Making the Gig Economy Sing for You

The modern world has changed our lives in so many and the worklife of so many people is no exception. In previous generations, it was the norm to be employed by the same company for the majority of your working life. Today’s adults could have several jobs, often at the very same time. Full-time employment can be supplemented by malleable and individualized employment, known as the gig economy. 

The freedom and control that the gig economy affords its participants does not come without its own set of struggles and challenges. This loose and free-formed income can eat into needed downtime as well as make it hard to separate personal expenses and revenue from those that are related to this additional work.

As is the case with almost all aspects of finance, one of the strongest tools to better understand what you are actually earning in the gig economy is organization, both of your time and of the money going in and coming out.  If you don’t have a good system in place to track your time and your finances, you have no way of actually knowing how much you are earning and how much time you are spending in that effort. For all you know, you could be earning less than minimum wage for your efforts.

 
 

Many of these side-hustles are more than ways to bring in added income. Some of these part-time gigs would actually be a preferred vocation. Well, once you have tracked both time and money you have a clearer picture of what you are earning on an hourly basis and adjust accordingly. You need to make a weekly date with yourself and examine your time and income so you make sure neither is going untracked. 

Take a look around and find what others in your field are asking for their services. Are you short-changing or underselling yourself? Should you be asking a fairer market-price for what you are offering your clients. Is there a way you can grow this hustle from a trickle of revenue into a torrent of full-time income?

In addition to discovering the right price what you bring to the table, independent business owners should also examine and explore other products and services they can offer their clients in order to grow their business. If you’re a baker, you can make money selling your cakes, but you can also generate revenue by putting on cooking classes, both in-person or virtual. If you are a personal trainer you can teach clients one-on-one, but you can also record your classes and sell them online to clients all over the world. The internet has allowed entrepreneurs to grow what should have just been a regional business into a global empire.

There are many ways for entrepreneurs to accelerate their financial growth using inexpensive tools or even those that are absolutely free. Social media can prove to be an invaluable catalyst to move your business in a positive direction. Study your posts and audience engagement to better understand where your fans live and how to better reach them. Find out what they are looking for, how much they will pay, and how you can deliver that to them in the most efficient and scalable way possible.

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