Reply To: MONEY MAKING IDEAS
Clean / Organize Your “Office” aka Your Van
If you have ever had to wait on a manager, customer, or a traffic jam to clear, then you have had time on your hands that if left unused can never be recovered. Use this time to clean up your van and organize your tools. I have always been able to get more done, therefore, charge more per hour when my van is clean and organized.
Once the Interstate backed up for an hour due to an accident, I had thrown my equipment back in my van hurriedly so I could make it to my next stop. Now was the perfect time to clean up the inside of my van. I started with the cab and all my scattered paperwork, moved to the mid area of the van, and finally to the rear of the van where most of my work actually happens. I even had time to clean my mirrors and windows inside and out! While other people were wandering around in the median and stretching, I was standing on my front bumper getting the bug guts off my windshield. As a matter of fact, the rear windows were so clean for the first few weeks after that cleaning, I had to double check to make sure my rear doors weren’t open. In any case, I found that beyond the normal cleanup that I might do at home after a busy day or week and beyond just refilling supplies, a good thorough cleaning of my van made me faster and more productive on the car lots I was working. Everything was in its place and topped off ready to go. That hour “stuck” on the Interstate made me more money because I used that time to increase my productivity. I know that I spent a great deal less time searching for things I normally just threw back in the van in a pile. There were no tangles to deal with or little pieces out of place. Everything was where it should be, just waiting for me to pick them up and make money with them. This also encouraged me to spend 5-10 minutes at the end of each day getting the van ready for the next.
Nowadays, I don’t mind getting stopped on the Interstate due to some construction or accident delay. There is nothing I can do about the Interstate being a parking lot, but there is something I CAN DO. I put the van in park and go straight to work. Time is money. If I can use this captive time to increase my productivity then I know I can easily make more money in the future.