If you’ve ever contemplated leaving your job to pursue your true passion in some form or another, you’re not alone.
The gig economy is here and it’s real.
We’ve grown up thinking that having a full-time job with regular salary, stable hours and benefits was the way to endure the most active years of our lives. So why would someone want to leave that in favour of something that is a giant fantasy at best?
Here are some of the reasons why someone would want to leap out of a cushy job into the fray of freelance work:
- Frustration with working conditions
- Underpaid and/or lack of recognition
- Poor advancement opportunities
- Misalignment with present job versus desired career path
- Unable to get a job due to reasons like ageism, overqualification, etc.
If you’ve felt that at one point in your life, you’re not alone. Maybe you’re feeling it now. Either way, you’re not alone. Our full-time jobs are in essence the lifeblood of our lives. We’re in jobs because we have to, not because we want to. How can we develop into what we want to be if we’re forced into roles that do not match us at all? You may want to walk out but can’t due to financial obligations.
Gig Economy is Here to Stay
Like many people in this circumstance, they’re discovering the merits of the gig economy and it’s growing fast. Organizations are taking advantage of it by initiating contracts versus permanent employment, and traditional functions are being outsourced more frequently. This is particularly true if you’re in human resources, or HR as it’s so conveniently known. Factor in companies catering to the gig economy like Uber and Lyft who permit people to earn money on their own schedules using their own equipment. So the trends are there.
You could also say that, and I have witnessed it myself, is that those already in the profession are deciding to drop their full-time positions and go it alone. Why not? You earn more money and get paid for what you actually bring to the table versus a salary that stays static no matter what revenue you bring to the company.
What does that mean? It means the market is being flooded by people who are taking to the idea of capitalizing on their talents, and the competition is getting fierce.
Billable Hours – Lifeblood of the Gig Economy.
In Canada, 33% of the workforce is in the gig economy, and 36% in the United States. Those are sizable numbers and indicates that the field is becoming crowded and very competitive. To survive in the gig economy, particularly as a human resources consultant, then these are the things you need in order to survive:
- Flexibility
- Fluid scheduling and operational functionality
When you have those, then you’re able to acquire what each person in the gig economy needs: billable hours.
If you’ve decided to take on the gig economy, particularly HR consulting as that’s a field I’m more familiar with, then your need for billable hours is critical. You might be a specialist in whatever it is you do, but your colleagues and industry comrades state the same thing about themselves and are now your competitors. Why is this important?
Being open to acquiring projects is always key. Like an Uber driver, the more you’re soliciting and picking up passengers for rides, the more you’ll earn money. Same works for a consultant. The more (human resources) projects you’ve established, the more money you’re likely to make and also build a strong brand of reliability and quality workmanship.
Consultants feed off of networking events. Making connections is what each consultant needs to do at every opportunity. When you’re making a lot of connections and creating projects, the work adds up and eventually you realize something that many tend to forget: you actually have to do the work you’ve promised you’d do.
Delayed projects and/or missed deadlines don’t bode well for a consultant in a market where everyone is vying for the same contracts. An overwhelmed or disorganized consultant can’t earn money.
That’s why flexibility is key. And having a backup support system in place can make that happen.
Blacktalon is Your Key to More Billable Hours
I’ve been a consultant for 16 years serving many professionals like business leaders, c-suite executives, human resources departments and independent practitioners across multiple industries and capacities. What I’ve done, though, is create additional value for these people no matter their practice or goal. How?
- Created a reliable administrative support system that streamlines operations
- Act as their go-to resource to either pre-empt market trends and/or endeavour in product development based on inherent skill sets and operational capacities.
Here’s an example: In May of 2018 I partnered with a local human resources consultant who was close to closing up her practice. One of her key people were leaving. Actually, they were her only reliable person. The difference is that she was a key contractor for an HR support line that dealt with resolving HR issues across Canada. This included Quebec. With no one to rely on who could successfully deal with the French calls, she risked losing that particular contract and a vital competitive advantage.
Then I came along. I answered her ad on a job board and acquired the initial contract to provide bilingual support to her human resources support initiative. When I resolved two intense cases involving labour relations and health and safety cases in Quebec, it became evident I provided exceptional value.
Then it evolved into providing support for recruiting campaigns for her, taking on idle positions that were dormant for a good month or so. My efforts enabled her to close those roles, resulting in hires two weeks after my involvement. I also garnered her additional clients via referral based on my work completed for her in this regard. Her billables increased by $10,000 within the first year of working together. That’s pretty impressive.
Could this have happened on her own, or with a monolingual assistance? Probably. It would’ve been difficult and probably taken longer to achieve.
Now she’s bestowed on me the lead in developing and launching a French-language service that few consultants can boast having. With my partnership and committed support, it’s opened up her capacity to create additional business connections and revenue streams, which has allowed her to become a top name in HR whose brand is close to if not as compatible as an established organization offering identical services.
Flexibility and operational fluidity matter. So this is why you need to consider this if you want to live—and love—your dream of independence.
Why Have Auxiliary Support
As much as we may say otherwise, doing everything for everyone is a difficult task to do. Take on too much work and we risk becoming sloppy and error prone. Word travels fast. So if you screw up on one project all it takes is for one negative comment or review to derail your practice entirely. No one wants to go back to the fray of a wage slave and endure those frustrations you rage quit to avoid altogether.
Why should you consider auxiliary support for your practice? Here’s why:
- It opens your ability to create business connections and acquire projects.
- Your ability to complete and deliver on promised projects drastically increases.
- It enables a benchmark to be established and solidifies your brand’s prowess.
- You’ll have greater ability to create additional services and deliver on service promises.
- Your billables will improve.
Most of all, it’s affordable for all freelancers or consultants. It’s making a lot more sense now isn’t it?
It’s not for everyone
The gig economy requires flexibility and fluid operations. While an Uber or Lyft driver may not require a backup support system in this case (maybe they will once their particular brand is established as a reliable driver over the other but I digress), a consultant who wants to make a mark could use this.
I have witnessed a lot of people in human resources field–often from prominent positions–leaving their jobs to establish their own practice and capitalize on their own expertise to earn more money on a schedule that’s more in line with their lifestyle and future lifestyle goals. In order to do so, your practice needs to be as organized and available as possible in which to allow your billables to flow and grow.
When you consider how my assistance has helped propel an HR consultant who was nearly ready to close her practice suddenly surge into a well-known name in her particular market, it makes sense to enlist the help of a professional auxiliary administrative support network.
Greater networking capacity. Greater deliverables. Greater return. Enhanced billable hours. The opportunity is there for you. So how about giving it a try?
BlacktalonSolutions is a multifaceted consultancy that strives to help you improve your revenue generating capabilities. From HR and operations, partnering with us will ensure greater workflow efficiency and financial impact of any initiative you embark on.
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