10 Gig Economy Business Ideas to Start a New Business
A number of tenured workers found themselves at the heart of the gig economy after losing their positions due to company closures amid the pandemic. In the gig economy, companies favor hiring short-term and contractual workers over permanent ones, causing an imbalance to the labor market that has favored permanent workers for decades.
One cannot say with conviction if this type of economy is good or bad. But for those who have been in the gig economy for quite some time, it’s easy to spot and grab opportunities if you just know where to look.
Freelancing is heavily based on skills and networks. It’s normal for beginners to feel a little overwhelmed. But as long as you are armed with the right skills, and you are open to learning more things, you can grow your gig into a full-blown business or income source. Here are some business ideas to get you started:
Ridesharing Services
If you’re a freelancer who owns a vehicle at the same time, this is a great way to earn additional income as long as you’ve got the time to spare. Just make sure that you’re not prone to road rage since the busy streets and the not-so-friendly passengers can take a toll on your patience.
As one of the major sectors in the gig economy, you can choose to be an accredited driver for established ridesharing companies to have access to a wide range of clients. Drivers of ridesharing services can earn an average income of $25 to $35 an hour.
Sure, that seems like a good side hustle—but it is not really a business, isn’t it? Well, this is where your idea should come in. Once you’re familiar with how ridesharing works, you can study then tweak the process so you can launch your own ridesharing service.
✔ Learn about the Pros and Cons of Driving for Uber before starting your ridesharing gig
Delivery Services
Delivery services exponentially grew into a major service industry due to online shopping and e-commerce. And because a majority of workers and students these days are stuck at home, the demand for delivery services has grown even bigger.
Nowadays, anything that can be ordered online has to be delivered—from food, clothing, medicines, groceries—the list is endless. Some ridesharing drivers even accept delivery orders on the side.
If you want to engage in this service or convert it into your very own business, download ta popular delivery app and see how else you can improve it. Generally, the delivery is initiated as a customer completes an order online. The delivery staff is notified and will be assigned to deliver the item to the customer. Upon accepting the task, the delivery person picks up the item and transport it to the customer’s address.
Providing delivery services is generally a good idea, especially if you live in an area that needs more local-based deliveries. For example, you can partner with a homegrown café, restaurant, or mini-mart and run delivery services for them within your neighborhood. This service will be greatly appreciated, especially at a time when social distancing measures are still in place.
✔ Read more on starting a delivery service step-by-step
Personal Assistant Services
A lot of people are extremely busy doing multiple tasks at the same time. In other words, some people don’t have the time to sweat the small stuff such as walking the dog, cleaning the yard, checking home fixtures, doing minor carpentry works, and other similar tasks.
✔ Get inspiration for naming your dog company from our list of the best pet business names here
Most of these activities require special masonry, carpentry, or gardening skills. Some gigs, however, do not require specializations and skills. Examples of this are moving and lifting stuff, dog walking, personal shopping, or babysitting.
If you want to turn these services into a business, you can pool your friends and family members and then create a service where people near you can connect and make arrangements, or hire your team for assistance.
✔ Some personal tasks in the gig economy can be done remotely by virtual assistants. If you are organized and attentive to details check out this guide on how you can start your own virtual assistant business
Setup A Freelance Job Placement Agency
The gig economy favors talents who possess various skills, that’s a given. And as such, the demand for freelance or contract workers has exploded. If you have experience in being a virtual assistant and you know a group of people who have the same experience, a great business idea is to set up a virtual assistant consultancy or job placement agency.
While you can specialize in referring general virtual assistants, you can explore other sectors too. For example, you can refer paralegal, engineering, or accountancy assistants to highly-technical firms or individuals who need a reliable and tech-savvy secretary who is familiar with their field. Launching consultancy services is also a great business idea. You can earn by offering webinars, subscription e-mails, and creating instructional videos about your skill and expertise for a fee.
✔ Freelancing 101: Your Complete Guide to Starting Successful Freelance Work
Put Your Idle Properties To Good Use
Another way to earn additional income from the gig economy is to have your properties and assets rented out. There are home-sharing apps and online listings, like Redefy, that can help you connect with potential buyers or lessees. Aside from real properties, you can also offer rental services for cars, boats, heavy tools, outdoor equipment, and other valuable items that are not commonly bought by homeowners.
Set Up A Coworking Space
Speaking of rental spaces, another business idea that could work nowadays is setting up a coworking space for both freelance workers and tenured workers who are now working from home.
As you probably already know, many employees have a hard time keeping a work-life balance because of the work-from-home setup. Some get distracted by children and other family members who can’t keep voices down. Some are also easily tempted to just stay in bed and not work all day long.
With that said, you can offer a conducive and safe working space that can help these employees concentrate better at work. However, if you are going to do this, you have to ensure that social distancing measures are still in place and that the guests observe basic health protocols when they go inside the coworking space.
✔ Learn from the best: Check out this research about the top co-working spaces in the U.S.
Create A Content Writing Service
If you’re a certified wordsmith and have ample experience as a content writer, blogger, social media manager, e-book writer, product description writer, and proofreader, you may offer your services to enterprise owners who need these services to scale their business.
Again, you don’t have to do this alone. If you want to make a business idea out of this skill, you need to team up with a group of other writers and content creators too. This way, your services can accommodate more niches and provide other content-related services such as editing, data entry, video production, animation, and social media services.
✔ Learn how to start your own content writing business
Establish A Web Development And Design Agency
If you are more into web design and development, then you may opt to establish your own agency for this service too. The gig economy is always open for those who love the arts and technology. Online businesses don’t just need content to compete in the digital age, they need visuals too.
Web designers are perpetually in demand nowadays, as their skills are needed in creating, improving, and maintaining a website. This includes brand logo designers. Once again, you may pool a group of capable designers who can offer a range of web design and development services for various clients.
✔ Get these 13 tools for running a successful web design agency
Engage In Online Selling
If you want to take your marketing skills to the next level, engaging in online selling is a good idea. If you think you can create and supply a product that could address a unique need or demand, then go for it.
Whether you want to open an e-store or sign up as a seller on various e-commerce platforms, it’s all up to you. Take note that there are specialized online stores nowadays and you may want to check them out first to assess which one works for you.
In most cases, having an online store while maintaining an account with other e-commerce platforms is the best way to reach a high number of clients—especially if you are still starting out. It’s also a good rule to check and assess who your competitors are, so you will know how best to position yourself in the market.
✔ Check out this large list of profitable reselling businesses you can start online
Establish A Tutorial Service
Young students are taking online classes these days, so why not offer tutorial services too? This could work if you have a teaching background, and most especially if you like kids. Since the majority of parents are working remotely nowadays, you can instead offer personal online tutorial services that can help their children review for exams, quizzes, and accomplish homework.
You can also offer to help the kids review for standardized tests for an additional fee (of course). Again, if you want to turn this into a business, you have to team up with a number of good educators who can help you provide quality tutorial services to a range of clients.
✔ Learn How to Start a Profitable Home Tutoring Business here →
The Final Cut
The gig economy is here to stay, and so are the endless opportunities that would come from it. The great thing about being in the gig economy is that you can hone your skills and eventually start your own business once you have garnered enough experience and networks. Yet, it’s essential to remember that gig economy liabilities also come into play, requiring careful attention and management.
Although the gig economy is often associated with supplementary income or part-time work, it provides ample opportunity for exploration and growth as an astute professional. Given the appropriate ideas, skills, and know-how, you have every possibility of flourishing as an entrepreneur in this modern working landscape.
✔ Want more small business ideas? Check out this list of 1001 Profitable Small Business Ideas to Start Today →
Disclaimer: The content on this page is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. If you have specific questions about any of these topics, seek the counsel of a licensed professional.
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