Door Dash is a great way to make money on the side. But like with anything, there are certain times and places that work better than others. Here are some tips on when to do Door Dash and what locations will earn you the most money!

Set a daily earnings goal; this will help you determine where you’ll get the most bang for your buck.

This could be anything from $5.00 to $100.00, depending on how much time you want to spend Dashing. Figuring out your daily earnings goal can be accomplished in a couple of ways:

1. You can use your overhead expenses (what it cost you to run the business of being a Door Dash driver), to determine your number. For example, if you have a car payment of $350.00 per month, and you want to earn an extra $2000.00 over the course of the month, you’ll need to make about $106.00 per day Dashing to reach your goal. That figure would cover the car payments, insurance, gasoline, and maybe some left over for other expenses.
2. Alternatively, you may consider a more abstract daily earnings objective by substituting the corresponding number for your personal financial goal. In my situation, I’m attempting to pay off my student debt, so I already know how much each monthly payment would have to be in order for me to achieve that aim. As a result, I’ve determined that as my daily earnings goal.

Consider how long it will take you or how many hours you are willing to put in to achieve your goal, once you’ve decided on a dollar amount.

Let’s identify the best locations that will earn you the most money!

 

Medical Centers: If you live near a medical center, you’re in luck. People working in these centers often don’t have time to leave for a proper meal.

Pros:

• You can pretty much do your deliveries any time of the day because in hospitals, someone is always there, and there’s bound to be someone that is hungry.

Cons:

• Difficult to find parking.
• Difficult to find the customer, it may take extra effort to deliver the food to the customer because they may not have the accessibility to meet you.

Suburbs: This is a great starting point for a new Dasher, but try avoiding going too far out because it may lead to areas of the surrounding county that do not have restaurant options that partner with Door Dash.

Pros:

• Homes are easy to find, which means it takes less time to complete a delivery.
• There aren’t as many people so you’re not competing with as many other drivers for the same delivery.
• Parking is free.

Cons:

• Can be slow during off-hours.
• Not a lot of restaurants to choose from.
• You’ll be working around the resident’s schedule.

Downtown Metro or Urban Areas: These are great areas for the experienced Dasher who has mastered speed. This dasher knows all the spots to park and what buildings to get in and out of quickly.

Pros:

• Delivering service in this area is that the orders tend to be bigger. 
• Lots of people and lots of restaurants. Restaurants and large corporations have real estate in this area. These areas typically use door dash for catering breakfast or lunch. This also means that the tip is probably gonna be a lot higher too.
• You can make a lot of money in a short amount of time.

Cons:

• Difficult to find parking.
• Traffic is terrible.
• You’re competing with a lot of other drivers.

College Campuses: If you have a bike, this just might be the perfect gig for you! Every place on a college campus is bike accessible! Students are always looking for a quick and easy meal, and are often willing to pay a little extra for the convenience of having it delivered right to their door. This area tends to have a high demand for food delivery, so you’ll be able to choose from more orders.

Pros:

• Never a dull moment, as soon as you drive into this area your phone will be blowing up.

Cons:

• The payout is low. While it’s true you’ll get many delivery requests, the low payout may deter you to drive elsewhere. There are two reasons for this: Many of the nearby restaurants are fast-food restaurants, low ticket food purchases equals little to no tips. Second, many college students don’t have full-time income yet, so their tips tend to be smaller. The smaller the tip, the smaller the overall payout. 
• Navigating a college campus can be difficult because not all roads on the college campus are car accessible. If you don’t have a bike, you may find yourself on foot trying to find the customer.

Best Practice: Accepting orders at your starting point is the best course of action. If you choose to go outside of the region where you are currently, you’ll have to consider the gas and mileage just to get there, and it’s possible that you won’t make a profit because you don’t know if that area will be active when you arrive.

So what are the best times to do Door Dash?

It’s worth noting that not all times are created equal when it comes to making money with Door Dash. Just like with any other job, there are certain times that are busier than others, and therefore, more lucrative.

Consider the time of day that you are available. The beauty of doing gig work is that you can go at your own pace. You set your own hours, depending on what works best for your lifestyle. You’re the boss! The heat-map on the door dash app will tell you when and where it’s busiest to start your dash.

However, over time, you will find more success by finding your own busy areas based on your previous experience and personal preference, not relying so much on the heat map.

You’re busy during the day, but have the evenings free?

Dash between the hours of 4:00 PM – 10:00 PM (This is for a Monday – Friday, schedule. Saturday & Sunday hours may vary)

• Dash in more residential areas.
• This area tends to serve customers who are just arriving home and want a quick meal.
• Consider businesses that stay open later: Think security guards & cleaning or custodial staff.
• These customers may not always have the opportunity to leave their posts and go and grab something to eat, they’re much more likely to order on the Door Dash platform.
• Pro Tip: Learn what times the restaurants in your areas close their kitchens, this will let you know what your true cut-off time should be. (Especially on Fridays and Saturdays, restaurant hours tend to be extended. Sundays, restaurants open earlier during the morning and close earlier.) Otherwise, your options will be limited to fast-food pickups, and those aren’t very lucrative.

Peak Saturday Hours: 

You’re busy during the evenings, but have early mornings and afternoons free?

Dash between the hours of 12:00 AM – 2:00 PM (This is for a Monday – Friday, Schedule. Saturday & Sunday hours may vary)

• Consider high-traffic areas like cities.
• Dash in areas that tend to operate during abnormal times: think graveyard shifts like hospitals, airports, hotels, warehouse locations, and distribution centers.
• These tend to be areas where people are looking for quick breakfast options or businesses that are using breakfast orders as early morning meeting incentives.
• These types of hours present very little competition and very little road traffic.
• Pro Tip: Keep track of significant local events and holidays. This will assist you in directing your attention to consumers who are arriving in your city and may not be aware of the area restaurants. They are most likely to order from the Door Dash platform.

So the answer to the question: When are the best times to Dash?

It’s whenever you are available! If you know what your baseline earnings outcome is, what area you want to target, who your ideal customer is, and what their pain points are, you will make money!

The most important thing is that you find what works best for you and stick with it!

Do you have any other Door Dash tips?

If so, please share them in the comments below! Happy Dashing!