Closing Out 2022, Industry Pulse Check, Personal Leadership Update
26% growth from 2021-2022, 90% of leaders prioritizing freelancers, yet 60% of Americans don’t have the risk profile of a freelancer.
Leaders,
First, a moment of gratitude for our guests, our freelancers, and you leaders. For our Christmas gift, our producer Ryan Mellinger made this incredible video (we literally didn’t know about it until 2 days before Christmas).
Second, I want to get kind of personal as we spring into 2023.
2022 was a year of maturity, burnout, and prioritization.
I’m no longer the young, single, entrepreneur that will move to SF, then Seattle, then Singapore over a weekend if there’s an opportunity. I’m now building a family, worrying about healthchare, and have consequences for what used to be “what’s the worst that happens” decisions.
For me personally, 2023 is the year of profitability, continued deep relationships, and continued impact over income (but being smart about long term financial decisions).
I’ll be releasing some really transparent articles to you this year.
Some about Venture L. From an angel raise, to a pre-seed, to a supposed acquisition, to eventually closing (with industry & product learnings that would’ve taken 5+ years in a traditional setting).
Some about taking on the mature part of life (family, healthcare, first home, etc) while being a freelancer and entrepreneur.
Most about scaling freelance applications and workforces.
Publicly I won’t tell you everything. But through our small curated communities you’ll learn every single mistake.
Third, we’re gunna stay boring yet informal and focus on those in the trenches. Our brand has always prioritized tactical over theoretical, direct over pretty, and transparent over ‘thought leadershipy’. This will only increase as we quantify expert insights through the pod and this newsletter.
Last, we really want you to get involved. Below are the 3 ways you can get involved immediately.
No matter who you are, grab the book, stay updated with the podcast, and let’s find ways to partner.
If you’re a leader bringing freelance applications, products, or talent pipelines into your company, connect with me on LinkedIn or follow The Human Cloud to stay updated and be featured (while the Twitter folk are loud, we’ll always be the boring B2B LinkedIn people).
If you’re a talent marketplace executive we’re leading a curated study group in partnership with Jon Younger for leaders that prioritize their freelancers. Would LOVE to see your app.
Industry Pulse Check
We’re crushing it, and as economies contract and companies layoff, contractors become a vital expense to keep productivity going.
Key Stats to know in your sleep:
The freelance economy is a $5.4 trillion dollar market (SIA)
2021 to 2022 saw 26% growth (Steve King of Emergent Research, his leader portal will release next week).
Most interesting, was that full time freelancers were the leading segment of growth.
90% of leaders are prioritizing independent workers (HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW)
33 million people freelanced in the US last year (SIA), 86.5 million people in the US will be independent freelancers by 2027 (STATISTA).
Yet 60% of Americans don’t have the risk profile of a freelancer (will discuss with Steve above this week)
Where Our Industry Needs To Go
We’re still the wild wild west and we’re only getting more complicated as more marketplaces appear. Open Assembly has the best graphic to show these 1,000+ solutions.
People understand Upwork and Fiverr, but the applications of freelancing are still misunderstood, largely unknown, and getting started is very hard.
What Needs To Change
The path to go from a $5.4 trillion dollar industry to a $10 trillion dollar needs:
Definition - how do define the talent, the solutions, and all stakeholders involved.
Standardization - how do companies engage 1,000+ freelancers in a secure and compliant way? Specifically what are common protocols for them to find, hire, onboard, and manage.
Scaling through collaboration - how can we collaborate rather than compete against each other?
Tip Of The Week
Keep it simple.
With our industry, this means sticking to the simple fact that remote, independent work models make more sense for most people.
Want to make this wicked simple? Check out the below graphic, credit to Steve Cadigan, LinkedIn’s first Chief HR Officer.
Let’s make it a great year y’all :)
- Luca and Matthew