The Eight Things You Need to Thrive in the Gig Economy

Approximately 1.1 billion people currently work for themselves as freelancers, in some capacity, across the world. Among those 1.1 billion people are a majority of 25-34-year olds who are starting to gain clarity on how profitable the gig economy will be in 2022. Millennials and future generations are beginning to comprehend the sheer profitability and amount of income they can generate from ditching the 9-5 and working for themselves as an independent contractor.

That being said, around 37% of these independent contractors are between 35 and 55+ - which shows there is no time like the present to jumpstart your freelance career.

Adapt to the current trends and market

While this decision to make a career shift will allow you to make more money and become self-employed, the actual key is to be an adaptable business owner. The freelance economy is no exception to the rest of the internet regarding how quickly things move, how fast trends form, and the challenges that come along with both of those as a business owner.

This applies whether you are full-time or part-time, whether you are a seasoned freelancer or just getting started as a company - being able to adapt to the current market and what service you can provide to your client to fit their needs continuously should be a constant focus.

In a freelance career or typical 9-5, you will find that being adaptable to business and market changes is an invaluable trait - clients will appreciate you staying up to date on what's trending in their field. That being said, there will be little benefit in doing this if you don't also invest in yourself and your skills.

Invest in yourself and your skills

You are the essential tool for your business - the fact that your clients and customers become familiar with and trust you. This makes the contract work you provide successfully and facilitates a long-term relationship with those clients and customers.

Because you are so crucial to your success, taking the time to develop your talent and fuel your passion for your job is essential. This can look like a variety of things, such as taking courses to build your knowledge further and even taking on projects you haven't worked on to develop new skills.

During the early stages of your freelance work, it's essential to focus on how you can improve and where you can spend money that gives you the tools you need to become an even more successful business. It's tempting to pocket the extra income you receive, but investing it in honing your skillset will benefit you in the long run and throughout your freelance career.

Resilience

Another aspect of investing in yourself is making sure you have resilience - starting your employment journey with freelance work doesn't mean there won't be rejections or customers that decide not to choose you for their project. However, part of the development of your company and business is to build up that resilience to keep pushing even when it seems things aren't going as you had hoped.

On those days when your to-do list is empty and your work hours are slow, having the resilience to keep your passion going and make money is the key to growing your business. Not every client or customer will say yes, and that's okay - when you address your target market, they'll see the value in your services and allow you to create all the work you've been marketing to clients.

Persistence

Persistence is in the same boat as resilience, as they often go hand-in-hand. While there are different approaches you can take to business, the two aspects you want to have locked down are persistence and resilience.

Persistence keeps you going when things get tough, when life gets overwhelming, when you do not see the success you hoped for, and there are so many obstacles and challenges in your path - persistence drives you and keeps you focused on your primary goal, your business's growth.

Each of us is vastly different when it comes to how we are as small business owners, how we complete tasks, and how we measure our success - but the one thing that can stay consistent is our persistence and resilience to become successful independent contractors that work to make money and find financial freedom.

Keep detailed records of finances and the work you've done

There is always a side to every entrepreneur's journey that is the least liked and the sometimes cumbersome project - most seasoned entrepreneurs and freelancers would agree that a cumbersome project is keeping track of invoices and clients who pay you. While this is a task that genuinely nobody enjoys, it's an essential part of running your successful business; come to the end of the year when it's time to do taxes.

If you don't use a freelancing platform with an invoice or financial record built-in, I recommend printing all your invoices when you send them out and then printing the second invoice once the client has paid - this makes keeping track more accessible. You have a solid paper trail come tax season.

While financial records are vital, keeping track of the work you complete and entering it into a Google Drive portfolio or website or uploading it to your freelancing platform will show future clients that you're organized and give them a taste of the work you do.

Organization

When you're an independent contractor, you wear a lot of hats - including CEO, CFO, customer service, quality control, and so many more. What this means is that organization is so important, not only for each job but also for the business as a whole.

To help me stay organized when handling multiple projects and to keep my financial records in order - I have two binders; one is for invoices, subscription payments, and any purchase that pertains to my business. The second binder is for any specific work I want to save for future reference in a physical portfolio - this might include any job I'm particularly proud of, or that showcases a particular talent.

As freelancers, it's crucial to be organized and create organization tools that will work for your business. Whether you have an organization method specific to freelance jobs or an entire business model dedicated to how you organize files - regardless, the organization is key.

Analyze your competition

No matter what field or niche you're in, when you're self-employed, it's just as important to look at your competition as the more prominent businesses do. A few things to keep in mind when looking at your competition are their digital marketing strategy, if they're being praised for excellent customer service, how the person works with their clients, examples of their work, and how they are showcasing it—the process they use to hire their clients.

You want to analyze the competition, like evaluating how you are doing in your market compared to similar freelancers and entrepreneurs. This will help you create a seamless process from marketing to getting a continuous flow of freelance jobs.

Starting a business requires more than just a great idea

Businesses are a lot of work, requiring long hours and dedication to a craft, especially when starting. That being said, businesses are advantageous when they are planned and you focus on a specific goal.

To start a business on the right foot, you need more than a great idea; you need a plan which often involves a marketing strategy, service offerings, and how you will work with customers and clients. You'll have to be prepared to dive in and make sacrifices to create a successful business.

Prepare to make sacrifices

Seasoned freelancers and business owners will comment on the sacrifices they've made since they started - whether opting against going out with friends to complete freelance jobs or sacrificing some initial income and investing in yourself and your business right from the start. That being said, going along with sacrifices are both the pros and cons of freelancing.

Cons of Freelancing

Every big decision in someone's life starts with weighing the pros and cons - freelancing is no different. Let's look at the cons first; best to get the bad stuff out of the way.

Running your own business as a self-employed entrepreneur can be a lot of work; there are long hours and intensive discipline that you need to have to stay on track without having a boss forcing you to meet deadlines. Speaking from experience, when I first started Emerald Freelance in 2020, there was a lot I needed to learn - but because I saw it as a power project starting, I was highly motivated and dedicated to absorbing all the knowledge I could. Now that I've been doing this for almost two years, that motivation and dedication haven't gone away; I've only needed it more.

Until you develop your business and position yourself as an expert, there will be a lot of 'chasing' clients and new projects. The beginning stage is where you're trying to get projects under your belt and use them to showcase your skill- but sometimes, this first stage becomes a sort of roundabout as clients want to see previous work. Still, you don't have any, but you need clients to give you work to develop your portfolio. Most companies hire talent with a few projects and can adapt to different situations in business.

It can also be quite the task to get your services in order and position your business in a place that can accept contract work and becomes successful. Companies will focus on your ability to do the job when you apply; this comes from your work and previous job history with other businesses and clients. All of this being said, there are still benefits to becoming a freelancer and using your aptitudes to make a secondary income.

Pros of Freelancing

We'll start with the most significant benefit - the secondary or possibly primary income you can generate through developing your business to provide a service to customers worldwide. Not to mention you have the opportunity to travel; making money while traveling the world is typically the main goal for each person regarding financial freedom.

When it comes to working for yourself - there is no such thing as too many freelancers or a saturated market. There are endless opportunities for development, jobs, and becoming a successful and even full-time business. When I started, I thought it wouldn't last because too many freelancers were out there after the same job, offering the same services and using the same market to access clients. Thankfully, this has not been the case, and I have had plenty of access to jobs and customers that put me in a position to control the success Emerald Freelance brings. Which I think is one of the best parts!

Take a creative approach

Despite freelancing being a job, you can still have fun and create content and services that your client loves! A huge part of being your boss is you have complete creative freedom to approach each project with a fresh and innovative perspective!

This was precisely why I wanted to get into freelancing in the first place; I wanted to take on jobs that allowed me to save money and bring in more money by using my creative mind!

Now what? How will you put these into practice?

Now that we've talked about the eight things you need to crush the gig economy, how will you put them into practice, and what's the next thing you want to implement in your existing freelance business or ensure you include when you start your business?

You have complete freedom to establish your presence, what service you offer, and how you get jobs - which means that you are in control of your business and success! I'd love to hear your biggest takeaways and what you plan to implement into your business's strategy!