The real reason millennials venture into freelancing

Ra-ees Moerat

Being able to produce various income streams, can have a generous impact on your money matters. A mere R5,000 extra income each month could go a long way in minimising debt or increasing small investments that you may have.

We often hear our family members and peers talking about the importance of ‘diversifying our investments’ as a means of secondary income, but diversifying your income streams should be the primary objective, especially during this difficult economic climate in which we find ourselves.

Along with that, we have seen a clear boom surrounding the freelance industry in South Africa. Many of us allude to the idea that, because it’s a struggle to find permanent employment in this country, people are forced to venture into freelancing. But, what if you were told that more and more South Africans are choosing the freelance lifestyle on their own accord? Managing your own time, being your own boss and being in control of your own schedule, sounds like a very attractive way of life - and people are doing it!

Freelancers are usually experts/skilled professionals in a niche area. You can find them in every area of expertise, from HR managers and lawyers to creatives like graphic designers, photographers, PR and social media specialists, to copywriters and bloggers/influencers/brand ambassadors or journalists.

The side hustle

Other freelancers are referred to as ‘side-hustlers’, a term which is self-explanatory; people who run side hustles, apart from their full-time job as a secondary income stream. Some of which you would never believe could, in fact, be lucrative such as, dog walkers, karate instructors, babysitters and piano tuners, to name a few.

Online recruiters are starting to pick up on this trend and big tech companies like JobVine, have even developed a complete department purely dedicated to freelancers and side-hustlers, called JobVine Freelance.

Just like securing permanent employment is not easy, getting a freelance contract can be even harder. That is why it is important to seek out platforms on which you can promote yourself as a freelancer - and where you know employers and recruiters will visit, specifically to seek freelance talent.

#FairnessFirst: Freelancers, are you getting paid enough and on time?

Leigh Andrews  22 Oct 2018

According to a PWC report titled '[[https://www.pwc.com/co/es/publicaciones/assets/millennials-at-work.pdf Millennials At Work]', by 2020, only 50% of millennials will make up the formal global workforce. Instead, they’ll choose the life of a freelancer, because this lifestyle allows them to have multiple income streams/secondary income, within a culture that they’ve created for themselves...to put that into perspective, it's next year!

And even though millennials prefer to make a decent amount of money, best believe they will leave their full-time jobs if they’re unhappy with the company culture and start promoting themselves as freelancers. It is time that employers jump on this.