New research shows the 'Freelance Gig Economy' is flourishing. And here to stay. With downsizing, the numbers of startups popping up companies are desperate to hire - hundreds of thousands of jobs available new research shows.

1. Get Jobs – Get Paid
What Your’re Worth –
The New ‘Gig
Freelance Economy’
Is it Real?
Jean L. Serio CPC, CeMA

2. Read on and discover what I learned while researching
a simple comment regarding what’s being called the
new ‘Gig Freelance Economy’.
“No need to pound the pavement,” I read – “to cold-
call or waste time and money searching for clients.
Companies are desperate for your unique skills and
expertise. In fact - Now's the perfect time to join the
flourishing new Gig Economy”.
While I certainly knew freelance jobs were available, I
had no idea there were millions – yes millions. And
with all the fake news going around, today, my
extensive research showed me the previous statements
are – indeed - correct. I’ve done a year and half of
research and give you the following information to
consider on this important topic.

3. Really? Freelancers are in Demand?
For a year and a half I’ve been studiously researching, looking
for all the information I could find regarding the freelance
industry. I, truly, wanted to discover whether this was true, a
sales pitch or phony news.
Turns out there’s a ton I uncovered in the way of reports,
whitepapers and position papers – for example - from
established, authoritative research groups. Including white
papers and reports from:
The Harvard Business Review
Gallup
Pew
Experian
Impact studies from Cone Communications and others
Studies/reports from the U.S. Council of Economic Advisors

4. To my surprise – point after point
began stressing fact after fact
describing a flourishing 'Gig
Freelance Economy’ in place.
Aside from research and statistics from top groups
like Pew, Gallup and Experian, I discovered in depth
research from the N.Y. Times and Forbes. All of
which provided more information about this
unspoken about, yet clearly emerging, economy in
which Freelancers, Consultants and Independent
Contractors were thriving.
In fact, LinkedIn's Vaibhav Goel said in a recent
interview:
"The gig economy is here to stay. Not every member
of the workforce is looking for the typical 9 to 5
job", says Goel. Turns out, I found - and you may
agree once you’ve read this report - this is more
true today, than I would ever have thought.

5. Wondering why the 'Gig’ Freelance Economy' is flourishing - freelance jobs
readily available for a wide variety of skilled individuals? That was my first
question.
1. Current U.S. Small Business Administration stats show hundreds of businesses
starting up daily; some days thousands. All flooding the marketplace with new pro-
ducts and services. And in need of an immediate infusion of talent to get jobs done.
2. Top brands and corporations are downsizing, evolving into smaller, more agile,
competitive entities who can rapidly change directions. This means hiring freelancers,
consultants and independent contractors to fill the personnel gaps left with down-
sizing.

6. Companies
are wooing
skilled
retirees with
big
paychecks..
Companies
are hiring
freelancers
for more
long-term
projects.
A good
skilled
individual –
who takes
time to
understand
a company -
is is likely to
be rehired
often.
Consultants are much in demand
for both short and long term positions.

7. I was certainly surprised to discover actual jobs available on freelance marketplaces weren’t jobs no
one wants. In fact, many were excellent jobs with top brands. That said, here’s a sampling of what I
found on twenty different freelance marketplaces:
• Web, Mobile, Software and Apps Development
• Data Science and analytics; web analytics
• IT and networking
• Engineering, architecture, electrical
• Design and creative jobs of all types - from logo
design to videos to corporate and social media
marketing.
• Writing jobs - content, blogs, white papers and
more
• Translation - tons of translation jobs for a variety of
languages
• Accounting - from simple business accounting to
financial, management, auditing and more.
• Legal - covering a wide variety of specialized areas.
• A variety of jobs available in the medical area.

8. Today the security of a 9-5 job is akin to rotary phones; a thing of the past. In fact, the average worker today is
generally open and ready to move when a new job, fitting their skills and expertise, pops up. That said, workers
of a wide variety of ages and skills groups - including Millennials and retirees - are making the move to
freelance. Here’s a breakdown of 5 groups research shows are choosing freelance over 9-5 jobs:
1. Those interested in a full time freelance career.
This group admits never having been comfortable
working in a cubicle 9-5. These individuals want
the freedom offered by freelance – working when
and where they want; choosing jobs they want.
2. Many individuals are freelancing until finding a
full time job.
3. There are people who want to work occasionally,
or part time, for personal or medical reasons.
4. There are others planning to leave a current job
for freelance. These individuals periodically take
freelance jobs to build up their freelance rep until
ready to quit their day job.
5. Retirees:
a) Looking for cash to save for trips,
activities, new auto, boats, etc.
b) Lured by big paychecks offered.
c) Taking advantage of on-retainer
consulting positions.
d) Need additional cash for medical.

9. An
8 of the many top brands *currently using freelancers, *have
used them or *plan to use them:
Ancestry.com Conde’Nast magazines Time-Warner
Connections Academy KMPG – (top global audit & tax advisors)
Shutterfly CompuCon About.com

10. Info and current stats from 4 popular freelance marketplaces:
Businesses from start-ups and entrepreneurial to top brands are regularly searching
for freelancers, independents and consultants for a wide variety of work: short and
long term projects, hard-to-fill jobs, new product development, consulting
positions, and thousands of others.
These companies, I found, are listing jobs, regularly, and generally filling them
within 24 hours of posting - top freelance marketplaces say. Providing highly active
job marketing sites with hundreds of thousands, some with millions, of jobs
available for freelancers. See stats below:
• Freelancer.com – Has an average of 9,339,929 jobs available; over 8,800,000 jobs filled
within the last 18 months.
• UpWork (formerly Odesk) - filled 1 million jobs in the first 6 months of 2016; has 4
million biz clients.
• Guru.com - has an average of 6 million jobs available. Everything from health care, to
business, technology, nursing and more.
• Toptal – specializes in the IT field - Hundreds of thousands of jobs filled annually.
NOTE: Stats come directly from these companies; figures current at the writing of this
report.

11. What are the benefits – if any - of working through
‘Gig’ Freelance Marketplaces?
• You are encouraged to upload your portfolio.
• Generally freelancers are paid more than 9-5 jobs.
• To ensure freelancers are paid, most sites require clients
deposit agreed-to payments into an escrow account.
• The majority of sites allow you to choose 1 of 3 ways to be
paid.
• You can search the sites for jobs or sign up for job alerts.
• Send proposals to companies who’ve posted jobs you’re interested in.
• Most sites allow you to post videos of your work.
• All companies have an email or chat system to stay connected w/clients.
• You can have as many clients as you feel capable of serving.
• Build your rep, referrals and recommendations.
Sites tell
us most
jobs filled
within 24
hours

12. Unsurprisingly GenY (Millennials) lean toward freelance for a variety of reasons.
In the 2016 report on Millennials – how they work, how to work
with and train them – Skillsoft - pioneers and innovators in the
field of learning and talent management, tell us: “Millennials
have high expectations and optimism about the workplace that
aren’t realistic for most employers, so there’s a mismatch in
terms of expectations.”
With unmet expectations rising, it makes this huge group more
difficult to engage. Also, they prefer not to join and are unhappy
working for companies where technology is lacking. Techies,
brought up in a social world, are plugged in and connected to
information 24/7.
On the other hand, freelance marketplaces want new talent to
fill jobs, immediately. That said, they are a size and type who
find it a far easier than corporations to use state of the art
technology; readily and rapidly adapting to new. Not to mention
they make it brain-dead easy to join their groups.
Millennials have specific personal
values. Aren’t afraid to voice their
opinion. And aren’t afraid to leave
a company who doesn’t meet
their needs and/or requirements.
Or one who does not align with
their values. All added reasons
why freelance work appeals to
them.

13. Here’s 8 things Millennials expect from jobs and companies. And while
they prefer to work in teams, freelance is emerging as a job source, which is in
many ways, a good fit for them:
1. They want, and expect, independent access to learning,
when and where they choose; learning at a pace which
suits them.
2. They’re socially engaged and want to continue to do so at
work.
3. They enjoy interacting with global companies and their
employees.
4. They prefer working in a space which is comfortable and
suits them. Like - Starbucks, a mall bookstore or the
beach, for example.

14. Millennials cont’d
5. Work-Life balance is their goal.
6. They’re social – preferring texts and social communi-
cation rather than email and phone calls; so old
school.
7. They want to scale the ladder of success quickly.
8. They prefer change to the static; and gladly accept it
when presented.
If you consider the way freelance marketplaces work, they provide everything
Millennials expect and want in the way of a work scenario. Not only that, as a
freelancer they make most of their own decisions. And can work for whomever
they want, whenever they want.

15. In Summary
While I did confirm there are hundreds of well established freelance marketplaces out
there today, as well as facts on how they work and perform – and yes it’s true many
actually do have millions of jobs available - I also gathered the following information
potential freelancers should know before making the leap to use them.
Consider which freelance marketplaces have the type of jobs for someone with your
skills and expertise; some specialize in IT, website development and code writing,
PR/writing, for example.
**All freelance marketplaces require verification using a government issued I.D; for
example a driver’s license. They also require email and personal address verification
and info regarding legal issues with drug abuse. You will be required to join each
freelance marketplace; some are free others range from $10 to $29 per month; or
pay 1x annually.

16. In speaking with pros regularly using freelance marketplaces and systems to get hired, they
offered the following 4 valuable tips:
1. Understanding the bidding process and the format to be followed is #1 if you want a hiring
pro, recruiter or decision maker to choose you.
2. Knowing how to write a unique cover letter that stands out, gets read and helps get you
hired, they pointed out, is #2 on their list. The usual boring cover letter written to secure a 9-5
job won’t do and
they learned that the hard way.
3. To get jobs and rehired a good rep is absolutely necessary; plus referrals and
recommendations.
4. Understanding how to set fees was also top of their list.

17. In conclusion:
My research shows freelancing is an excellent and viable
work choice for those who take the time to understand
how to navigate and make the system work for them.
Note – almost all freelance market-places have similar
systems so joining several should not pose a problem in
navigating them once you know how. Part of navigating
them is knowing the rules and how they work. If you
don’t know that – don’t know what’s required from the
start - you will struggle say the pros I interviewed.

18. FOOTNOTES:
* “Employee Tenure in 2014”, U.S. Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics 9-18-14.
* “8 Things You Need To Know About Millennials At Work” by Jacquelyn Smith;
Business Insider, 11-14 .
* “Leading in the New World of Work” by Deloitte Human Capital Trends, 2015.
* “Majority of U.S. Employees Not Engaged Despite Gains in 2014” by Amy Adkins.
Gallup, 2015.
* Ernst & Young Generations Survey http://www.ey.com/US/en/Issues/Talent-
management/Talent-Survey-The-generational-management-shift - 2015
RESOURCES:
More info on Freelance: http://goo.gl/30llJY
Free Millennials Whitepaper: http://goo.gl/QqMiT5
Jean L. Serio CPC, CeMA
www.getyourbuzzon.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanlseriosocialmktgstrategist