Beyond The Wheel: Reaching Goals and Pursuing Passions on the Uber Platform

Keiry has a passion for baked goods. But unlike most of us, she doesn’t just eat them: she bakes them—elaborate and beautiful artisanal cakes.

After receiving a certificate from Le Cordon Bleu’s bakery and pastry program, Keiry started working full time at a bakery. But soon, she realized that she wanted to start a baking and design business of her own. With bakery shifts totalling 50 hours a week, Keiry had little time to invest in or launch her idea.

At first, Keiry was going to look into part-time restaurant work to fund her business and give her the time to get her venture started. But then a friend told Keiry about the flexibility of driving with Uber. It sounded like the perfect way to make the money to launch her bakery and design service; she could maintain a steady flow of income on her own time and schedule. As soon as she put in her two-weeks notice at the bakery, she started driving with Uber.

Since starting with Uber, Keiry has been able to use her earnings to build a dessert, decor, and design business: KVD Gallery. She caters a few events a week, and is looking to buy a food truck to sell some of her specialties, which include cupcakes, fresh fruit tarts, and macaroons. Initially, Keiry was driving up to 30 hours a week, but she is finding that as her earnings with Uber help fuel and grow her business, she is able to drive less and invest more time in KVD Gallery.

There are more partners like Keiry who are using their time driving with Uber as a way to pursue their goals and passions.

Michael, an elementary and middle school PE teacher from Chicago, started driving on the platform in August of last year. He used his earnings to buy his girlfriend of five years, Amanda, an engagement ring. He proposed this past May.

Sheila is a mother of two college-aged kids, Michelle and Earl. Michelle, an incoming senior at Pomona College, is studying English, with the hopes of entering the television business post-graduation. Earl, an incoming sophomore at Pitzer College, is studying human biology and wants to become a physical therapist. For Sheila, driving with Uber helps her pay for their college tuition.

Having driven with Uber for nearly two years, Sheila believes that Uber is a flexible way to make money and predictably know what you will make. She is able to control how much she works and earns, and ensures that 90% of what she makes goes toward her kids’ tuition. During the school year, she drives up to six times a week—but loves that during the summer, she can cut back and spend time with Michelle and Earl.

Learn more about driving jobs and Uber.