BALTIMORE — The high price of gas, food and just about everything else has some people taking on side jobs to make ends meet.
A local man takes on seasonal chores from homeowners as one way to make extra money.
Some people don’t like doing yard work, but for those who would rather find someone else to do it, there's an app for that.
Yard work is hard work but as a side gig, it pays off.
Michael People, owner of Royalty Lawncare LLC said “makes the bills, paying bills a lot easier and just having one less thing to worry about.”
In April 2020, People started his own landscaping service as a way to make ends meet.
“Typical day is probably 6 am. I get my son ready for school and then after he’s out the door. I go to my first client’s house and look at the property and get started. And by 12:30, one in the afternoon, I head on to my other job,” People said.
Having two jobs could mean a lot of extra driving to make some extra cash but People manages his side hustle to stop the rising price of gas from cutting into his profits.
“Just concentrate all the clients in one particular area or one zip code, try to concentrate them all and try to get them all in one day,” People said.
People currently has five regular clients, but he'd like a lot more.
A year ago, he decided to set up a profile on a new app called GreenPal which makes it easier for homeowners and landscapers to connect.
“Say for example, if they need their front lawn done. They’ll give the measurements and all of the details. And if it’s something that you feel you can do, you just bid on it, you and other members of the app,” people said.
“Whoever the customer chooses will get a notification on the app. And they’ll let us know these are the details, place, and time. Let’s go,” People added.
The GreenPal app is relatively new to the Baltimore area and for people's Royalty Lawncare, the competition is stiff.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t any clients…I haven’t won any bids on it, on the app yet, but it’s getting there,” People said.
People believes his patience will pay off.
“Well, nothing happens overnight, like the old saying goes, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day.’ So, I’m a very patient man,” People said.
“It gets me more clients and I have more time on the road instead of going door to door and bothering people at odd hours of the day,” People said.
After all, there's an app for that.