- Persons are being paid as a lot as $40 an hour to attend in line for others—and Robert Samuel, proprietor of Similar Ole Line Dudes in NYC, has a employees of 45 taking up the gigs. Ready in line for something from the Sean “Diddy” Combs case to high-fashion pattern gross sales, Samuel sometimes rakes in between $25 and $37.50 hourly, and individuals are keen to affix his operation.
There are plenty of unconventional methods to show a dime right into a greenback—and one entrepreneur struck gold by taking up the on a regular basis annoyance of others.
Robert Samuel runs a line-sitting enterprise in New York Metropolis known as Similar Ole Line Dudes; clients name and ask for somebody to carry a spot for them in line, with hourly charges sometimes starting from $25 to $37.50, relying on the request. The 49-year-old’s enterprise began with the “cronut” frenzy in 2013, and now Samuel and his 45 staff queue up for hours for prison trials, sneaker launches, Broadway tickets, pattern gross sales, and eating places.
Within the metropolis—the place there’s a brand new passing craze each week—meaning regular enterprise rolling in all yr. Proper now, requests are surging for the Sean “Diddy” Combs trial from media retailers just like the New York Instances, Washington Put up, and information bloggers. Samuel’s hourly charges for that trial are $32 an hour.
Line-sitting could also be an occupation that few individuals know exist, however Samuel took a shiny concept and turned it right into a profitable firm and 13-year-long profession. With enterprise booming, individuals have the prospect to reel in $40 an hour ready in line for others.
“Always be observant around everything around you. When people complain, just put your thinking cap on and see if you have a solution to what they’re complaining about,” Samuel tells Fortune. “You would probably shock yourself and be on the verge of the next steps.”
You may make upwards of $40 per hour on the job
Samuel stated that he all the time has a gradual stream of candidates. And the way massive his worker base is relies on the happenings in New York. However even when the “Diddy” trial wraps, he stated there can be one thing across the nook, just like the wildly in style summer time occasion Shakespeare within the Park.
Similar Ole Line Dudes expenses a two-hour minimal of $50, with an additional $25 per hour onwards. The enterprise additionally has an inclement climate payment of $3 per hour in case of rain, snow, or intense temperatures. There’s an extra $15 cost for any line request going from midnight to 7 a.m., and a $20 rush payment for same-day inquiries. Hourly charges are 1.5 instances larger through the vacation season, and for “hypebeast” sneaker drops, like Supreme. At $37.50 an hour, these shoe occasions can get rowdy, and are extraordinarily unpredictable with provide.
In setting his personal costs and ruling NYC’s line-sitting scene, Samuel says he makes way over he did at AT&T. Plus, he will get to be his personal boss. However in case you’ll be able to’t snag a job working with the Similar Ole Line Dudes, there’s additionally the prospect to turn into a line-sitter by yourself phrases.
Line-sitters on in style employment web site Taskrabbit cost anyplace from $20 to over $40 per hour for his or her companies. A few of them have taken on dozens upon dozens of those waits, exhibiting a gradual stream of need for the service. Upcharging further {dollars} for issues like climate, these taskers promote standing in line for so long as 24 hours to meet a consumer request. At their independently-set charges, these prolonged jobs can imply a virtually $1,000 paycheck in only one sitting.
From AT&T salesman to launching a line-sitting enterprise
Samuel’s work trip all began in the course of his final 9-to-5 gig as a gross sales consultant for AT&T.
It was 2012, and he was bummed he was going to overlook his fee verify because of the timing of the brand new iPhone 5 launch. To make himself really feel higher, he posted an advert on Craigslist providing to attend in line to snag the extremely sought-after telephone. Anyone employed him for 3 hours, and as soon as Samuel was on the entrance of the road gearing as much as pay, his consumer knowledgeable him that he had positioned a web based order as an alternative.
Uncertain of what to do subsequent, he rotated and offered his spot in line for $100. Samuel immediately acknowledged the change as a money-maker, and returned to the queue to promote one other spot for a similar worth. Alongside the cash from the Craigslist advert, he walked away with $300 that day.
“I said, ‘Well, what can I do? Wait a minute. I made hundreds just sitting on the sidewalk,’” Samuel stated. “So I made social media accounts, and gradually it took off from there.”
For the primary 9 months, Samuel was operating his enterprise solo. He took on each line-sitting gig that got here his means, and at last got here into the funds to rent employees when the media lined his story in 2013. It was within the thick of the croissant-donut “cronut” craze, when everybody was fiending for the intensely in style bakery merchandise. It all the time offered out within the blink of an eye fixed, so Samuel would wait in line for a lot of hours, choose up the pastries, and ship them to individuals. Similar Ole Line Dudes can nonetheless be employed to choose up the sweets right this moment—at $65 for 2 cronuts.
Now, Samuel and his staff tackle a complete host of jobs. They’ve lined Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial, Ghislaine Maxwell’s case, in addition to Donald Trump’s arraignment in New York Metropolis. Drawing in purchasers from all around the globe, most of his enterprise revolves round holding a spot in line for in style pattern gross sales. He was even flown out to do Warren Buffett’s most up-to-date Berkshire Hathaway shareholder assembly in Omaha, Nebraska, earlier this month.
Samuel’s inquiries can vary from strictly enterprise to a life-long want to see a Broadway present—and he loves his job, as a result of he will get to make individuals’s goals a actuality.
“It’s the beauty of bringing joy to people just by doing something as simple as waiting in line,” Samuel says.
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
