A Quick Guide to Gig Economy
The concept of gig economy is quite old. However, it gained a lot of popularity due to the 2008 recession. Due to economical crisis, people had to look for contractual or part-time jobs to make the both ends meet. Hence, the concept of Gig Economy evolved out.
Thereby, which can be defined as the temporary or time period-oriented engagement between contractor or employer and employee or gig worker. Hence the gig worker, often referred to as freelancer, provides services to clients for a defined period of time.
A gig worker can either provide his/her services through a specific platform or directly as well. There a number of fields in which one can become a pro gig worker.
Some of those fields include:
- Project Management
2. Graphic Designing
3. Content Development/Marketing
4. Construction
5. Food/Parcel Delivery
6. Virtual Assistant
7. Web Development
8. Social Media Management
9. Uber/Lyft Driving
10. Tutoring/Online Teaching
How the Gig Economy Works?
A gig worker works on the basis of a temporary contract with the employer. That contract can last for one day up to few months. Furthermore, he/she can work with multiple employers at a time.
Though perceptive definition of gig economy may differ. Since people also like to include those who are temporary, stand-by or on-call employees. Thereby, to make the understanding easier, a gig economy must be distinguished by the following features:
· Buyer’s Request for Services
· Sellers Bidding on the Project
· Successful Agreements Between Buyer and Seller
· Building Portfolio Both/Either as a Buyer and a Seller
The Impact of the Gig Economy
Though gig economy has become the most popular phenomenon among the Millennials and Gen-Z, no doubt soon it will occupy the whole marketplace. The reason behind the gig economy’s success can be attributed to:
Flexible Work Hours With gig working comes the ultimate power of freedom. You can choose how many hours you want to work, from when to when and how many days as well. You can opt for part-time or full-time opportunity as well.
Work from Anywhere Gig working has made it possible for some of its employees to enjoy working from any place. They can work from home, from office, at a café or a coworking space.
Set Your Own Pay Rate You’re given the complete freedom to chose how much you want to be paid and when to be paid (weekly/biweekly/monthly). You can even mention different categories of hard work that can be identified via the pay rate per hour.
Ability to Choose Your Own Client You have the right to decline or accept a client’s offer. Also, you can choose to work with your client in the future or not. You are not bound to an employee after a contract is marked finished.
Control Over Life-Work Balance Gig working gives you the power to choose your own work timings, your own pay rate and becoming your own boss. Creating the perfect balance demands self-discipline as well.
How Do Gig Workers Get Jobs?
Prior to technology, most of the gig work would be awarded based on connections or through potential employee applying after hearing a word through newspaper or some other means. With the advent of technology, finding the relevant talent or the potential buyer is now just a few clicks away.
People make profiles on the gig-specific platforms, specify their services and apply on the jobs they find relevant. In some profiles, match making takes place and two opportunity seeking people connect with each other if they are a 100% match. On some, contractors can look down the list and connect with the talent they find the most relevant.
After a formal agreement between buyer and seller, number of hours/day or the time period is decided as well as the per hour rate or the total pay rate is mutually decided upon respectively.
Top 5 Gig Platforms for Finding Your Next Gig
Though there are hundreds of online gig platforms which can help you get a client successfully. But for your convenience, we have compiled some of the most popular gig platforms which can help you land a gig-job quickly and easily.
When it comes to gig working, Guru is one of the oldest yet reliable marketplace. It has been used by more than 3 million contractors alone have been taken onboard since its inauguration. It allows the potential client as well as potential employee get connected with each other. In addition, this process is supported by the automated workflow security, proper invoicing and compliance.
On Guru, as an employer, you can find creative gurus as well as technical expert, ready to offer their professional services from all across the world. Guru allows you to transcend the geographical limitations aby making the payment gateway secure and reliable.
It offers one of the easiest interfaces and allows you to get in touch with the freelancers and manage them through a built-in calendar. You as an employee can check freelancer’s calendar and on the basis of that, you can invite them to work for you. Furthermore, you are updated about new onboard gig workers as well.
A unique aspect to Freelance Diary working is that you can create a pool of freelancers to work on a single project. To support this, specific collaboration tools have been designed by the Freelance Diary team. Everything is managed through sheets and hence its all-in-one comprehensive gig workers tool.
3. Airbnb
Airbnb is one of the most popular apps among the gig workers, mainly because of the freedom it provides. Firstly, Airbnb is one of the few platforms which empowers to set your own prices. Secondly, while working on Airbnb, you’ll not have to pay for any additional expenses as a host. Lastly, Airbnb gives you the flexibility to have enough breaks within the guest arrivals.
The basic scheme starts with a temporary engagement between the host and the guest, for the duration during which guest stays in the host’s home. Due to some concerns, Airbnb has been under strict government as well as legislative scrutiny. However, with one or more spare bedroom, the process becomes legal. Hence, you can either put a single room or a whole separate portion up for rent on the Airbnb platform!
4. AppJobs
AppJobs is one of the few marketplaces from where you can get access to multiple gig working platforms with just one click. It allows you to choose from a list of different apps providing gig working opportunities in your own location. Furthermore, it allows you to compare the similar opportunities offered on different platforms.
Being the largest gig workers community in the world, it currently provides its services in 35 countries and 400 cities across the globe. To get on board as a hiring partner, get AppJobs approval and get access to its Gig-worker Acquisition Platform (GAP). As a gig worker, all you have to do it to sign-up on the AppJobs’ platform, select your city and start working!
5. Roadie
Roadie is one of the popular platforms among delivery workers and basically requires a vehicle. It works in partnership with different grocery stores as well as drug stores. Apart from that, you may be required to move the furniture as well if demanded by a customer. If you own a truck or a van, then this job is for you.
Roadie allows the gig worker to have flexible timings. Apart from delivery within the community, often gig workers end up with highly-paid long distance jobs as well. Hence, Roadie allows you to work from anywhere as well as for anywhere within the country as soon as you sign up.
