Let’s not talk about obstacles or sacrifices today, but about the incomparable freedom being an online gig worker gives you. We promise you, that once you get a taste of it, it’ll be very hard to go back and work a 9-to-5.
1. Work Without an Agency
Whether technology, art, modelling, coaching or marketing is your jam, this applies to you: working as an online gig worker gives you plenty of opportunity to work independently.
Where agencies take, let’s say, 20% commission when they get you a gig, they also more often than not pay out late. Not to mention the charge of ‘representation costs’, and tight restrictions on working for other brands or agencies.
Other pros of working without an agency include that you won’t be restricted to the number of gigs you take on and the time you put in. Censorship won’t be an issue either, and you have the opportunity to really max out on being yourself when you are the only one to report back to. The online gig world makes it possible to be your own boss without any middle-man. Smells like freedom to us!
(However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check the terms and conditions of any other digital platforms you decide to use.)
2. Everyone Can Enter
Imagine getting a shot at your dream career without having to go through 3 job interviews, without the minimum required experience of umteen years and meeting all 67 skills listed in the job description.
Literally everyone can enter and offer their skills and passions in the online gig community. Nail down what it is that people are willing to pay for that you’re extremely good at, or are willing to learn more than average about. If you possess a healthy dose of work ethic, grit, and willingness to learn, you can start advancing in your career from day one and build on a professional life without losing any of the freedom you like to have.
3. Set Yourself up for a Long Lasting and Ever Evolving Career
The online opportunities are growing and not stopping anytime soon. The number of features on digital platforms increases daily. Once you establish your career online you’ll naturally pivot and grow with the online trends that help you earn more cash or help you to automate and earn some free time. In time you will learn to identify windows of opportunity and this is the way to stretch out your career for as long as you want.
Other than technology constantly evolving, many of us gig workers are their own brand, and when you walk through life your clients and audience walk through your life changes with you.
Eg: a Photo editor used to offer his editing services from his apartment in Chicago, then moved to Costa Rica and started photographing nature and animals himself. He started offering courses in macro-photography. Later on he decided to tour his VW van through South America and is now selling high-end Lightroom presets for travel photography. Looks like this photo editor can do this for the rest of his life!
Whatever your skill is, you can do it too, while utilizing all opportunities to get paid.
4. Live to Work or Work to Live?
If you don’t live to work all the time, the gig economy allows you to schedule your own working hours. We can all do the math, and the more effort and time you invest in your gig career, the more likely you will earn your desired income.
But at times life happens, and this career won’t stand in your way if you have to spend time taking care of family members, have to raise babies, take a backpacking tour through Asia, or need to put time aside for your amateur sports career. It’s all good, as long as you adjust your goals in a sustainable and realistic way.
Literally everyone can enter and offer their skills and passions in the online gig community. Nail down what it is that people are willing to pay for that you’re extremely good at, or are willing to learn more than average about. If you possess a healthy dose of work ethic, grit, and willingness to learn, you can start advancing in your career from day one and build on a professional life without losing any of the freedom you like to have.
5. The Sky Is Not the Limit…
Because there is no limit to what you can potentially earn. There is no limit to the amount of followers you can gather together that pay for your work, and there’s no limit to the amount of times you can sell your evergreen material, and no limit to the amount of great reviews you can collect for credibility. Working hard, planning smart and having patience, combined with constant learning and goal setting is the blueprint for growing your income beyond what you can imagine.
If you are a freelancer or online gig worker already don’t forget to remind yourself of these 5 main benefits of your career path. This type of freedom is truly priceless, and all it asks of you is to not lose sight of your goals and plan accordingly!!
