The Richmond 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 Richmonders are turning laundry into a side hustle to help bring in extra cash.
Why it matters: Unlike food delivery or other gig jobs, laundry service Poplin can be done 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" — now operates in more than 500 cities nationwide, including Richmond, per the company.
- Nearly 600 Poplin "laundry pros" are in metro Richmond, company spokesperson Pete Bahrenburg tells Axios.
- The company has served more than 3,200 local customers — scrubbing 1.2 million pounds of RVA laundry since it launched here in 2020.
Zoom in: Henrico stay-at-home mom Alexis Faber started working through Poplin around 2022 after hearing about it in a moms' Facebook group, she tells Axios.
- She picks up bags from customers' porches, washes, dries and folds the laundry, then drops it off.
- These days, she says she takes about five or six orders a week, bringing in about $200–$300 for roughly two hours of hands-on work.
How it works: Poplin charges customers $1 a pound and workers keep 75% of that, plus all customer tips, per Bahrenburg.
What they're saying: "DoorDash is absolutely not an option," says Faber, who has two young children.
- With Poplin, her kids can ride along for pickups and drop-offs, and be home with her while the machines are running — so no babysitter needed.
Yes, but: The work comes with costs traditional employees don't shoulder.
- Poplin workers, like most gig workers, are independent contractors responsible for their utilities and transportation, plus the wear and tear on their appliances.
- Faber says her utilities increased when she was doing full-time Poplin work, though not enough to deter her.
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, whether laundry or something else, "can be an awesome way to make ends meet for your family," Faber says.