Taking Advantage of the Gig Economy

Right now, the economy is in flux again. Food prices are up, while job satisfaction and availability are down. We are seeing both massive layoffs and people quitting jobs that treat them poorly, but income is still a serious issue. Fortunately, there are other ways to make money aside from the unstable job market. If you've heard there are jobs in the gig economy, you are correct. Through a network of apps, you can start picking up work quickly, set your own hours, and get work between permanent jobs by taking advantage of the gig economy.

What is the Gig Economy?

The gig economy is a marketplace of "gig" work or small jobs that you can do as anytime as one-offs. Examples of the gig economy include driving an Uber as a self-assigned taxi service, shopping and delivering groceries for people, doing home handiwork, being a virtual assistant, or even developing web apps. In fact, it all depends on which marketplace you choose and the skills you want to offer.

Gig work is accessed one job or hour at a time through mobile apps and web platforms. Clients post jobs, and gig workers accept them to perform or schedule them immediately. You can also take as many or as few gig jobs as you like, and it typically fits well into any schedule.

Can I Really Earn a Living This Way?

Yes, but with an asterisk. You can definitely make a living from gig work. In fact, some people make more money doing gig work than they did working for wages. However, it takes work and the right balance of time and pay. Some people can shop and deliver three grocery orders in an hour, some can't. Some can whip up twenty web pages a week, and some cannot.

Your ability to make a living through the gig economy is on your own steam. It's often based on your ability to find good opportunities to make time-efficient cash. So yes, you can make a living, but it's not a given.

Is There a Difference Between a Gig Job and a Side Hustle?

Good question! Your side hustle is a personally run small business. You might sell handicrafts or run a small repair shop out of your garage, and that's great! Many people with side hustles use gig economy marketplaces to find customers. With your side hustle, you are free to hand out business cards, share samples, as well as build a network of customers for yourself. On a gig economy marketplace, you can source things like orders for your crafts or web pages, but the contacts belong to the platform.

So, a side hustle and gig jobs can mesh, but they are run differently. You have on-demand access to clients through gig work, but have more control over your work and client list with a side hustle.

What are Some Good Gig Jobs and Their Benefits?

Driving for Uber or Lyft

Driving passengers for Uber, Lyft, or your local fleet is a way to become a taxi in your own car. Many people who enjoy driving and know their city well can make good money as passenger drivers in the gig economy. But watch out, these apps have been reducing income lately, so past reports of profitability are subject to change.

Delivering Meals and Groceries

DoorDash and GrubHub are among the leading restaurant delivery gig platforms. Meanwhile, Instacart, Shipt, and specific grocery store fleets allow you to shop and deliver groceries for pay and tips. Both can be rewarding, but it depends on your local rates and market. So if you're great at shopping and driving, you can get good tips.

Virtual Work

Virtual work ranges from programming and development to simple virtual assistant tasks. You can pick up hours and projects on platforms like UpWork, Freelancer, and Guru. These jobs, you can do from the comfort of your home office and can be extremely profitable - if you know how to handle clients. If not, they can eat up your time for very little pay.

Neighborhood Handiwork

Are you handy and willing to help out your neighbors? Platforms like TaskRabbit and Fiverr allow you to offer local services ranging from home and appliance repairs to running errands and doing unique request tasks for people nearby.

Commission Marketplaces



You can also get other types of work commissioned on more free-form or niche gig economy marketplaces. You sell bespoke, customized, and on-demand anything based on customer orders or by bidding on gig-platform customer requests.

How Do I Start in the Gig Economy?

Getting involved in the gig economy is easy. Just choose a few platforms and make your accounts. Explore the jobs on offer and how clients and professionals interact. Some make it very easy to get started and pick up jobs, some have more of a learning curve. Here is where your side hustle experience is going to help, as you judge which jobs and pay rates will get you the greatest reward for your time and effort.

When you're ready, take a job or send a bid to a client.

Staying Afloat This Year with Gig Work

Finances are tough for almost everyone this year, but flexible work, as found in the gig economy, can help you stay financially afloat between jobs or to cover rising costs. Contact us today to learn more or to find tools that will help you build your side hustle into a successful small business.