At the TrendGrinder we’re always looking for ways to make some extra money, especially with “the price of gas these days.” I mean, my god, my gasoline bill has gone up almost $30 a month since last year. Thirty Dollars!!!! That’s three less shots I can buy on my striped-shirted adventures through downtown San Diego. Something clearly needs to be done about this.

Luckily, we San Diegans have an asset that can be utilized to make up for some of these ghastly price increases. Enter the Trabajoer [trah-BA-hoe-er]. What’s a Trabajoer you ask?

A Trabajoer is someone that comes to your house, rings the doorbell, and says “Trabajo?” when you answer it. If the day’s commercial job does not come through, they often pursue smaller jobs residential neighborhoods. These workers can usually be secured for about $50/day. All you need to do is locate some work and provide the transportation. Some may consider this slave-driving but us capitalists seem to think of it more like proper general contracting.

Overview

It doesn’t get much easier than this. The goal here is to simply look for small jobs requiring a pickup truck, a lot of manual labor, and minimal tools to keep your costs as low as possible. Once you find a job, pickup some Trabajoers and take them to the jobsite. The Trabajoers will do the majority of the dirty work while you sit back and sip on some lemonade and listen to your iPod in the shade.

Equipment Needed:

• Gas guzzling truck you already own
• Trabajoers
• Some rope to tie things down

Looking For Work

The fact of the matter is that the majority of suburbanites (and contractors) are lazy. They don’t like to do manual labor so when they need things cleaned, cut, or thrown out they want other people to do it for them. For this reason I suggest starting your search on your local Craigslist. You can look for small jobs, big jobs, whatever, it’s just a matter of filling up the day with 6 or 8 hours of work. Don’t be afraid to post an ad either, if you start taking appointments you can maximize the utilization of your time. After all, you’re not paying your workers $50 to stand around.

The Breakdown

Here’s a real life example. This is my backyard, it’s full of junk and I need it cleaned up but I’m too lazy and lack the equipment (truck, motivation) to properly dispose of it.

After scrolling through several Craigslist ads I got some quotes on removing everything in those images and it looks like it’s going to be about $400. Apparently it’s quite expensive to have 50lb chunks of concrete hauled away. At $400, this is about $100 more then what it would cost me to get a dumpster delivered to my house which I would have to load myself (HA!). I’m far too lazy for that so I’m opting to have someone else do it for me. I couldn’t see it taking more then three hours to load up all this junk and maybe an hour to take it to the dump to dispose of it.

Here’s an example of a Craigslist wanted ad.

“I have a stack of broken up wood cabinets and counters…a stove, and a dishwasher that need to be hauled off…… there is an apartment complex less than 500 feet away with 10 dumpsters you could dump it in. just need it out of here and ill pay you 80 bucks. with a truck and 2 guys it wont take more than maybe an hour and a half….call me asap because i want this gone today!”

Now, lets say you’ve decided to take on both of these jobs.

The Numbers

Total income for the day - $480

Expenses:

• Trabajoers - $100
• Gas for your truck - $30
• Dump fees - $30 (based on current local self-haul dump rates for construction debris)

Total expenses: ($160)
Net Profit: $320

Conclusion

While it’s not the most glamorous way to make money, it certainly is a viable business that can produce enough income on the side to pay for that ridiculous gas guzzler. It will require a Saturday or two out of each month but at $320 (cash) for a day’s work, this might be worth it to some. $320 a day after taxes would work out to a little over a $100k/year salary. All of a sudden, hauling junk doesn’t sound so bad. As far as the actual business goes, focus on a niche like junk removal, painting, or cleaning. These businesses don’t require a lot of specialized equipment like pool cleaning and lawn mowing. This will help keep your overhead as low as possible. Also, if you’re going to do junk removal, focus on heavy construction debris or concrete removal. You can charge more for this kind of work and your labor expenses will remain the same. Unless you consider moving your glass of lemonade from your recliner’s cupholder to your mouth “lifting”, you won’t be doing any of the actual work so who really cares. It’s a win-win situation for everyone. The customer gets their yard cleaned, the Trabajoer gets $50, and you get to hang out in someone’s yard for an afternoon sipping on a cold drink.