Page 25 - Home Business - Fall 2018

BUSINESSES & OPPORTUNITIES
Thrive as a Freelancer

Navigate the Gig Economy in the Digital Era with Fortitude

By Dr. Emad Mousavi
he term “gig economy” was coined Business, entrepreneur Elaine Pofeldt insists
around 2009 during the Great Reces- that it is possible to “make great money, work
Tsion, to address the growing number the way you like, have the life you want,” but
of people making or supplementing their liv- that freelancers must be creative and use the
ing through a series of part-time, freelance or tools at their disposal to build a solid business.
consulting engagements. During the econom-
When you’re confi ned to a single job descrip-
ic downturn, gigs were a way of making extra
tion, you can end up personally and profes- Pivot to a profi table career path.
money, but over the last ten years it has become
sionally stifl ed. But freelancers can work with
a career path that many choose in order to not
clients around the globe, thanks to digital
just make a living but be their own bosses. especially for professional services like ac-
communication and workfl ow tools. Th ey can
Many companies are even shift ing their own expand their skill sets, pivot to new career paths counting, writing, marketing, etc. but they are
structures to incorporate more contractors and explore potentials. beginning to take a diff erent structure to ac-
to keep their overhead costs lower. Remote commodate a growing force of contractors and
work tools and the increasingly paperless pro- their evolving needs. Th ey allow for networking
cesses of most organizations have helped make “Get your profi les up; with other contractors, which can be extremely
this arrangement more practical for workers useful for access to training, augmenting your
and managers. get some jobs under own services or creating the net of administra-
tive, legal, fi nancial, etc. support that you are
Th e proliferation of online sites and mobile your belt, post work lacking without a traditional structure.
applications designed to facilitate contract
employment has contributed to the growth of examples and some Th ey also have begun to off er a more decentral-
the gig economy as well. Uber was one of the ized platform that enables peer-to-peer interac-
pioneers, quickly followed by other ridesharing ratings and testimonials tion and transaction, that keeps middlemen out
companies, as well as apps like TaskRabbit, Fiv- from your clients to lend of the equation, letting freelancers keep more of
err and Th umbtack. their own profi ts and giving employers unim-
peded access to talent.
So, with contracting becoming more of a norm you credibility. ”
than an anomaly and technology helping Th e great thing about freelancing is that the
And doing just that will help them to be more opportunities really are unlimited. You don’t
make fi nding and executing work easier, what
attractive to potential employers. Having to need to have startup capital or an offi cial offi ce;
challenges do freelancers face navigating the
manage sales and marketing with all other you can just jump in with little to no barriers to
“gig economy”?
business aspects is not easy, but certainly a entry. And it’s advisable to get started as soon
Lack of traditional employment benefi ts (health great way to learn to drum up leads, advertise as possible. Get your profi les up; get some jobs
insurance, etc.) and other perks, as well as in- their off erings and close deals, which many tra- under your belt, post work examples and some
stability of income, have always come with the ditional employees never get a chance to learn ratings and testimonials from your clients to
territory of non-full-time work. While some or even practice. So no matter your fi eld, it’s lend you credibility.
companies that rely heavily on contractors have a good idea to brush up on some marketing
adjusted their practices to account for those techniques, especially those that can be accom- Th e “gig economy” is not a new phenomenon.
gaps (off ering access to health plans and cor- plished using free or low-cost online tools like It is, however, expanding and evolving to allow
porate discounts and the like), the fact remains social media, and SEO tools to drive traffi c to for a new kind of employment where the worker
that freelancers are typically left on their own. your website and social media. oversees their own processes and time, and is
primarily responsible for delivering results. As
Having to diversify your skills and make your- a freelancer, you can have a much more adven-
With the obstacles they face, why would
self indispensable to your employers in more turous journey in your career, meet with many
anyone choose to be a freelancer?
ways than one is another great journey you more people and explore many more opportu-
Sure you’re oft en working from home, avoiding
explore when freelancing. If you’re a writer, try nities, and that is a way of life that more and
the commute and bad break room coff ee, but
learning more about code and design to enable more people are choosing nowadays.
that’s by no means the only benefi t. Ultimate-
you to transition into digital content and web
ly, freelancing is an attractive option because
work, as many organizations have begun to cre-
there is so much opportunity to build a lucra- Dr. Emad Mousavi is a data scientist by trade. He obtained his PhD
ate these kinds of multidisciplinary roles. degree in Civil/Structural Engineering from Texas A&M University in
tive and fulfi lling career doing something you 2013. Emad has near 12 years of professional experience in oil and
care about and enjoy doing. And what about those tools? gas, infrastructure, and IT industries. His vision includes leveraging
cutting-edge data analysis techniques to provide unknown insights
In her book, Th e Million Dollar One Person Freelance marketplaces are nothing new, to users of the QuiGig platform. Visit https://www.quigig.com/.
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24 Home Business Fall 2018 www.homebusinessmag.com

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