Monetizing Your Commute

Man, I love entrepreneurship. I've always had the bug myself. When I was but a wee lad, I sold tomatoes door to door which my family had grown and which we couldn't possibly eat. I shined shoes and, in perhaps my most fun venture, made home movies remaking popular Hollywood films (and later originals), then charged 25 cents admission for neighbors to watch them in our house. We even sold snacks.

But this guy has one of the best, easy business ideas I've ever heard. He's a "commute helper," and he earns up to $300 a day by helping people with their commute. How does he do that? He stands on the freeway entrance ramp and holds up a sign offering drivers his services as a passenger during commute hours. By having an extra person in the car, the driver gets to ride in the HOV or diamond lane, shaving up to an hour off of a lengthy ride. The fee is $10 to $20, depending on traffic conditions, and the guy makes up to eight round trips a day.

In other words, this nameless individual can make more riding to people's jobs than many of those people actually make at those jobs!

Now being a commute helper doesn't actually sound like a picnic. Standing on the side of the freeway with a sign seems uncomfortable at best, crazy dangerous at worst, and of course it means both getting up early and working late, in order to take advantage of HOV time restrictions.

Still, it just goes to show that some of the most innovative business ideas are born out of absolute simplicity. 

LINK: Creative Job - Commute Helper