Are you the type of person who actively seeks out change? Are you motivated to prove others wrong if somebody says you can’t do something? Are you resourceful and act quickly when challenged with the unknown? Do you want to be in charge? If you answered “yes” to most of these questions, then you’ve likely been gifted with an entrepreneurial spirit.
Having an entrepreneurial spirit means you hold certain values close to the heart. You’d choose creativity and personal fulfillment over stability and predictability. Many entrepreneurs are driven by their passion. If you recognize these traits in yourself, you might consider contingent work as your path toward full-time entrepreneurship. Here’s why:
Learn Important Entrepreneurial Skills. According to Entrepreneur there are 5 jobs every entrepreneur should work before building a business. They are: retail, food, sales, customer service, and management. Luckily, these are also some of the most common contingent work assignments you’ll find. You’ll be able to build and hone your entrepreneurial abilities quickly. These gigs will give you important work skills, such as how to read people and preempt customers’ needs, multi-task in a fast-paced environment, communicate and persuade artfully, master time management, and learn why some teams work and others fail.
Understand the New Look of Entrepreneurship. According to Mission’s article, “The Gig Economy is Giving Entrepreneurship A New Face”, the gig economy has redefined the traditional meaning of entrepreneurship, especially for millennials. Instead of working for someone else, contingent workers have harnessed the power of the gig economy to build a business for themselves as independent contractors. Founder of Filthy Rich Writer, Nicki Krawczyk, agrees. She says, “If you make your money by providing products or services directly to your target audience, you are an entrepreneur.”
Money, Money, Money. Whether or not you join the shared economy to build a career as an independent contractor or are using gig work to subsidize your ultimate goal of becoming an entrepreneur, everybody needs money. As a new business owner, you’ll find times when you’re crazy busy, and you’ll also experience some downtimes. When time permits, take on gig work during lulls to earn extra income and help pay your bills. With contingent work you only work when and where you want. There’s no time commitment. You’ll be able to set your schedule based on how much you need to boost your earnings, and you might end up with some new contacts to bolster your business.
Many people try gig work for a simple reason: they want to earn extra cash. And while that’s a perfectly legitimate reason (who couldn’t use extra money?), some with an entrepreneurial spark are looking for a little more. These gigsters see taking on contingent work as a low-risk, no-cost way to open the door into entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship doesn’t have to mean you’ve invented and brought a new product into mass production. Today, it can simply mean that you’re in charge of your own resources, time, money, and career. When taking on contingent work, flexible workers learn the basics of business—the importance of doing a good job, resourcefulness, flexibility, and adaptability because their livelihood depends on it. Every gig can give you a taste of what it’s like to be your own boss. Get started now.