Apparently for a few decades now we have been drifting toward a different kind of an ideal for our careers and workplaces. At this point it is said that 34% of workers are ‘freelancers’. As time moves on it will be more and more so that people will rely on themselves, rather than a corporation to support themselves.
Long gone, probably a few recessions back, is the idea that you find a job and spend your entire working life ‘climbing the corporate ladder’ according to the company’s agenda. Once corporations began to ‘downsize’, or commit ‘workforce reduction’, it was not a given that even a super-experienced, talented worker would be able to find another job if their position was eliminated. It was a sad state of affairs with many people who tried to make at least lateral moves with their college degrees, becoming homeless, etc.
So in other other words the business model for workers is now having multiple ‘short-term’ assignments – from a few months to a few years. This was formerly been known as being a ‘temporary’, usually working through an agency. These workers are in fact ‘freelancers’ or ‘contractors’. However the contract is between the employer and the agency and the agency has a force of workers that they would then assign the job to. This was a great way to support yourself between ‘permanent’ jobs and to some it became the ‘go-to’ standard for the way they wanted to work.
If you are someone who is trying to develop a business from home online, then you are in essence an ‘independent contractor’. It may be easier to imagine this if your home business is service oriented versus a marketing and sales arrangement; however they are one in the same. Until you build a reputation and a following there will still be ‘the middleman’, for example the affiliate program or the freelancing jobs sites. That’s fine as you will gain knowledge of the field and experience.
Some may go on to create their own affiliate programs eventually, especially if they have the expertise and/or resources to develop a product or service. Once they have something to sell then the affiliates would be their method to promote their business. This is a pretty ingenious arrangement on its face and in fact is a lot like the temporary agencies mentioned above. There is a really very fair exchange where the affiliate, who does not have a product, program or technical skills of their own, can use the program’s intellectual properties and resources and still make money and have their own business by participating or joining an affiliate membership program.
The ‘trend’ definitely speaks to the fact that you are on the right track. Of course if you still have a source of income called a ‘job’ it would be best to keep it until you build your own business to such a level that you can feel secure in knowing you will have an income. The toughest part is replacing the ‘perks’ that corporations offer to their ‘group’, such as health insurance, and retirement investment programs. More and more there will be ways as more and more people form independent ‘groups’.
