Recently a report in the Globe and Mail highlighted the term’ gig economy’. The report, which focused on independent entrepreneurs, said that new businesses are now using different models, ranging from operating out of their websites to using platforms that facilitate these independent ‘gigs’.
A gig economy is an environment where temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements. According to experts, the trend toward a gig economy has begun. A 2017 study by Intuit predicted that by 2020, 40 per cent of American workers would be independent contractors.
Entrepreneurs like 32-year-old Sam Burke prefer to use all online and offline advertising and facilitation methods to get their word across. Burke’s dog-care business Pugs of Anarchy has its website and a presence on DogVacay.com, an online pet-care service apart from using traditional flyers, advertising on craigslist and running a Facebook page. Customers also help expand the business by word of mouth and recommendations to their friends.
She recently told the Globe and Mail that while her business could have been successful even without the online platform that pet-care service DogVacay.com provided, being present on the site helped her draw clients to her business. Because of the web portal, she already had reviews and recommendations from clients by the time she was ready to branch out independently.
Clients who had come in through DogVacay.com later stayed with her and used her services directly, she said.
This example indicates the growth of a gig economy. As more web platforms offer risk-free generating revenue and are reaching out to more people, more successful small businesses are born. This has led to a new type of entrepreneur.
Another example of a gig-based services provider is the Toronto-based service AskforTask, an errand service that claims to ‘get stuff done. Types of gigs on the site include jobs for painters, plumbers, cleaners, etc. Small entrepreneurs can directly access customers without spending huge amounts on advertising, while customers too can benefit from the choices available.
While every gig service may not be as successful as an Uber, the gig economy is here to stay. The concept of bringing people with skills to people who need to use those skills has long been necessary in the online world. The idea of gigs also makes life easier for those using the website to order the gigs while providing sustainable income to the entrepreneurs enrolled on the portals to find new gigs.
As more people become involved in the gig economy, demand and supply are growing. The services of AskforTask, for example, are now only available in Ontario, but they are looking to expand across Canada in the next 12 months.
This type of economy does have some disadvantages as well. It is straightforward for a business to go bad here since the next customer decides based on a review he reads online or a friend’s recommendation. And as more platforms emerge, customers are more likely to shift and seek newer and cheaper options.
The entrepreneurs themselves have to bring their A-game to the online marketplace, and they have to be well organized, provide top-notch services, remain alert, and provide good pre and post-sales customer care. In addition to all of this, the portals take a percentage of the entrepreneur/gig worker’s earnings.
On the upside, when these small businesses are sufficiently successful on these websites, they can move to their webpage or run the business from their Facebook page.
