Self-Starters will Rule the Future

You may be part of the Independent Class, if…

You are a self-starter.

You may or may not earn most of your income as an independent contractor, but if you have chosen to hone the skill set of self-starting… you’re well on your way.

“You cannot push any one up a ladder unless he be willing to climb a little himself.” — Andrew Carnegie.

This is even more true in the case of the Independent Class. As the world of work changes and more traditional jobs go the way of the dinosaur (and with them a predictable monthly income, insurance, and benefits), we will see two groups emerge, in stark contrast.

First: A group of the formerly employed who do not know, or care, how to make it in this new world of radical autonomy.

As their jobs disappear, they will sink into depression, or return to a state of apathy. Whether from ignorance, or simply not caring, both parties will be forced to rely on outside forces for their livelihood, be it a universal income, family and friends, or governments creating large-scale projects for redundant workers.

Thankfully some of these formerly employed workers, though used to the traditional model, will use this experience to level-up and join the second group… but this will take education, and a mental toolbox that includes both marketable skill sets and psychological grit.

Second: A group who whether they like it or not, is determined to thrive in this new world of work.

They will either hone hyper-specific skill sets that are needed by the businesses’ and groups who need human-help. Or, they will create new opportunities for themselves and others, through entrepreneurship and innovation.

Adaptability and the willingness to always be learning new things — regardless of their age, or seniority in a specific field, will mark these members of the Independent Class. They will be triple threats, merging one thing they can excel at with one to two other skill sets that compliment each other and make their particular “professional DNA” unusual and more likely to be in demand.

The second group is called the Independent Class. This is a global tribe that consists of people who through desire, or need, have chosen to pursue a career where at least part of their income comes from working on contracts, in the U.S. the tax-code for this type of worker is a 1099, also called an independent contractor.

But the Independent Class is not just defined by the work they do, many also believe in the importance of autonomy across multiple aspects of their lives.

—Financial Independence.

—Emotional Independence.

—Location Independence.

—Independence of thought and beliefs, which comes with the opposition to tyranny in all of it’s forms.

Not all members of the Independent Class observe all of the tenants. The IC is an open community. You can pick and choose from it what you like, as long as the core tenant of independence and freedom — for all — is observed. No one can have true independence through the persecution of others, in any form.

Alternately, true independence, or freedom, takes one committing to extreme ownership of their world. There is no if/then thinking, or waiting on circumstances to align with your goal. Extreme ownership of your world harkens back to our hunter/gatherer roots. That being said, communities are built around the idea that everyone can contribute something, but that the strong should aid the weak, and so on.

This is where the community side of IN|DE comes in, and personally the part of this whole new world that I am most excited about.

IN|DE’s big vision is to be a home for the Independent Class.

Even though IN|DE stands for Independent, by Design, we still deeply believe in the human need for community, belonging and kinship. Remote, gig and freelance work can often feel lonely, there are a lot of logistics from health insurance to retirement savings to maternity/paternity “leave” that aren’t fully understand by most independent workers.

But as a community of Independents, we can band together, help those who have questions and needs, while getting the support we need.

What does that look like? We don’t know right now, our ragtag team is still small, as more IC join us we’ll have the community itself help shape the vision.

To honor that, while building something that eventually can have a large, global impact, we’re starting by creating services aimed at solving growing businesses’ needs, while being powered by the Independent Class.

Because we believe the best way to bring people together is through good work.

Our first service is called: Recruit. It’s focused on helping startups hire the best people for the right roles, by optimizing, and managing their hiring funnels until they a need a fullblown in-house team.

So please Join us…

Request a consultation to see how we can help your business hire here.

Or,

Join us as part of the Independent Class (we’re currently looking for domain experts!), on our Slack Channel or Facebook page. Just message me directly to be added: maren at inde dot co.