How a butcher rebuilt his life after a hand injury

After injuring his hand as a butcher, Tim realised he got more than he bargained for and needed a career change.

How a butcher rebuilt his life after a hand injury

After injuring his hand at work, Tim realised that life as a butcher was more dangerous than he imagined and he desperately needed a career change. With no immediate job prospects, Tim reached out to his friends to see if they had any leads for him. His friends were all making money doing cleaning tasks on Airtasker. Tim thought “I’ve got nothing to lose” so signed up and in his own words, believes this decision has been “life-changing”.

How has joining Airtasker impacted your life?

It has completely changed the direction of my life. I’m originally from Malaysia where I was helping my father with small jobs. When I came to Australia, I decided to become a butcher. Soon after, I had an incident at work where I cut my hand pretty badly. I thought to myself – this job is more than I bargained for! After my hand healed, I decided not to go back. Obviously I still had bills to pay but I didn’t know what I could do to make ends meet.

A few of my friends were earning money doing cleaning jobs so I tried to find one too but was failing miserably! I tried Facebook and wasn’t getting anywhere. Searching for jobs with any sort of flexibility was also extremely difficult. When I realised my friends were getting their cleaning tasks on Airtasker, I joined as well. I was amazed that I could get a steady stream of work and could always control how much I wanted to do. It really was life changing at a time when I thought I had no other options.

Tasker Snapshot

  • 4.9 Star Rating
  • 50 Completed Tasks
  • End of lease and general cleaning specialist

What has the extra income allowed you to do?

It helps me with my living expenses like rent and bills but I’m actually just saving for my future. I don’t know what the future might bring but I’d like to have reserves in case I need the money. My dream is to buy a house here in Sydney and Airtasker is helping me with that ever day.

Have you had any memorable experiences on Airtasker?

I’ve met amazing people and it’s such a great community and made me realise one job can also lead to new opportunities. I was helping a guy with a house clean and thought that was the last I’d see of him. I noticed that he was putting cleaning tasks for other properties he owned and he picked me because he knew I would do a job from his previous experience. It made me realise how important it is to always put 100% effort because you never know where your next opportunity may be.

What are some of your top cleaning tips?

  • With oven cleaning, spray the entire oven with first and leave it for 5-10 minutes. It’s much easier to get the grime out once you’ve left the spray on for a while
  • You can use baking soda for lots of things – even for oven cleaning
Tim’s Tip: After spraying the entire oven first, leave it for 5-10 minutes before you start the clean. It makes it a LOT easier to get the grime out!

What would you like to know before making an offer?

Make sure you ask the right questions to the Poster e.g. how many bedrooms and bathrooms. Also make sure you know what type of clean they’re looking for – is it an end of lease clean or a general clean – the expectations are vastly different. It’s really important to me to know exactly what type of task I’m performing and what the Poster wants. Without clarification of expectations at the start, I don’t think I’d be able to provide the level of satisfaction that the Poster needs.

Have you posted a task before?

Yes – I had a fantastic experience using the platform on the other side! It really gave me more insight as to how I should be performing my tasks to serve the need of Posters. I was in a really desperate situation where I’d  locked my keys in my car and couldn’t get in. I didn’t know what to do and immediately thought maybe someone on Airtasker could help me. After posting the task, I received an offer from a locksmith nearby within 2 minutes. The guy came immediately and saved my life (at the time). It gave me so much trust in the Airtasker platform in that not only was I able to earn money but I could also use it in times of need for myself.

Want to book Tim for a clean? Check out Tim’s profile and request a quote.

Interested in joining the Airtasker community? Find out more about becoming an Airtasker.

How this immigrant nurse is building a new life in Australia

Anna's dream is to one day practice as a nurse again. Read how Airtasker is helping her.

How this immigrant nurse is building a new life in Australia

Four years ago, Anna migrated to Australia from Mongolia where she was working as a nurse in a large charity hospital. Despite having professional qualifications, Anna wasn’t able to find a nursing job in Australia because her skills aren’t recognised here. With teenage children and a family back in Mongolia to support, Anna signed up to Airtasker and hasn’t looked back since.

Tasker Snapshot

  • Bathroom and Kitchen cleaning specialist
  • Over 30 completed tasks since joining in December 2018
  • 4.9 star rating
  • 98% Completion rate

These days, Anna is one of Airtasker’s top cleaners with phenomenal reviews. The flexibility of the Airtasker platform has allowed Anna to study on the side so that she can attain the necessary qualifications to one day practice as a nurse again. Anna’s honesty and diligence makes her story truly inspiring. Read on to hear more of Anna’s story.

What has it been like as a new migrant in Australia?

I love Australia! It’s a very beautiful country and even though I’ve already been here for 4 years, there are still many places I haven’t seen. If I have spare time, I like going sightseeing. I particularly love going to the Opera House and Bondi beach. Aside from that I’ve found that the culture in Australia is very different to Mongolia. People are very open and direct and I really love that. When I do a good job in my cleaning tasks, people will often tell me how much they appreciate my work which makes me feel proud. It also encourages me to always do my best because it feels really nice for my work to be recognised.

Why did you join Airtasker?

When I first came to Australia I was working as a housekeeper in a big hotel. The job stability was good but it wasn’t very flexible and it became hard to manage as I was also going to English classes. A friend told me about Airtasker and I found it very convenient. I was able to choose tasks that fit in with my schedule and locations close to me. Sometimes I’m not really doing anything on my weekends anyway so it’s a great way for me to earn money in my free time.

What has the extra income from Airtasker allowed you to do?

Extra money is always good! Mostly the income has just gone towards every day expenses like rent and bills. On top of this, I’m trying to save for my future education. Ideally I would love to be a nurse again so I need the money to enrol in nursing courses. I’m still studying English right now so that I can become good enough to pass my nursing entrance exams. Most importantly, I’m a mum and have two teenage children in Mongolia. Hopefully by next year I will have saved enough money to pay for them to come and visit me in Australia.

Anna’s top cleaning tip: Don’t use too many chemicals. It’s best to clean with dishwashing liquid and water – it can be used on so many surfaces.

Have you had any memorable experiences on Airtasker?

Being on Airtasker has completely changed my life and I love it! I’ve met so many wonderful people just through Airtasker – everyone has been really nice to me. One poster recently said “I’ve never seen anything more clean in my life” and I felt so overwhelmed. In Mongolian culture, we are not used to being publicly praised so I felt shocked but it made me really happy. It’s also very rewarding when Posters give me a tip. I work hard to make sure I exceed people’s expectations so it’s a nice way for them to show their appreciation. Also, working on Airtasker has allowed me to explore many parts of Sydney that I had never seen before like Mosman and Neutral Bay. At my old housekeeping job, it was always the same place and got a bit boring.

What values do you try to stick to when you’re working?

Honesty is the most important value that I try to stick to. I feel like the only way to build trust with other people is with honesty. This is very important to me as a cleaner because I am entering people’s homes and I want them to feel safe and assured. There are a lot of business people on Airtasker who don’t have time to clean and just need an extra pair of hands. I think because of my honesty, they trust me to clean their homes even when they are not there.

I also think that I’m a very compassionate person because when I was a nurse I would always try to go above and beyond to care for my patients. It’s just in my nature to do all that I can to help people. In general, I always try to exceed people’s expectations. I feel immense satisfaction when people are impressed with my work.

Need help with cleaning? Check out Anna’s profile and request a quote.

Interested in joining the Airtasker community? Find out more about becoming an Airtasker.

Lord of the Fries Home Delivered

Just picture a cold and rainy winters day. It’s something most Sydney-siders aren’t too familiar with, so you can understand "Lord of the Fries Home Delivered"

Lord of the Fries Home Delivered

Just picture a cold and rainy winters day. It’s something most Sydney-siders aren’t too familiar with, so you can understand no one in our office wanting to go and get a bite of lunch.

Lucky for us, we knew we’d be able to find a helpful Airtasker willing to brave the weather and make a food delivery to our toasty warm workplace.

All we had to do was to think of what to get, however after seeing a couple of tasks for Lord of the Fries delivery on Airtasker, our CEO Tim, suggested that we give it a go too.

If you’re not sure what Lord of the Fries is, we didn’t have a clue either, but it’s a hugely popular vegetarian fast-food chain from Melbourne that opened up just under a year ago on George St, Sydney CBD.

Lord of the Fries food delivery Airtasker

We have to admit that at first we didn’t realise it was vegetarian but with three styles of fries and 14 different sauces, the guys in the office weren’t deterred and made their orders.

Lord of the Fries food delivery Airtasker menu

To get the order in time for lunch, I quickly put the Lord of the Fries Delivery task up for $30 due to the distance from the outlet to our office and the Airtasker needing access to a car. Then almost immediately Mark S. let me know that he was available and made an offer.

Once assigned, Mark sent me a private message via Airtasker asking for my phone number so that we could stay in contact, which he did and maintained throughout the day.

To make it easier, his partner Jacqui also helped out so she could go in and make the order and wait without Mark needing to find a car park.

Lord of the Fries food delivery Airtasker

Lord of the Fries food delivery Airtasker

With the order sent via message they picked up a few burgers, a hotdog and a whole lotta fries, which I would reimburse them for with cash when they dropped off the food.

When they were on their way, Mark called me to let me know when they were a few streets away so that I could meet them on the ground floor.

When I met them downstairs, we exchanged the money and food and also paid them for the task via Paypal on Airtasker.

As you can see the guys were all happy with their food in the images below.

Lord of the Fries food delivery Airtasker

Lord of the Fries food delivery Airtasker Tim

Lord of the Fries food delivery Airtasker

If you are hankering for some deliciously delivered food, give Airtasker’s food delivery service a go.

Moving Homes With Airtasker

It could be your first home purchase, a rental move or even making the leap to head overseas. Regardless of "Moving Homes With Airtasker"

Moving Homes With Airtasker

It could be your first home purchase, a rental move or even making the leap to head overseas. Regardless of why it’s an exciting time but it can also be stressful, so a helping hand is always welcome or sometimes needed.

moving homes with Airtasker

After noticing a few tasks on Airtasker removals asking for help moving furniture or even the entire contents of a home, I decided to reach out to a couple of Task Poster’s to get first hand accounts about their experience from start to finish.

Round the corner move

Tash had decided to move from her share-house in Richmond, Victoria into her own place but really loved the area and wanted to stay local. Lucky enough for her, an apartment became available just around the corner. However, she couldn’t lift some of her bigger items, such as the couch and fridge, by herself and need some help.

Only requiring a couple of guys and trolley to move furniture, professional moving services weren’t necessary. Not wanting to bother her friends or housemates she decided to use Airtasker.

After watching a quick how to get started video, Tash posted a task for a strong guy to come over help her move for 3 hours. Airtasker Richard made an offer on a Tuesday and the following Saturday at 10am he was there ringing the doorbell with a friend to help.

Airtasker moving furniture

With the wonderful help from the two guys, Tash told me that in just a few hours she was out of the house and into her new pad. She paid the $150 after all their hard work and said there was no way she could have done it without their help.

Need advice on how to organise your moving day? See our Moving Home Checklist

Moving houses

Moving the contents of a house you’ve lived in for 10 years means there’s a lot to pack up, throw out and move. This is the problem that Dean and his wife, Susie, had but they also had the additional issue of a 2 year old and another one on the way, which meant Susie couldn’t do too much.

So, they turned to Airtasker to find someone to pack and organize boxes a couple of days a week, while Susie could work from home, meaning they still had time on weekend to look at houses.

After negotiating a fee with Airtasker, Lauren, the University student was able to give a helping hand wrapping and packing for two days at $20 p/h, which meant a total of $320 that she could put it towards her study fees.

packing home items with Airtasker

Susie and Dean were so thankful that she managed to pack their entire kitchen, lounge room, and clothes, leaving them only with the essentials to be done. It saved them precious time and lucky for them they managed to find a new home quickly.

Opting to do the move without professional help, they enlisted a few friends and also a couple of reliable Airtasker’s with trucks and trailers to help.

The result: they were all moved in over the course of a weekend and were eating pizza for dinner surrounded by boxes on Sunday night in their new home.

Thinking of moving? Be prepared and take the first step by downloading the Airtasker App here. It’s free to post a task and there are no obligations to hire.

Read our Top 5 moving tips here and if your looking to deck out your new house checkout the Top 5 Furniture Delivered To Your Home.

IKEA Pick Up and Delivery

Whether you go to IKEA for the $1 hot dogs and moreish Swedish meatballs or to actually buy furniture, you’re "IKEA Pick Up and Delivery"

IKEA Pick Up and Delivery

Whether you go to IKEA for the $1 hot dogs and moreish Swedish meatballs or to actually buy furniture, you’re guaranteed to leave with things that weren’t on your shopping list.

ikea shopping

When I say this, I’m speaking from experience. The last time I went to IKEA, I bought a bunch of colourful drinking straws when I really only needed a coffee table. However, this ‘binge buying’, while always exciting, can sometimes present a problem for me. I often purchase more than I can carry and don’t have access to a car that can handle my shopping splurges.

See also: Top 5 Furniture Delivered To Your Home

This exact problem occurred recently when I decided to finally invest in some bigger furniture items in my home. The closest IKEA in my area is the big store at Tempe, Sydney, a good 20 minutes away. I was working on completely refurnishing my place in Bondi, when I realised that I didn’t have the time to go and purchase the furniture, let alone transport it back home.

Now IKEA does offer delivery services such as using a GoGet car or IKEA staff to bring it to your house, but at a starting price of $59AUD, they were asking a premium on the price. I needed to find an alternative option to get my goods home.

The solution? IKEA Delivery on Airtasker.

Using an Airtasker to purchase the goods and deliver them to my door was an option that worked really well and helped me keep the costs down. This is how I did it:

My Airtasker Experience

After finding the furniture I wanted bought in a current IKEA catalogue (I chose a sideboard table and a large mirror), I used the free Airtasker mobile app on my iPhone to post a job on the board to get the goods purchased and delivered to my home. I then went about my day.

Within a couple of hours after posting a task on Airtasker, I had three offers from willing and skilled people, eager to help me out. I decided to choose a guy called Yuqi, who had already completed similar delivery tasks in the past and received great reviews. He also had his own car and tools to make it easier for him.

Yuqi was able to use the description and imagery from the IKEA catalogue to buy the exact side table and mirror I wanted. He even sent photos via text message just to double check that he was buying the right furniture.

ikea table assembly

After picking up the items, he drove to my house and promptly got started putting the table together in record time. He then moved onto the mirror. That was when we were presented with a problem.

A screw loose?

As Yuqi was unpacking the mirror and checking that we had all the parts, he discovered that a bag of washers and screws was missing. I never realised how important it is to check this first before you start assembling the furniture.

I offered Yuqi another $20AUD to go back to IKEA in Tempe and pick up the missing parts, which he was happy to do. He soon returned but had been unable to get the replacement screws on the day as they were out of stock. However, showing real initiative, he had organised them to be mailed to my house once they were back in stock. Yuqi even said he would come back when they arrived to finish off the assembly.

A couple of days later Yuqi came back and finished up the task and other than a slight delay, I was chuffed with my new furniture.

ikea mirror assembly

Need to move IKEA furniture? Find out how to move with ease here.

eBay Pick Up and Delivery

It’s one of the ‘greats’ born in the dot-com bubble era, and these days eBay is still going strong in "eBay Pick Up and Delivery"

eBay Pick Up and Delivery

Airtasker delivering ebay furniture

It’s one of the ‘greats’ born in the dot-com bubble era, and these days eBay is still going strong in the shopping and online auction space.

Personally, I haven’t used eBay before, yes shocking I know, but I’ve just always been a little bit apprehensive about buying used (or new) items off strangers online.

To get some insight and real life experience about eBay I approached a friend, Tom, who had just bought a new fridge on eBay. Tom not only required furniture delivery but a moving service to help remove his old fridge.

In the past, Tom has been able to borrow a friend’s truck for larger items, but couldn’t get access to it this time around. Struggling to find a solution to his problem, I suggested using an Furniture Delivery Airtasker to help him with the moving and delivery of the fridge.

Using Airtasker’s free Android mobile app, Tom was able to post a task and carefully explain to potential Airtaskers that they would need to have their own transport and have all the necessary equipment e.g. ropes and trolleys.

Within a few minutes, an Airtasker named Derek responded to the job. Derek was a bricklayer by trade and had a ute as well as the required ropes. After Tom checked out his profile, he happily assigned Derek to the task for $60p/h. Tom then liaised between the eBay seller and Derek and work out a suitable time for the following weekend.

On the morning of the following Saturday, Derek was ready to help. He maintained open communication throughout the whole process by letting Tom know when he was close by, so that someone could be home to meet him. He even helped Tom move the fridge into the right spot into the kitchen, giving him a full delivery service.

Tom later told me that he was surprised at how easy it was to manage buy a fridge on eBay and then arrange transportation through Airtasker. He said he would definitely be using both services again.

Indeed, a couple of days later, Tom sold his old fridge on eBay and the buyer arranged an Airtasker to come and pick it up. Guess who it was? Derek!

Moving soon? Check out our Top 5 Moving Tips and download your Moving House Checklist here.