Islington woman makes thousands from odd jobs app Airtasker

An Islington woman has been named a “Top Tasker” in local services marketplace Airtasker’s inaugural awards, after making £4,000 in two months.

Deborah Patterson started using the odd jobs app Airtasker in August 2021, after leaving her sales job at a theatre ticket agency during the pandemic.

Airtasker is an online and mobile marketplace, where community members can advertise small jobs they need doing and others can accept and complete the task for an agreed fee.

Just two days after joining the app Ms Patterson completed her first job, and from there she was “getting jobs like no one's business”. 

She and a friend would use a van and complete two or three jobs, four or five days a week. The amount earned for each job varied depending on the price agreed by Ms Patterson and the person requiring help. Within two months, she had earned £4,000.

Using the app, Ms Patterson enjoyed completing varied tasks, such as removal and furniture assembly jobs.

"I've done so many fun jobs,” she told the Islington Gazette. “I've been to loads of places in London that I've never seen before in my life. And I'm from London. I got to experience loads of things. When I went places, I'd eat and I'd do stuff and I just really enjoyed meeting new people and everything.”

Ms Patterson believes that being a woman helped her get business due to the associated trustworthiness. “People always trust women more anyway; they just feel safer,” she said.

Through her work on Airtasker, Ms Patterson found out “there's so much money to be made in removals it never stops. And you can constantly get an amazing wage from it, so I'd love to get my own van and continue working for Airtasker”.

Long-term, she is passionate about setting up her own women-only removals company to help other women in the community.

Airtakser has recognised Ms Patterson alongside five other users with their Top Tasker award for her outstanding contribution and service to the London community in 2021.