Working in the Gig Economy

Gone are the days when you could graduate from college, find a respectable employer, and remain at the same company until you received that 50-year anniversary gold watch, a generous retirement package, and a nice pension. And even if the old-school work model was still available, I suspect many of us wouldn’t even be interested anymore.

Most freelancers and independent contractors I know love the freedom of self-employment and enjoy the variety that the traditional workplace could never provide them. And while full-time company jobs used to represent security, a glance at recent headlines quickly underscores the fact that there’s no longer that kind of guarantee. In fact, there just might be more security for those who freelance and work as independent contractors because they are more likely to have multiple streams of income rather than a regular paycheck coming from one source.

And for employers struggling to compete in an increasingly global marketplace, hiring independent contractors and freelancers is, in many cases, a more cost-effective option than hiring a new full-time employee. Companies don’t have to pay for costly benefits and health insurance when they hire independent contractors. And because there are more independent contractors these days, there’s more competition to provide quality, cost-effective service to clients. So in many ways, it’s a buyer’s market for companies right now when it comes to finding top talent and quality services at the best price.

I’ve talked about it here recently, but the ranks of independent contractors is continuing to grow. According to 2006 statistics, the U.S. General Accountability Office, reported that nearly one-third of the U.S. workforce, or about 42.6 million people, were going to work every week but were not classified as full-time employees. Of those, about 21.5 million of these workers were independent contractors, freelancers, or self-employed. And in recent months, I’m sure these numbers have skyrocketed.

That said, economic conditions also are forcing some companies to trim the budgets they’ve traditionally used to hire freelancers and independent contractors. And instead of jobbing out work, some companies are bringing work back in house as a way to preserve full-time jobs and conserve costs.

While freelancers and independent contractors don’t have any control over how companies manage their budgets, they do have control over how they provide services to clients.

If you’re providing quality, cost-effective work to a client and you continue to nurture that relationship even when you’re not currently working on assignment for them, you just might land on the short list of independent contractors that a cash-strapped company can’t afford to let loose.

To end up on this short list, though, it’s necessary to do an assessment of yourself and your business. When you think about the services you’re providing your clients right now, ask yourself the following questions:

1. How is my work helping the client?
2. Is the client able to get the same quality of work somewhere else for less money?
3. What distinguishes my work from that of other similar businesses? How is my business different and/or better?
4. Is there anything that I can do to provide more value or service to my clients at or near the same price that I’m currently charging them?
5. How often am I following up with current clients and those I haven’t heard from for a while? Am I nurturing my business relationships through regular contact?
6. Is there any way that I can help my clients streamline their businesses with my work/services?
7. Is there any way that I can help my clients trim costs, and eliminate the waste of time and resources?
8. Am I really listening to what my clients need or am I only providing them with the work/services that I want to provide?
9. What value am I adding to my client’s business?
10. How can I provide better services and quality work to current and potential clients?

Answering these questions honestly can help reset your thinking when it comes to this current economy, and that’s a very important exercise right now.

Working in this economic environment is a different ball game—even from what it was six months ago. It’s a much more competitive environment. Work is harder to come by, and there’s not as much of it to go around. So anything you can do to set yourself and your business apart from others can help you ride out this recession and keep your business afloat.

So what are your thoughts about working in the gig economy? What are some of your biggest concerns right now? Drop me a line and tell me about it!

Photo credit: zsofiguria (Flickr)