently, you’re going to need some equipment. There are bags, beverage carriers, and other tools available, and they are worth the investment. Learn about the tools every rideshare and delivery driver needs and learn about some items that will add to your delivery skills, and help you avoid spilled liquids and food that’s no longer at the desired temperature. This is another way to get generous tips from your delivery customers.

Sit back and collect

If you want to boost your earnings, and achieve that $1000 a week goal, try adding passive income to the mix. The best way to do that is through referrals. As mentioned earlier, Uber is aggressively seeking drivers, and they’ll pay big if you get a rideshare or delivery driver to come on board.

If you don’t believe us, we’ve found a great article about rideshare driver shortages on the WCPO-Cincinnati website. It offers some reasons for the current driver shortage, and explains how this is affecting delivery customers – particularly those who don’t tip.

Given this driver shortage, Uber is handing out bonuses both to the recruiting driver and the new driver that comes on board. You get a link from Uber, which you pass around to friends and acquaintances who might be interested in joining you as a driver for Uber Eats. Here are some suggestions for doing that:

• Send out an email or group text “just to say hi,” and include your link.
• Print cards with your link on them, and hand them out wherever you go.
• Go on social media, give testimonials about delivering for Uber Eats, and include your link.
• Make engaging videos and post them with a conspicuous call-to-action regarding your link.
• In all these cases, encourage people to pass your link on to friends, family members, and anyone they meet on the street.

Remember, every time a new driver signs up using your link, you make money, and right now … lots of it. If you do this right, it will be even easier to make $1000 a week with Uber Eats.

Learn how much you can make with Uber Eats in 2022 →

Make $1000 per week with Uber Eats – and log it all with Gridwise

As much as we believe in your ability to earn $1000 per week with Uber Eats, we can’t guarantee it … but if you use the information in this post, your chances are very good. We also know that if you use Gridwise to track your earnings and record your expenses, you’ll be able to watch what’s happening and see how well you do.

And that’s not all. Gridwise gives you all that great information about what’s happening in your area and where, plus driver news on the Gridwise Blog and YouTube Channel. Be sure to join us on Facebook for more tips about delivery driving and some excellent giveaways.

We’ve been telling you all this great stuff about Gridwise, but there’s only one way you’ll get to experience it for yourself: download the Gridwise app now.