We freelancers are a happy lot, but that doesn’t mean it’s a stress-free lifestyle. The corollary of freedom and flexibility is inevitable uncertainty. Sometimes it feels as if you’re always stressing about either time or money. How can Stoicism help?
Continue reading “Freelancing, stress and Stoicism”
As Goldman Sachs relaxes its dress code, Sky News’s Adam Parsons argues for the power of a suit.
Continue reading “Wear a suit! Business dress for sovereign professionals”
How do you get the best out of the creative people in your team?
If you’re engaging freelance talent, sovereign professionals, for their fresh ideas, how can you avoid choking off that talent? And, if that’s why people hire you, what should you look for in a new gig? What are the warning signs that mean this project may be less rewarding than you anticipated?
Continue reading “Motivating and managing creatives – @HarvardBiz”
How can blockchain help build a better gig economy?
This article on Blocktribune looks at potential contributions, including:
Continue reading “Freelancing, blockchain and the gig economy”The social web serves a wealth of information about freelancers and potential employers – but this may be inaccurate, making hiring risky. A blockchain-based platform consisting of immutable records, validated work histories and employer reviews will serve as an incentive for participants to deliver work of assured quality, adhere to deadlines and keep promises.
The BCG Henderson Institute has an interesting report into the gig economy; The New Freelancers: Tapping Talent in the Gig Economy.
Looking at both low-paid and high-paid freelancers in 11 countries, the report throws up some important findings, including:
Continue reading “The New Freelancers – @BCG”
On Forbes.com, David Howell has some thoughts on what Brexit might mean for sovereign professionals in the post-Brexit landscape.
The key is to understand your precise needs. If you are a business, ask yourself what skills your enterprise needs today and how these could change over the next five years. Freelancers due to their flexible working practices can enable your business to tap into the skills it needs perhaps just for short periods of time. Not having the cost and time associated with hiring full-time staff, could be a way forward for your enterprise to create the dynamic workforce you need to weather the Brexit storm.
I’ve never been wholly comfortable with “gig economy” as an umbrella term. Too often it’s hijacked by those who want to paint independent workers as a new type of oppressed; in need of rescue from uncaring capitalism.
The reality is far from that, as successive research has shown. Independent working is most often a freely made choice.
Here’s an interesting article from Jon Younger on Forbes.com. Talking generally about adoption of the freelance economy model (is it as explosively disruptive as the hype suggests?), Younger makes an important distinction between types of freelance work:
Continue reading “Gig economy vs. talent economy?”
Wells Fargo meeting the needs of non-traditional incomes.
Via the wonder of the web, an article in the Spokane Journal caught my eye.
Continue reading “Banking and freelancing – @WellsFargo”In November, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. launched a new phone app called Greenhouse, which is being marketed to gig economy workers, as well as to people who are just getting started in learning how to manage their finances.
You just can’t trust the future. That’s certainly been clear over the last couple of years. We seem to be contemplating the previously unthinkable, every day.
An accidental No Deal Brexit in the UK? A prolonged government shutdown in the US? Those things could be hard on a freelancer, contractor or other independents.
Traditional employment offers an illusion. Maybe that’s part of the deal: the regular pay cheque implies continuity, that the future is someone else’s concern. But, if you work for yourself, the future comes into sharper focus. Self-employment requires a more active engagement with tomorrow.
Continue reading “Uncertainty – the freelance / gig economy destiny”
The BBC reports on research from Henley Business School:
The 28-year-old is part of a generation of “side hustlers” – entrepreneurial young people who work on their own projects alongside their main source of income.
Running a second business or sideline is becoming increasingly common.
One in four workers run at least one side hustle business, Henley Business School estimates, half of which were started in the past two years.
Those aged 25 to 34 are most likely to be involved, with 37% thought to run a sideline of some kind.
Continue reading “Gig economy, portfolio career or side hustle?”