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The phrase “gig economy” points to a work environment that involves short-term employment. It is different from traditional employment in that projects aren’t permanent. The jobs differ in length, involvement, and scope. Freelance workers jump in the “gigging” pool for various reasons: unemployment, to supplement their income; achieve flexibility, and constant change.

In South Africa, the gig economy has taken hold in recent years as parts of unemployed and informal workers move into semi-formalized work through online platforms. In addition to generating new work opportunities, gig platforms provide a channel to understand the financial needs of the people who make up the gig economy.

Launching a side hustle, especially following the global social and economic turmoil rendered by Covid-19, has never been more important. The gig economy creates an alternative source of income for many people outside of their traditional jobs. And exploring the gig economy is also an opportunity to turn your skills into a long-term career.

When you have skills that add value to other people, you should be making money from sharing them. For example, the ability to plan and stage successful events is valuable to the people and businesses that have events on their calendars. Gig Culture is a start-up example in the events space bringing value to brands, businesses, and people. Thinking through the value of your talent(s) is the first step to working in the gig economy.

Let’s explore how you can lunch and promote your skills.

Learn what makes your work valuable

The ultimate goal is to make a comfortable living doing what makes you happy and productive. It could be proofreading and editing words; online gaming, writing and designing slide decks for corporate executives, cooking, or anything else you have a strong knack for.

You need to think about what makes you stand out from other people who do the same work. To develop a unique selling proposition, ask yourself:

How do I stand out?

How do I make myself irreplaceable?

How do I learn the skills and master the technique of my work?

How do I become an artist at my trade?

How do I become helpful to people and build an audience (customers)?

Once you start looking at and working on yourself this way, you’ll soon learn the monetary value that your presence/skills provide for other people.

Create a portfolio of your work and refine your online presence

In the process of identifying the ‘secret sauce’ of your talent, there is a need to build a personal brand. This is a story about you, the reasons you do your work, how you do it and what work have you have done before.

A portfolio and a strong online presence are your allies in helping you land clients.

To achieve this, you can create a blog/website; write a slide presentation detailing your work and level of experience and distribute it to potential customers. And as you make progress, you might even consider boosting your brand awareness and credibility with a logo, a video channel, branded document templates for your proposals, invoices, etc.

Find projects/clients

Thanks to the Internet, joining the gig economy is not as hard as it used to be. You can connect with prospective clients from different parts of the world from anywhere you might be.

Begin by spreading word to your close network: family, friends, and colleagues. Let them know that you are open for work, what type of projects you are looking for, and what you offer.

Share your story, vision and ideas on your blog or social media pages. And to get attention on social and build an audience, aim to educate and help. The more people who get value from your content, the more you can build an engaged audience that routinely returns to hear what you have to say. In the process, don’t hesitate to share your work and ideas – you’ll gather insights you never thought of and build relationships.

As you develop your client base and produce quality work, those clients will refer you to others in their own networks. Before you know it, you will be ready to switch to being a full-time freelancer.

Which jobs qualify for the gig economy?

The advantage about working independently is that it’s entirely your choice what type of work you want to do.

In the gig economy, there are a variety of professionals: market researchers, legal and business consultants, project managers, game concept designers, data analysts, IT support, etc. The point is that if there is a channel to communicate and deliver the work to the client, you are in business.

According to Upwork, an online network that connects freelancers to employers, common freelance jobs include: design and creative; web, mobile and software developer; administrative support specialist; writer; translator; accounting/finance/consulting professional; IT and networking professional; sales/marketing/customer service professional; lawyer/paralegal; engineer; architect; and data science/analytics specialist.

The gig economy challenges

Being a freelancer comes with a few concerns. This includes access to affordable healthcare, a healthy savings account, retirement funds, and being compensated fairly for work.

Upwork says that 89% of freelancers wish their education prepared them for the gig economy work. If they were to return to the classroom, 52% of them say they would replace their traditional college education entirely with training tailored to their current work.

On the same report, 81% of the freelancers have figured out that freelance business skills are essential to their work and would appreciate additional training. The top three areas they would benefit from additional training on are:

• Networking
• Financial planning
• New skills in their industry
• How to start and grow a freelance career

And because working independently involves managing relationships, pitching and marketing, 78% of the freelancers mentioned that soft skills are as equally important as the technical skills in order to succeed in their work.

The beginning of the year comes with many reflections, goals, and most importantly, preparation. Some are waiting in anticipation and preparing to go to university for the time this year or even start a new job. And this may come with certain requirements such as the ability to use a computer. As some of you will know, having basic computer literacy skills makes it easier to complete some tasks and increase the rate of productivity.

What is computer literacy?

In the simplest terms, the ability to know how to use a computer. Your computer literacy can be determined by the level of familiarity and expertise you have with computers. This includes knowing how to operate software programs, platforms and other computer programs commonly used in different types of institutions and settings.

For example, certain software skills are more commonly desired in different fields. If you’re a computer programmer, you may be required to know various coding languages like Python, Javascript, SQL, or HTML5, among others. For many who are not into software development or have aspirations of being a developer, this might seem very foreign but for instance, those who are applying for positions in administrative assistance will likely need to be computer literate and have some experience with Microsoft Office tools like Word, Outlook, and Excel (i.e. basic computer skills).

Before getting to the more “complex” aspects of computers, you have to start with simple basics such as knowing how to switch a computer on and off. This might seem like unnecessary or irrelevant information to someone who has been exposed to computers from a very young age but believe it or not, at some point, even the best computer boffins didn’t know how to switch on a computer at some stage. Basics may include typing, knowing the different computer parts, and learning keyboard commands.

Computer Literacy skills

Before anyone starts panicking, the good news is that computer literacy can be learned and transferred which becomes computer literacy skills.

Computer skills categories: Hardware and Software

Hardware skills speak to the physical aspect of operating a computer. This includes the ability to switch on and off your devices. Knowing which part is which and what its purpose is. This can include more complex aspects such as connecting machines to the network, changing and fixing parts of devices. On the other hand, Software skills help you use computer programs and applications efficiently.

Two of the most popular software programs are Microsoft Office or G Suite which has programs including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access. It is important to understand that different programs serve different purposes. For example, Word Processors such as Word and Google Docs are used for producing digital documents whilst Excel and Google Sheets are for organizing data, budgeting, and counting numbers because of the easiness of the spreadsheet.

Why is it important to be computer literate?

• A pre-requisite to participate in the new world (i.e. the digital world or 4IR)

A big portion for most careers or even getting through university will require the use of computers as a part of completing daily tasks. It, therefore, becomes important to know how to operate a computer and why it’s important. Most jobs now require the use of computers, mobile devices, or software applications in some capacity. Some employers will require prior knowledge or experience with specific applications, while others will offer on-the-job training.  Secondly, having a foundational understanding of computers makes it easier to learn advanced programs as needed by the course that you are studying or the organization that you work for.

• Efficiency and productivity

One of the big benefits of being a computer literate person is that you can become more efficient and productive at a quicker rate. For example, if you are an employee, you can produce more work in a shorter period of time, freeing up time to do other tasks. If you are a student it would be more efficient for you to type all your assignments on the computer compared to writing them out freehand.

• Better communication

Another positive for computer literacy is the ability to improve communications, especially if you are familiar with emails. If you’re a student, you can easily connect with lecturers, fellow mates, share notes and other documents. If you’re an employee, this means you can have more streamlined communication with clients and your colleagues. Most companies use communication and collaboration tools to help with communication. These project management tools can range from Slack, Asana, Trello and JIRA. Therefore, if you can’t use a computer, this means you will also struggle to navigate the workplace with these tools.

How to improve your computer literacy?

• Practice, practice, practice

Practice makes perfect. One of the best pieces of advice you can get regarding improving your computer literacy is to just keep practicing. For example, if you want to learn how to type faster, set out 30 minutes every day to just type religiously and time yourself.

• Set SMART goals and commit

You need to remember that only learning the skill is not sufficient. You need to set smart goals to become better and good. For example, if you take 50 minutes to complete a PowerPoint presentation, keep practicing and aim for 40 minutes next time. 

• Register for a short course

It goes without saying that before learning any technical skill, you will need a fundamental skill of how to use a computer. Taking a proactive approach to educating yourself might be your best bet. There are several computer training academies out there such as Silulo Training Academy. If you’re completely new to the computing world, you can try in-person learning or if you just want to improve a skill, you can try online courses. Sites like Lifewire have good tutorials and blog posts on how to improve your computer literacy. Companies like Standard Bank, Microsoft SA, and Pioneering Solution Studio have partnered to help anyone become digital literate for free (visit: www. icted.online and select Microsoft Digital Literacy V4 or v5, register and then get started).

You can also find free introductory courses on sites like Khan Academy and Coursera.

• Ask someone to teach you

If you know of anyone who might be willing to give you a few lessons and teach you some basics, perhaps you should consider approaching them. Asking won’t hurt and it might require less complication than traveling for an in-person course to an institution or worrying about the data for an online course.