Member-only story
I’m not a “creator” or “gig-worker” — I’m a freelancer
Self-employment is more than delivering meals or acquiring followers on Instagram.
Why is a freelance career still difficult to describe? Are we so stuck in the 1950’s paradigm of employment that some people can’t fathom alternative career paths? Or, even worse, we lump all freelancers into the same trendy terms of gig workers and content creators?
When asked what I do, I say “I run my own design business”. Otherwise, if I say I’m a freelancer, I risk having conversations like this:
“So you’re a gig-worker. Do you drive for Uber?”
Um, nope.
“Ah, then you must be a youtube creator or influencer!”
Sorry, not even close.
“Then how do you make money?”
Is it really that hard to imagine that I provide valuable services to clients who pay me in return?
First the “gig economy” and now the “creator economy” have blown up in the media to the extent that people believe that’s all that freelancing is. Those are the choices for self-employment.
Except, they aren’t. And those of us who’ve built real freelance careers don’t want to fit into those narrow flavour-of-the-month boxes. So…
