Are Your Skills "Gig-able"?

Gig work, also known as side hustles or freelance and contingent work, seems set to be a key part of “the new normal.”

The flexibility of work, the digitization of work processes, and available technology have made it possible for employees to use their skills to make extra income even with full-time jobs.

Enter the “gig” economy.

The early creators of the term “gig” were jazz musicians in 1915, who referred to their performances as “gigs.” The term “gig economy” was coined in 2009 by a former editor of The New Yorker, Tina Brown, who described it as “a bunch of free-floating projects, consultancies, and part-time bits and pieces, while they transacted in a digital marketplace.” This is the concept used by companies like Uber, Airbnb, and others, and that led to the further growth (and appeal) of the gig economy. (entrepreneur.com).

Having a “side hustle” that does not compete with your full-time job has become a go-to option for many employees. Besides the obvious advantages of the extra income, a gig can also:

• Decrease your reliance on one stream of income
• Strengthen your current skills
• Teach you new skills
• Give you more control over your time
• Keep you busy and earning if you are in-between jobs
• Make you an instant business owner

The question is, do you have skills you can use for a side gig?

The good news is, that more people do than they realize. It could simply be a matter of finding a digital outlet for the skills they currently have - their transferrable skills.

Jobcase.com lists the following as top gig worker transferable skills.

1. Problem-solving: you can gig as a consultant to individuals and businesses in a wide variety of areas; nutrition, parenting, coaching, business management, brand management, etc.
2. Interpersonal skills: how you treat the people you gig for not only encourages repeat business but also makes them willing to refer you.
3. Communication and organizational skills: you can use these skills for content writing, proofreading, and editing, writing articles, and being a virtual assistant.
4. Creativity: used for graphic design, website design, video editing, and photoshop editing.
5. Project management skills: useful for Information Technology and Engineering professionals.
6. Sales and Marketing: you can go into digital marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, product sales and marketing, event marketing, etc.

The top gig business sites where you can find gig work as voted by thebalancesmb.com are:

Upwork https://www.upwork.com/

Upwork helps freelancers find one-off gigs and long-term contracts in a variety of industries, including design, development, accounting, marketing, writing, customer service, and more. Freelancers begin by creating a free profile where they can post details about themselves and their experience, case studies, build a portfolio, set their rates and skills, and even post a personal video.

Every aspect of a contract is managed through Upwork’s website, including time-tracking, invoicing, file sharing, and messaging. Freelancers can also choose how to get paid, from direct deposit and PayPal to wire transfer and more.

Although creating a profile on Upwork is free, the platform takes a percentage of a freelancer’s earnings based on how much is earned according to a specific formula that is available on the site.

Freelancer https://www.freelancer.com/

Rather than focusing on specific industries, Freelancer organizes projects by category related to skills, including websites, graphic design, illustration, 3D modeling, Wordpress, product design, and more. It even allows users to browse local jobs, including teaching/lecturing, drafting, general labor, drone photography, and more.

Freelancer, like Upwork, also takes a percentage of a freelancer’s earnings based on how much is earned according to a specific formula that is available on the site.

Guru https://www.guru.com/

Guru focuses on placing talented professionals with projects in nine different categories: programming and development, writing and translation, design and art, administration and secretarial, sales and marketing, business and finance, engineering and architecture, education and training, and legal. Besides these nine, there is also an "other" category for everything else.

Guru’s platform also offers virtual WorkRooms where freelancers collaborate and add team members to a job. Users can also use a time tracker, share files, communicate with their team, create agreements and invoices, choose payment terms, and get paid, all from Guru’s platform.?

They have different plans to suit their users: basic, basic +, professional, business and executive.

TaskRabbit https://www.taskrabbit.com/

TaskRabbit.com connects people who need help with odd jobs and errands with local people who have the time and skills to do them. Tasks can be just about anything, from assembling furniture and planting flowers, to cleaning houses and delivering groceries.

Before they can bid on projects, users then have to apply to be a ‘Tasker’. Once a Tasker is onboarded, they will be notified of potential jobs nearby via the TaskRabbit smartphone app or they can search for them. They can then select the one they want to complete, confirm details with the client, complete the work, and submit their invoice.

Toptal https://www.toptal.com/

Toptal.com connects businesses with freelance software developers, designers, finance experts, project managers, and product managers. The company’s aggressive screening process creates an exclusive opportunity for highly skilled freelancers.????

Applicants begin with a comprehensive English language and communication evaluation. Toptal also assesses personality traits to find passionate and engaged candidates. Applicants are then given in-depth skills assessments, live problem-solving and creativity exercises, and test projects.

Due to its rigorous vetting process, Toptal’s freelancers are well-positioned to receive competitive rates for their services. Toptal doesn’t charge its freelancers any fees but instead marks up a freelancer’s rate for its clients.

FlexJobs https://www.flexjobs.com/

It has about 30,000 remote and flexible job postings in 50 career categories, including accounting and finance, business development, computer and IT, marketing, writing, web design, and more. The company’s trained researchers scour hundreds of online job resources every day and evaluate each posting to connect freelancers to the best opportunities.

In addition to its curated job listings, FlexJobs offers job search checklists, career advice articles, over 200 expert skills tests, and tips to help freelancers’ resumes stand out. FlexJobs’ paid memberships offer discounts on career coaching and resume reviews from FlexJobs as well as pre-negotiated discounts from job-search-related products and services from other companies.

While FlexJobs offers free job-related information, users must have a paid membership to access the full job listings in the company’s database

Fiverr https://www.fiverr.com/

Fiverr.com is a way for people to offer digital services typically offered by freelance contractors for $5. It offers the opportunity for freelancers in just about any digital creative field to offer their services to a global marketplace.

Fiverr broadly categorizes its services (like graphics and design, digital marketing, and writing and translation), but freelancers can offer services as specific as they want. Examples include Facebook page banners, podcast intros, book covers, menu design, comic book illustration, and more.

Fiverr allows sellers to keep 80% of their funds. When a seller gets paid, Fiverr puts a 14-day hold on the funds in the event a dissatisfied client wants a refund. After that period is over, the seller can withdraw their funds to a PayPal account, credit their Fiverr Revenue Card, or transfer money to a bank account.

These are just a few sites. You can find those that work best in the country or region that you’re in.

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