The holidays were quite hectic this year. But we were able to carve out some time and read The Gig Economy: The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off, and Financing the Life You Want.
And we're glad we did. The book provides a wealth of excellent "how to" advice on succeeding at independent work.
The author, Diane Mulcahy, is a Senior Fellow at the Kauffman Foundation and an Adjunct Lecturer at Babson College where she teaches an MBA course on the gig economy.
Mulcahy packages up the information from her MBA course in this book, and at only $16 ($11 if you buy the Kindle version), it's a a whole lot cheaper than taking her class at Babson.
The book covers a range of topics, including:
- How to stop looking for a job and start looking for work.
- Why income security is the new job security and how to develop the skills it requires.
- Why diversification is the new climb up the corporate ladder and how to build the right, diversified work portfolio.
- How to create a Gig Economy financial plan that is flexible, low-‐leverage, aligned with personal values and addresses retirement.
- How to create a financial life built on accessing rather than owning things.
- How to manage time effectively and make the most of the variable work hours associated with Gig Economy work.
- How to take advantage of the variable work schedule in the Gig Economy to take more time off.
- How to create an exit strategy to quit your job.
- How to create a personal vision of success by shedding the employee mindset and reducing feelings of fear and risk that are associated with the Gig Economy.
We particularly liked the section on risk reduction. Our research consistently shows most Americans fear the risks associated with becoming self-employed.
We also liked the sections discussing creating a portfolio of gigs and using gigs to experiment with new business ideas and models.
The book also does a nice job describing the trends driving the gig economy and why more people are turning to independent work. See the book for details.
The Gig Economy is well worth reading for anyone considering becoming an independent worker.
We also think experienced and successful independent workers will find useful, new information in this book.
We were somewhat surprised that someone from the Kauffman Foundation would write such a book.
Kauffman has historically shown little interest in the gig economy and independent work. This appears to be changing, which is yet another signal that the gig economy is entering the mainstream.
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