TaskRabbit is a company that first appeared on my radar last year, and since then it has grown a great deal in popularity. Basically TaskRabbit acts as the middle man between people in your area who need help — in the form of small jobs or “tasks,” and the people actually doing the small jobs and tasks.
If you sign up to be a TaskRabbit, you can get paid to help other people in your area that need it. The majority of the work you do probably won’t be from home, but it can still be very flexible.
Please note that Task Rabbit is open only to people in the US living in these areas: Boston, San Antonio, Chicago, Portland, New York City, San Francisco Bay area, Austin, Seattle, and LA & OC. They are trying to expand, so watch for them in your area soon.
What kinds of things do you do for people with TaskRabbit?
You might be asked to go pick up someone’s groceries, dropping off things at the post office, assembling furniture, moving/unpacking, and possibly even some work you can do from your home like writing or graphic design. It will all depend on what the Task Poster needs done.
How much are you paid?
After signing up and getting accepted, you’ll have the freedom to bid on specific tasks you want to do. If you win the bid, you’ll be paid the amount of the bid plus any reimbursements after you’ve done the task. You are supposed to fill in your out of pocket expenses — ones that were agreed upon between you and the task poster — just before you mark your task as complete.
How and when are you paid?
The money will show up in your account within 72 hours after you’ve done the task. Once you have $25 in your account, you can hit the “withdraw” option. The options for payment include paper check or Paypal.
Is this an IC or employee position?
Task Rabbit considers you an independent contractor, not an employee of their company.
How does signing up work?
You’ll have to agree to let Task Rabbit run a background check on you for the safety of the Task Posters in the event you are required to meet them in person, and lots of times that is the case with the nature of the work. Don’t worry — Task Posters have to undergo background checks, too, for the same reason. You will also have to do a video interview.
Feedback on TaskRabbit
Are people happy doing this work? Many are. It’s flexible work that you can do in between other things for extra cash. However, there are also some negative reviews out there too. A lot of people end up taking on tasks that end up being more complicated than they first thought and don’t feel the pay is quite enough. Here’s some feedback I found online:
- My Life as a TaskRabbit – Businessweek
- Feedback at Reviewopedia
- Positive review at Yelp
- TaskRabbit post on the re-settle US blog
- My Nightmare Experience as a TaskRabbit Drone – Business Insider (This post has a very thorough response from TaskRabbit at the end)
My advice if you decide to this — be very careful what tasks you bid on. Make sure that it seems it would be worth the time spent and try to be mindful of any unexpected things that may occur, making the job much more difficult than it seems on the outside. Also be cautious. Even with background checks in place, the business of meeting up with strangers in person can be risky.
If you want to sign up to become a TaskRabbit, you can go here. Have experience as a TaskRabbit? Please comment below and share.
Interested in other companies like TaskRabbit? Check my directory for a short listing.
