An Unapologetic Guide To Making It In The Gig Economy
Tags: Freelancers, Self Employed, Gig Economy, Freelance, Motivation

An Unapologetic Guide To Making It In The Gig Economy

Photo by Jordan Whitfield on Unsplash

Given the growing workforce of freelancers that has only been increased by recent pandemic-related events, the gig economy is getting more attention. Every day, more people are realizing that other people work for themselves and wondering if they can too. If it seems impossible, it’s not — but it can be hard.

What Is The Gig Economy?

The gig economy is a free marketplace. It is a world where companies and individuals alike can just hire someone who does the work that they need. Gig workers work short-term gigs, often with no real commitment. Don’t worry, it isn’t as scary as it sounds. It’s a job, but you’re the employee and the boss. There is some uncertainty, but a remarkable amount of freedom.

How Does The Gig Economy Work?

For a lot of freelancers, joining the gig economy has become a lot easier. In this day and age, we have these little things called freelance platforms. These sites allow those who need to hire someone with a specific skill set to easily find people who can do the job. Transversely, it allows gig workers to find pitches and offerings for their kind of work.

In most cases, the gig economy cycle begins when a client needs a task. They will seek out a freelancer to help them with the task. Sometimes it really is just one project — other times, it is an ongoing series of tasks. This work can be across any kind of industry. Writers, developers, and bookkeepers alike are all available in a freelance capacity.

After a client and a freelancer have connected, they will agree to certain terms. There is a scope of work, as well as an agreed-upon price for each completed project. The freelancer completes the work and receives payment for the finished project. Yes, it’s really that simple. Instead of getting your work handed down from a boss, you just work with clients directly. Who doesn’t want more control over what they work on in a day?

How To Join The Gig Economy

With freelance platforms, entering the gig economy is really easy. You can sign up for any popular site, like Fiverr or Upwork, and create a profile. It will take some time to set up. You’ll need to detail out your skills and make an attractive profile — one that demonstrates why you are a professional and should be taken seriously. Then, you are ready to land some gigs.

Note: you don’t have to use a freelance platform to enter the gig economy, but it can make it easier.

Now, this is where it gets hard.

There are a million different freelancers trying to sell their super-secret formula on how to achieve freelancing success overnight, but not every story is like that. If you want to make it in the gig economy, you have to have the stuff — at least in my experience.

Price Appropriately

I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was about six years old. I was in elementary school making fake newspapers and writing short stories. As a lifelong member of the writing community, I have always heard one sage bit of wisdom: you have to pay your dues.

I strongly believe this advice applies to the freelance world. Unfortunately, I see a lot of people get mad about this, and I don’t think it’s entirely fair.

To get started, I did what I needed to do to build my brand. I knew that I could not expect people to pay professional writer prices when I had no professional work experience in the industry. The reality is that being told that you are talented by those around you does not give you professional credentials. Believing that you are good at something does not mean that you are — and it absolutely does not mean that your work is good enough to charge someone industry standard prices for it.

With pretty much any job, whether or not you have a degree in the field, you have to work in entry-level positions and make less before you get to do the real thing. Even if you get really close, very few people are going to pay you high-level pay for your first attempt at a job. Salary is generally linked to experience, so if you have no professional experience, you should expect to make less.

To get started, be realistic about your earnings. Look at what other people with no actual work experience in the field are making and price accordingly. Don’t ask your clients to pay industry prices for your career experiment. You can always raise your prices as your level of expertise builds — and you absolutely should!

Note: some people who enter the gig economy do have professional work experience in their area, which changes pricing models a lot.

Seek Out Clients

The best way to build your portfolio up quickly is to personally seek out clients yourself. Look for requests and make bids. Make sure that you are putting regular work into getting jobs. The more jobs you get, the more experience you will have. Before long, you won’t need to seek out clients — they will come to you. When I was starting out, I would bid on as many projects as I could each day (my platform had a limit at the time) and it paid off fast.

Put The Customer First

Corporations are known for chanting “the customer is always right” like a horde of zombies, but that’s because corporations know how business works — that’s how they got there. At the end of the day, a positive customer experience is worth the extra work. It builds up your credibility and shows people why they should be working with you. Big businesses know this, which is why they place such an emphasis on customer satisfaction.

The client wants something different than what they first thought and it’s a change that you can manage? Do it. Someone needs a little extra help coming up with ideas because it isn’t their niche? Help them. Give your customers the experience that they deserve — they will reward you for it with five-star reviews. And you know what? Someday, those reviews will be why people want to work with you.

Don’t Shy Away From The Hustle

Hustle-culture has taken some serious hits from mental health advocates, but it’s not quite the villain that it is made out to be. At least not for everyone.

Should you drive yourself into the ground and stop sleeping to succeed? No. Obviously not. Your health matters, but a little grind won’t kill you. Sometimes building your brand or your business requires you to stay up a little late. Sometimes it means missing out on an event with friends to meet a deadline. When you want to succeed at building a sustainable career, it takes time, effort, and a lot of hard work.

When I first started, I worked a full-time corporate job and freelanced on top of it. I worked for eight hours a day, came home, had some dinner, and worked some more.

Yes, sometimes it was hard. Yes, it would have been easier to just hang out with friends or watch tv. But, the reality is that having fun in moderation was more than worth kickstarting my career as a writer.

Other people will tell you to slow down or take your time, and for some people, that’s the right decision. Anyone can be a gig economy worker, but if you want to join the gig economy right now — and make a career out of it — then it needs to be your priority.

If the extra work isn’t worth it to you, it’s probably just not your style. And you know what? That’s fine. You don’t need to be a gig economy worker. It isn’t for everyone. There is nothing wrong with wanting someone else to manage the business side of your job. It’s been the standard for literal ever.

But if this is what you want, stop making excuses, put in the hard work, and push for it. Only you can decide if it’s the right place for you. The gig economy is waiting if you’re ready for it.