If you live in a major city and are looking for a career change, car sitting might be the answer. According to the New York Post and viral video goings-on, Sydney Charlet has found a way to cover half of her Manhattan apartment’s rent by up to $50 for a 90-minute carsitting session during alternate parking hours. For those unfamiliar with car ownership in overcrowded city life, alternate parking hours are designated dates and times that car owners have to ensure their car is moved from one side of the street to the other for street cleaning.
Harsh Rules Make For Great Side Hustles
Residents failing to comply with the city’s rules when it comes to parking can catch a $65 fine and, even worse, lose a parking spot. Charlet says that the idea struck her when she was sitting watching the chaos of residents and staff from buildings rushing around at the last minute and then getting into verbal and even physical altercations over parking spots. And New York is already chaotic and expensive for drivers.
Now, she charges people money to avoid the hassle and stress of dealing with the situation themselves. While she won’t say exactly what she makes, Charlet told the New York Post that the side hustle pays half the rent on her Manhattan apartment. Manhattan apartments are famously wildly expensive, with average rent being around $4,000 per month for a one-bedroom unit. Even a studio apartment is over $3,000, so we can assume she’s making at least $1,500 a month on the side.
Going Viral
In June, Charlet posted a video on TikTok advertising her service, including the slogan on a poster: “Need your car moved? The Car Sitter.” She included her professional contact details, and the result was over 500 inquiries. “The video blew up online,” she says, “I basically had to build the brand in a day.”
Her branding is along the lines of diffusing the drama and stress of the parking situation in Manhattan, but we suspect the biggest selling point is lowering the cost for people who aren’t at home during alternate parking hours and regularly suck up the fine as a parking tax. We can fully understand that people would rather give a local resident up to $50 rather than give the local government $65. “A lot of people in the city will just take the ticket and not move their car because they don’t have the time,” says Charlet. “I figured, why not offer to sit in their cars for less than the cost of the initial fine?”…