U.S. retailers had some of the best Christmas seasons in a long time. The latest consumer confidence index stands at 128.1 in December down from 136.4 in November, meaning, expectations regarding job prospects and business conditions weakened, but still suggests that the economy will continue expanding at a solid pace in the short-term.
The longest economic recovery in the history?
According to the latest data from the United States Department of Labor Statistics, the US unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent in December 2018 from a 49-year low of 3.7 percent in the previous month, and above market expectations of 3.7 percent. A chart of the US unemployment rates shows an overall steady decline after peaking toward the end of 2009.
Whether you attribute this to the policies of the current administration or its predecessor, you know the chart is missing a big piece: People who are underemployed. Whether you include those who are no longer looking and/or those who are working but in positions for which they are overqualified in this category, it is the category of people that’s driving the growth of the gig job industry today. As many good paying jobs started to disappear in 2008, people started accepting jobs for which they were overqualified. The trickle-down effect on the US employment market eventually squeezed out the least qualified, hitting the teenagers the hardest. Many positions held by those who were able to get them were not full-time, less paid, or contract positions without any benefits. Then there are individuals who gave up and decided to leave the labor market altogether to become stay at home moms or dads, or go into retirement sooner than they had planned.
Money Making Idea: Gig Jobs
In order to earn extra cash to make ends meet, many unemployed and underemployed turned to gig jobs, such as driving for Uber. As the economy continued to slowly recover, new service sites, such as Guru.com, Behance.com, Gigster.com, etc. where you can find jobs on an assignment or project basis started to emerge. If you have an established reputation in your field, you can also find opportunities to earn extra money online through social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin. There are also sites such as Patreon.com where you can join for a fee to make yourself available various type of services - take a look yourself to see the vast amount of money making ideas out there! If you don’t have a large enough follower base to justify coughing up a fee, you can also use Callmart to make your services and expertise available to the whole wide world via phone calls.
Economists are still scratching their heads trying to figure out why the wage growth hasn’t picked up or why the job participation rate in the United States is still declining after 10 years of economic recovery. I am no expert, but I think the emergence of gig job market has something to do with that. Maybe people are finding it easier to manage jobs on a project by project basis. It may be that it is easier to find something you enjoy and get paid at the same time. Obamacare may have made it no longer necessary for people to look for jobs with health benefits.
Things to remember
When you have a deeper understanding of money making ideas, it’s crucial to remember a few things. For example, if you want to start a gig job, there are just a few things you need to remember.
Take an inventory of your skills
Before you even start, you’d want to take a good look at what you can do that may be marketable. Be critical of your assets. This means making objective-as-possible evaluation of your skills, but also an in-depth and thorough analysis of not only your skills and knowledge but also your past work/project experience. Find new angles and niches. You may also want to think creatively to find new ways to use your assets. You likely have a lot more marketable skills than you realize. Make a written list so that you can visualize and think about situations in which your assets can be of use to someone.
Think about your schedule
If you don’t mind making yourself available 24/7, that’s great! But who would want to live like that? Making realistic assessment of your availability to complete an assignment is important. Even if you decide to work with sites or apps that let you decide when you want to work, you may want to have a schedule or set a limit. It is important to maintain a sense of personal engagement with your prospective and existing customers, especially with social media based sites or apps. So you probably need some time for yourself to recharge so that you continue to feel passionate about what you do.
Be passionate and professional
You want to conduct your business in a professional manner. Of course it is important that you are able to impress your clients with the skills and knowledge you have. But more often than not, what distinguishes one person from others is the ability to convey a sense of passion or a sense of personal involvement in what they do. By giving your products or services a personal mark that is undeniable to you, your brand will have its own glow that shines and sets you apart from the rest.
Update your skills and knowledge
Most gigs will require just your existing skills. But you might also want to identify additional skills or knowledge that may enhance your marketability. Of course, keep your professional credentials, certifications and tools current.
One more thing to keep in mind is that scammers are everywhere in the gig job world. Be weary of sites and apps that require paying fees to get listed. Read the fine prints and understand all of the terms and conditions on how to list your service, how to land on jobs and how to get paid for jobs once they are done. There are many work at home scams that target stay at home moms that involve prepaid fees.
To sum up.
If you are thinking about getting a gig job while you look for a full-time job that fits your qualifications, you can still think about some of the stuff that I discussed earlier to make yourself even more marketable. If you are getting a gig job to make extra money to pay down the credit card balance from Christmas, I hope you can find the right job that meets your requirements. If you are just struggling financially and want to figure out ways to make extra money, good luck!, and I hope things will get better for you. If you want to make use of years of work experience and share your knowledge with someone, I am sure your skills, knowledge and experience will be of a great asset to someone. Whatever your reasons may be to pursue a gig job, with good planning and careful execution, I am sure you will succeed in your new endeavor.