Deliver on Your Business

You may have seen the notices on social media encouraging Dashers to join a strike on July 31.

Should Dashers strike? Obviously that's up to individuals to decide for themselves. But we'll talk about whether the strike can accomplish anything, and we'll get into what I think WOULD make a difference with Doordash.

You can visit the Episode page at Entrecourier.com/s2-e2


What we Talk About

The Strike.

Dashers are pissed. Some started a movement by sharing a post on social media encouraging drivers to boycott delivering for Doordash for one day on July 31.

Two major issues:

• Doordash hiding part of the tip on larger orders, not showing full payout
• Doordash lowering the minimum pay while gas prices increase

The bigger issue to me seems to be a lack of respect from Doordash of their contractors. Lying, spinning and being sleazy in how they deal with Dashers.

Why I don't think the strike will work.

One, it's poorly organized. A strike that's only made up of a few people who started spreading ideas on Facebook has no real chance of making a dent.

A bigger issue is that there's no real commitment in the strike. If people are only taking one day off and then willing to go back to all the things they're protesting, how is Doordash going to take that seriously?

Two, we are not employees.  In fact, Doordash isn't our boss, they're our customers. Businesses striking against their customers...   just doesn't make a lot of sense.

What's the best way to respond to Doordash?

Treat this like you're running a business. It's as simple as that.

Understand that being an independent contractor has its drawbacks:

• No guarantees
• No protection
• No fairness

The nature of the beast when running a business is that the customer will try to screw you. Doordash fits that narrative well.

Decide whether you want to be an employee or an independent contractor.

As an independent contractor it's all on you. The good news is, you have more control over your success. You don't have to rely on Doordash being fair, there are other options out there.

The bad news is that when running a business, there are no guarantees. Sometimes, the business model doesn't quite work out. 

If you don't like the bad that goes with being an independent contractor, don't be one.

If every person who wants the employee protection and guarantees takes that to heart and refuses to be an independent contractor, that will be the most effective way to change how Doordash operates. They won't have enough drivers. 

But if you want to be a contractor, take control, and quit relying on Doordash or any other gig to be fair. 

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We are back finally for season 2!

Today we have David Pickerell back again to talk about Para, the little app that forced a giant to change their programming.

You may have heard of Para, especially if you deliver Doordash. Doordash has been notorious for hiding part of the tip on delivery offers. David's team at Para was able to figure out a way to identify what the actual pay amount would be for Doordash offers and show it as a notification to Dashers.

It worked great until it didn't. Doordash showed they were pot committed to keeping Dashers in the dark on delivery offers, updating their app so that the total payout information is no longer available.

Today's Guest:

David Pickerell is cofounder and CEO of Para. an app designed for delivery drivers and independent contractors. David was a guest on Episode 102 and joins us again to talk to us about what happened with Para and tip transparency, what does the end of Tip Transparency mean, and what happens next?

What we Talk About

The elephant in the room.

Before we dive into the interview, I talk about the seven month gap between our last episode and today. What happened? What's up with the new season? I talk about transitioning into more work on EntreCourier and better identifying the purposes of both the website and the podcast. 

Setting up the interview

It starts with Para. David introduced Para to us 7 months ago with his vision for an app to help drivers. Since then, Para has introduced some features here and there.

But the big thing in the news was Para's Tip Transparency feature. If you deliver for Doordash, you're aware they like to hide part of the delivery pay when offering a trip. Para was able to identify the total pay amount and display that to drivers via an app notification.

Doordash figured it out and changed their programming so that it was no longer possible to identify the full pay. This of course shut down Para's Tip Transparency feature. Is this the end for Para?

The interview

David shares what happened with Para. He shares how they knew something was changing, what Doordash did to disable Tip Transparency, and how Para responded. He identifies some of the features Para is working on next as well as where they are going next with their app development.

My thoughts.

I think there are two important questions that come out of this:

What does it mean for Para?

What does it mean for us?

We talk about the importance of identity and the big picture, and how it's that concept of the big picture that means that this is NOT the end for Para. I also share why I think that the big picture needs to become a point of focus for Para if they do want to grow from this.

Then I talk about what we do when Doordash or any other app doesn't provide the information we want, or when an important app quits working. The important takeaway from this?

Take control.

More about the EntreCourier

David's previous appearance on Episode 102

Show notes on EntreCourier for this episode

Article on Para Tip Transparency

Article on Is Para Dead?

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2020 has been a year, hasn't it?

The beautiful thing about it though is, we can choose what to do with it. We can let the challenges defeat us, or we can embrace the opportunities.

This week, we look back at the year that was.

But more importantly, we look ahead at what lies ahead.

You can read the associated post on the EntreCourier website.

Being the last episode of 2020, it's also a good spot for a season finale. Season 1 of the Deliver on Your Business podcast went a good 104 episodes, 18 months. We're going to give it a break in January, launch season 2 in February sometime. 

Part of that new launch will be a more defined focus. The EntreCourier website is at it's strongest providing information and education. The podcast has been more about applying that all into delivery life. I see those as being very distinct things but I've tried to keep both the website and podcast as some kind of merger of the two. 

In 2021 we're going to let the podcast have a bit more of a life of its own. It's going to be more a part of trying to build community for drivers. In the past we had an email newsletter that went out each week, and it was really more like three different types of content that was just tough to keep up with. The newsletter and podcast really serve some of the same content, so those two things will be more closely tied. 

Stay tuned for more on how that will work - and we talk about that a bit more today on the podcast.

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This week's episode is a sort of mix of two posts I put up.

https://entrecourier.com/2020/12/22/do-gig-economy-contractors-qualify-paycheck-protection-program-round-two/ talks about the new stimulus package, and what parts of it will impact drivers in the gig economy.

https://entrecourier.com/2020/12/22/do-gig-economy-contractors-qualify-paycheck-protection-program-round-two/ gets into detail about the new round of Paycheck Protection Program loans - whether independent contractors qualify, how do they qualify, how much can they borrow, and are the loans forgivable?

Other articles from the past about the pandemic relief efforts and their impact on drivers:

https://entrecourier.com/2020/06/26/eidl-ppp-pua-grubhub-uber-eats-doordash-contractors/

https://entrecourier.com/2020/04/30/paycheck-protection-program-ppp-grubhub-doordash-uber-eats-lyft/

https://entrecourier.com/2020/05/04/grubhub-doordash-uber-eats-covid-19-relief-application/

https://entrecourier.com/2020/05/18/ppp-loan-forgiveness-self-employed-independent-contractors/

https://entrecourier.com/2020/04/11/unemployment-grubhub-doordash-postmates-uber-eats/

https://entrecourier.com/2020/06/26/eidl-ppp-pua-grubhub-uber-eats-doordash-contractors/

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You can get more tips and ideas at our website, Entrecourier.com
Our Podcast page is at DeliverOnYourBusiness.com
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David Pickerell of Para joins us to talk about the tools his team is developing to help delivery drivers and contractors be more profitable.

Para would love to partner with you. Some of the tools already developed or being developed include:
Analytics of your earnings
Mileage tracking (both past and future)
One Click signup for various delivery apps
Personal dispatching to assist working multiple apps.

If you are interested in talking with David, especially as an early adopter, give him a shout. [email protected].

To read this in article format, you can visit the associated blog post for this episode.

03:25 Introduction of Para
06:02 Some of the tools Para is developing for contractors
07:03 One Click Apply
07:30 Personal Dispatch
09:47 Mileage logs
14:56 The value of assembling trip data from drivers
17:26 How drivers can help gather data for Para
18:31 How can that data make a difference for contractors?
22:55 How data levels the playing feeld between apps and contractors
30:22 Dealing with the inefficiency and incompetence of delivery platforms
33:18 David's thoughts on the Doordash IPO
36:29 Are there repercussions for using an app like Para to multi-app?
37:15 The opportunities with up and coming delivery companies
43:51 The relationship between gig companies and independent contractors
47:41 Can any newcomers shake up the delivery industry?
51:28 What about Lyft entering the market?
52:54 What's in the future for Para?

More about the EntreCourier

You can get more tips and ideas at our website, Entrecourier.com
Our Podcast page is at DeliverOnYourBusiness.com
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Doordash just launched their IPO with shares selling about double what was anticipated. 

What does this mean for those of us who deliver for Doordash? How will this impact us?

We talk about:

• What does it mean to go public?
• How did the IPO go for Doordash?
• Why it's a miracle Doordash even got to an IPO
• Does this mean Doordash can be profitable?
• Why Doordash may struggle more than previous tech companies that went public before any signs of profitability
• How the economy and recovery from the pandemic probably mean more to Dashers than the IPO

Articles referenced:

My article from November 2019 questioning if Doordash would ever get to go public.

CNN Business article on how food delivery might be in for a reality check after the pandemic

Last week's episode discussing how the market is ripe for an alternative to the major delivery companies

Market Insiders article: Doordash is the most ridiculous IPO of 2020

Episode 7: Have an Exit Plan. 

More about the EntreCourier

You can get more tips and ideas at our website, Entrecourier.com
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As we get to the end of the year, we've got all our favorite delivery apps facing drama.

What's the deal with Uber Eats buying Postmates?
The deal is done. It has been completed and it's official. Earlier than scheduled.

What's that going to mean for all of us?

Ultimately it looks like Postmates will continue to operate as a brand. Eventually (this will take time) Uber Eats is going to merge all the back end.

That means accounting, the tech, and the delivery fleets.

In other words plan on everyone moving over to Uber Eats, and one fleet will deliver orders for both brands. It's a lot like happens with Grubhub and Seamless.

Articles referenced:

"How would a possible Uber Eats Takeover of Postmates impact us?" on the Entrecourier.
Grubhub timeline of their purchases of Seamless and Eat24
Doordash's transitioning of Caviar drivers to the Dasher fleet

What's the deal with Grubhub tanking?

Grubhub has been in a freefall this year. Once the dominant player in delivery, they've plummeted far below Doordash and Uber Eats.

The Business of Apps website had some interesting data on Grubhub's performance.
Grubhub's announcement that the deal to sell to Just Eat Takeaway was being pushed back
Seeking Alpha commentary that Just Eat bet on the wrong horse.
Business Insider article on Just Eat moving to employee model in Europe.

And what's going to happen with Doordash's IPO?

Doordash has been wanting to go public for awhile. They've been putting it off. With this huge surge in sales thanks to Covid, it's kind of a now or never moment.

What happens after that?

2021 is going to be interesting.

For the delivery world, I think it will be more interesting than this year was. That says a lot.

More about the EntreCourier

You can get more tips and ideas at our website, Entrecourier.com
Our Podcast page is at DeliverOnYourBusiness.com
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Lyft is making plans to get into restaurant delivery

Last week we talked to Bob McNulty from a new upstart in delivery called TripDelivers, who launched their first market a couple weeks ago, with plans to go nationwide.

Lyft is talking about a different approach that charges restaurants less and that doesn't interfere with the relationship between the restaurant and the customer.

TripDelivers has created a model where essentially the customer ends up paying the restaurant and the courier directly and that has a significant driver, restaurant and customer referral program.

Are either of these game changers? Could they be?

The associated blog post for this week's episode talks about if Lyft or TripDelivers could disrupt delivery.

You can read the transcript for episode 98 where Bob McNulty shares what Trip Delivers is doing and how they are different.

Lyft addresses the concerns about overcharging for deliveries by other delivery companies. However, do restaurants really want a delivery company that doesn't also bring in customers?

TripDelivers looks intriguing to me on paper. Some compare them to Multi Level Marketing organizations and there are criticisms. I do believe that if they do things the way they say they will and they do them well, they could make an impact.

The question is, can either of them not suck as bad at delivery as Doordash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Postmates or any of the others? That's the big problem I see: None of them do it well.

I'm not sure they can using an independent contractor model.

Speaking of which, I wrap up with a little bit of a rant about what I think would be disruptive. If someone comes in with a pure logistics focus, figuring out a more efficient model for food delivery, they could make a difference.

I ranted a lot more about that back in Episode 51 last December.

Episode 99.... can you believe it???


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TripDelivers is a new delivery company that is ramping up with a completely new model.

TripDelivers has launched their first market in Nashville and are looking to grow.

This is a completely different model, for retaurants and for drivers.

For the restaurant, the restaurant doesn't pay a huge comission. They pay a flat fee. The restaurant receives their money immediately, there are incentives for involving their existing customer base, and even for recruiting other restaurants.

The driver is paid directly and immediately. Drivers receive the entire delivery fee from the customer and the entire fee. They can receive additional income for engaging new drivers, restaurants and customers.

If this goes well, it could really disrupt the industry.

Bob McNulty joins us to talk about TripDelivers and what they're doing.

Thursday night, November 19, 6 Pacific 9 Eastern, Bob will be updating some of the programming. You can find out more here at their YouTube channel. 

For the transcript for today's article, visit the Associated blog page for Episode 98 with our interview with Bob from TripDelivers.

More about the EntreCourier

You can get more tips and ideas at our website, Entrecourier.com
Our Podcast page is at DeliverOnYourBusiness.com
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Okay, here's what we know so far:

Prop 22 in California passed.
Joe Biden looks like he'll be president.
The Senate is going to be close - maybe slight control for the Republicans.

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So the elections are done (okay, some of the counting isn't)

What does that mean for us?

Gig companies can continue to use contractors in California, but I believe that provisions in Prop 22 could put them at risk for a misclassification ruling under the IRS or Department of Labor.

Joe Biden is pro AB5 type legislation nationally, but balance of power in the Senate will probably keep that from happening.

Biden will probably appoint more labor friendly leadership at Department of Labor which could have an impact.

As long as you can be in charge, be in charge. If things are on their way to changing, use this time to get ready for that change.

Articles referenced:

Episode 97 associated blog post.

A list of articles on our site when AB5 was passed

Bloomberg article stating California contractors can still sue under AB5

Link to IRS Publication 1779

Entrecourier Article pointing out extra controls allowed in Prop22

Payup article on extra controls allowed under Prop 22

Article in the Hill about Gig Companies wanting to take Prop 22 national

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You can get more tips and ideas at our website, Entrecourier.com
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