Working around unpredictable schedules, earning bonus income as an Instacart Shopper
When a parent’s nest is finally empty, the lovely moments of raising a child — helping with homework, running to doctor’s appointments, rides to school and friends’ houses, practices, clubs, games and the little smiles in between — all of a sudden disappear. The kids are out of the house and sometimes a parent can be left searching for ways to fill the time.
Not Sharon S.
Sharon lives in Mountain View, California, and has one daughter living nearby and another in Texas. Sharon has jumped in feet first as a stage manager at a local non-profit youth theater organization with the extra time in her life. This is a job with a lot of descriptions. She has to attend every rehearsal. She has to ensure all the adults understand their particular jobs, that the kids know where to be during the performance, that the costumes are in order and that the music is in place.
Basically, as Sharon puts it, she has to “Be the person who knows exactly what is going on.” The theater company of seven- to seventeen-year-olds just did Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and are working on The Lion King and Bah Humbug, a light-hearted derivation of A Christmas Carol.
The stage manager work lets her flex her maternal muscles, but she still wanted something to generate extra income. So Sharon started as a Personal Shopper with Instacart in August of 2013. Sharon’s husband earns an income to support their household, so the money that Sharon makes with Instacart supports what she calls “extras.” Now she says they can afford to hire a house cleaner or someone to tend to the yard — “Things I would rather not be doing,” Sharon says.
But Sharon also loves the little moments of fun that Instacart affords. She has taken a lot of orders over the last couple years and says her favorite are the “gift orders.” For instance, one customer had stayed at a friend’s house and wanted to say thank you — but didn’t have the time to buy a present before departing. Sharon laughs at how she showed up at the unwitting recipient’s door with candy bars and got to say “Ta-da! Here’s a thank you!”
Sharon had previously worked part-time as a PE teacher at an elementary school, but she needed work that fit better around her schedule at the youth theater. So now Sharon says she and her husband can not only afford to take an extra trip each year, but she also has the time to do it. When her daughter graduated college, Sharon took a month off — and then picked up Instacart shifts without problem when she returned.
