The Northwest Arkansas side hustle you can do from home
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Some Northwest Arkansas residents are turning laundry into a side hustle to help bring in extra cash.
🏡 Why it matters: Unlike food delivery or other gig jobs, doing laundry for Poplin can be completed largely from home, making it an option for parents and others in need of flexible work.
📱 The big picture: The nearly decade-old app-based service — essentially an Uber for laundry — operates in more than 500 cities nationwide, per the company.
- Poplin has 31 active "laundry pros" serving 226 customers in NWA, spokesperson Pete Bahrenburg tells Axios.
- In total, 112 laundry pros and 624 customers have participated in NWA, he said.
- This year, Poplin has completed 1,269 orders in NWA.
💪 Zoom in: Antonia Bush, 39, of Rogers, came across Poplin about a year and a half ago when she was searching for ways to make extra money.
- She thought, "I have a washer. I have a dryer. I have a car," she told Axios.
🧺 How it works: Poplin charges customers $1 a pound. Workers keep 75% of that, plus all customer tips, per Bahrenburg.
- Customers generally leave their laundry outside their doors in bags. The laundry pro picks it up and returns it 24 hours later clean and folded, Bush said.
💰 By the numbers: The laundry pros cover their own transportation, laundry detergent (Poplin offers a discount) and the energy costs. But even after that, Bush says laundry has been a good side hustle that's brought in significant extra money.
- Bush usually makes $300-$350 a week with Poplin.
- On a particularly busy week when she did about 60 loads of laundry, she made $600-$700. After accounting for gas, detergent and a trip to the laundromat for some oversize items, Bush estimates she pocketed nearly $500.
⏰ State of play: Bush has regulars, as the app allows customers to select their laundry pro. Some people who use the service do it on a regular basis to save time. Others might need it temporarily, Bush said, noting a customer whose home is being remodeled.
🚗 Zoom out: Side hustles are increasingly common, particularly for younger workers, Axios' Sami Sparber reports.
- 57% of Gen Zers surveyed last year said they worked a side gig, according to The Harris Poll, which dubbed them "America's first true 'side hustle' generation."
- And a separate report from the Federal Reserve found that 31% of all gig workers said they'd have trouble making ends meet without their side hustle.
🤑 The bottom line: Gig work isn't just about delivering food or driving passengers. Apps like Poplin are creating ways to make money from home.