The Right Framework for Work in the New Economy
OdeCloud is aiming to reshape the way we work by building a new and improved framework within the On-Demand Economy.
But why, exactly, is such a process so necessary?
In 2017, a study commissioned by major freelancing platform, Upwork, and Freelancers Union found that 36% of the US workforce consisted of freelancers, showing an 8.1% increase in freelancers since 2014.
Should that rate continue to scale upward, the majority of the US workforce is expected to be made up of freelancers by 2027.
In the past few years, we have seen platforms like Upwork, Uber, Lyft, and Postmates grow exponentially in their number of subscribers, demonstrating the true potential of the Freelance Economy.
Most of these platforms are built with a very simple business model that addresses, for the most part, the average consumer’s basic needs: getting a ride, buying groceries, having food delivered, booking a dog sitter, etc.
But building the right economic framework for this new generation of workers presents at least one major challenge, which we’ll cover over the course of this article.
We can all agree that the way we have done work for the past 100 years (Taylorism and Fordism) will not fit the economy of the next 15 to 20 years. Companies operating in this new economy, characterized by cutting-edge technology and high growth, will not succeed with an organization of work designed 100 years ago.
Our ambition as OdeCloud is to provide the breadth and depth of expertise, on-demand, for these businesses to thrive.
Unfortunately, the primary challenge of building a freelance platform with the highest overall and long-term value for independent experts is that it incredibly complex and difficult to implement. While the Freelance Economy has continued to grow exponentially, the fact of the matter is expert workers are already in great demand in the job marketplace, and at least 64% of the US workforce is still more comfortable being employed conventionally.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that existing platforms chose to center their business models on providing lower, short-term value to the unemployed, as well as those making minimum wages. These platforms are not built to provide true long-term value for independent experts, who are constantly forced to lower their rates in order to compete with candidates who are considerably less qualified.
OdeCloud is positioning itself to solve the more complex challenge of providing better long-term value to the new generation of workers — regardless of an individual’s experience level.
To get to that level, not only do we have to be willing to go through the struggle of building a new economic framework, but we also have to make strides toward developing a new strategy for acquiring talent.
Issues aside, building this new framework presents a great opportunity to reshape and reorganize the way we work in this new economy…
…a new economy led by major breakthroughs in tech and high-growth industries.
In addition, I do not believe there is a one-size-fit-all solution. Every industry has their own specific needs and ways to operate in their own niche. Our approach to building this new framework for work is unique as we focus on enhancing the relationship between the freelancer and the client operating in a particular industry, geographic area and at a certain stage of its business growth cycle. Our key objective is to build a relationship of trust that could last way longer than just a few gigs, and help secure a recurring income for the freelancer. That is how we have solved the most important problem of income insecurity for NetSuite freelancers now working on the OdeCloud platform.
Thanks for reading!
In our my next article, I’ll go over what exactly motivates individuals to leave their jobs to become freelancers, and I’ll elaborate on how OdeCloud aims to help improve the Freelance Economy.
