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Welcome to the gig economy, where we’re making money with flexible work.
The gig economy: a labour market characterised by short-term contracts, freelance work, and temporary positions, allowing individuals to earn income through flexible, often digital platforms, rather than traditional full-time employment.
The most common gig work opportunities you’ll likely know about: Delivery services (e.g., Uber, Deliveroo), freelance writing and content creation, online tutoring and teaching, web/graphic design, social media management, pet-sitting/dog-walking, home repair services, photography/videography, and house cleaning.
Great! You could probably do a number of those. The problem with most common = most saturated. How do we find niche corners of the world that you can make money in?
Think of the gig economy as a more technologically advanced car boot:(Peckham is the best if you’re in the market for genuine car boots) instead of flogging old DVDs, overpriced kids tees as “baby tees”, and your nan's china — you're selling your skills and time. It's where office workers become evening entrepreneurs, and freelancers make a living with one project, task, foot picture or delivery at a time.
Take hypothetical Amy — by day, she's crunching numbers with finance bros in the city but evenings find her teaching maths to confused 10 year olds in their kitchen. Hypothetical Raj, who supports his teaching salary as a football coach on weekends, and finally hypothetical Rosina, who takes pictures of her feet for £20 a pic and sells them to strange people on the internet to help pay for her Depop addiction.
The beauty of the gig economy lies in its flexibility. You can sell foot pics any time of day! Whether you're a uni student trying to avoid a diet of bottom shelf vodka and pesto pasta, a parent seeking work that fits around the school run, or a retiree wanting to stay active there's likely a gig for you, even if LinkedIn success culture makes you feel like a failure if you’re not on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list! (Which if you didn’t already know, you have to SUBMIT yourself to, which makes it instantly less cool).
Ask yourself what are you actually good at?
In the hunt for the niche, we asked AI for a list of silly British gig economy roles and they were so ridiculous I left them in for your amusement. xx
- Pub quiz master
- Cricket pitch curator
- Royal memorabilia authenticator
- British etiquette consultant
- Narrowboat holiday planner
- Fish and chip shop reviewer
- London black cab tour guide
- Morris dancing instructor
- Afternoon tea setup specialist
- British weather forecasting app tester
- Queue management expert
- Tube station busker
- Wimbledon line judge (seasonal)
- Stonehenge solstice celebration organiser
- Brexit impact analyst for small businesses
It’s not all just cash, cash, cash. Gig work can mean unpredictable income and the intense need for self-motivation. The worst part of any idea is having to make it a reality. Read my experience of trying to sell my knickers online. Spoiler: unsuccessfully.
So, if you're looking to turn your free time into money and need to bridge the gap between your day job and your financial goals — let’s be honest, who isn’t right now? Join me on the journey through the gig economy. I’ll be writing about, and trialling and testing a bunch of ideas.
I will fail. I may succeed! Let’s fuck it up together.
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