Model Tanaye White Shares Why She Kept Her Side Hustle At Uber Eats While Achieving Feats Like Gracing Sports Illustrated

Before starting her career in modeling, White was working full-time at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs while attending grad school at Georgetown University. When it came time to repay her student loans, White felt overwhelmed and worried about how she would be able to pay them off. So, she started a side hustle working at Uber Eats.

@tanayedubz I’ve been an @Uber Eats driver since 2016. #ubereats #uber #fooddelivery #hustle ♬ original sound – madre agua

“Initially, I started doing Uber Eats because I was working for the Department of Veterans Affairs full time, and my student loans were about to kick in. I definitely didn’t want to feel the burden of that monthly bill so I thought of ways to supplement the gap, that wouldn’t conflict with my full-time 9 to 5. Uber Eats has been a very convenient side hustle and a way for me to earn more while having a flexible schedule with little to no starting investment on my end,” White told AfroTech exclusively in an email interview.

The venture paid off for White. So, she kept the side hustle going past graduation and even while modeling. White’s efforts even landed her in the first-ever Uber Yearbook, Class of 2022. She can credit her success with the company to setting daily goals and avoiding extraneous spending.

“First and foremost, it’s important to research. Make sure you understand the commitment of your side hustle, and its requirements,” White said. “My advice would be to set goals and stick to them. As an Uber Eats courier, I would create a monetary goal that I would set for myself to meet every day. If I didn’t meet that goal, I would add an additional day during the week to compensate for the money or time that I lost. Save some of the money that you’re earning. Don’t just spend it all because you have additional income.”

White is forever grateful to the company as it was her saving grace during one of the most difficult times of her life during the 2020 shutdown caused by COVID-19.

“When the modeling industry was at a standstill during the pandemic, Uber Eats was a fantastic opportunity for me to stay afloat and earn income. And I’m so appreciative that my side hustle was able to become my main hustle for the length of that time. I honestly don’t know where I’d be today if I didn’t have my Uber Eats gig at the time because the pandemic was a very challenging time. I think we can all relate to that,” White said.

White hopes her story will remind others models that they don’t have to be defined by just one type of work.

What’s more, her list of ventures now includes her brand Feel Good Babe. As an advocate of mental health, she has created a community that will offer women the tools and resources to be vulnerable and quite literally “feel good.”

“Feel Good Babe is a mental health community for women providing resources, and eventually products, that make you feel good and everything else that comes with it. Feel Good Babe will focus on our experiences as women and will be a safe space for us to come together, share our ups or downs, our highs and lows and learn from each other on how to navigate life in the happiest way possible,” White said.