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What’s Your Side Gig?

It’s no longer a question of “Do you have a side gig?”, it’s become a question of “What’s your side gig?”

I remember working my way through high-school and the first question I always got from people was “What are you going to do when you finish school?” Fair question I guess and I had clarity for my age around what I intended to do as my lifetime career of choice. I was going to teach high school.

So off to University I went to get my degree in Education and I followed that path that took me to working 10 enjoyable years in the Education System. In 2003 I could feel the economic pressure of trying to live the lifestyle both Kari-Lyn and I wanted for our family but couldn’t afford and I started to look for opportunities to pivot into a different career. Business perhaps? What did I know of this? Nothing…. but my path took me to accepting a sales job in the Pet Industry and I quickly climbed their well laid out corporate ladder to key positions where eventually I was recruited out of that position to lead a high-performance external sales division in an industry leading distribution company.

Each time I pivoted into another opportunity to grow both emotionally and financially, I realized that even though I was achieving to the top of my game and the top rung of the “ladder”, I was still falling short of the lifestyle I truly wanted to create for myself and my family. I wanted more. More time, more health, more finances and more certainty that our kids were able to be set up for the future that was upon us.
So, what’s the point??

The point is that we’ve come upon a time in our economy more than ever before that people like us are not just looking for secondary income to fulfill our life’s desires but we need it. Gone are the days of getting a good job, working a solid 40-year career so we could live off a pension that pays 40% of what we couldn’t live off before. And here are the days of the emerging “YOU ECONOMY”. With “You” being the operative word. While many complain about the lack of opportunities to get a job in today’s market, I believe there has never been a better opportunity to create something on your own. And the most respected economists tend to agree.

Brian Chesky, Co-Founder of AIRBNB has said “we’re living in a world where people can become businesses in 60 seconds” and he’s right. Have you ever opted for an Uber ride over a traditional taxi? Stayed at an AIRBNB instead of an overpriced hotel? Sold something online? Bought a Tupperware container or piece of Jewelry from a now entrepreneurial friend? It’s happening everywhere, in fact currently 33% of US household adults currently have received and income in the You Economy and renowned economist Paul Zane Pilzer forecasts that number to increase to over 50% of the current workforce participating by the year 2020.

There are limitless directions a person can go with this but starting up a venture on your own can be a formidable, intimidating and costly project. In fact, in a poll of young entrepreneurs asked “why not go solo”, 42% offered lack of resources, 20% offered “fear of failure”, 20% offered “fear of uncertainty” and 18% stated it “wasn’t the right time” which in my experience means a combination of the previous three reasons.

With this is consideration, many new and emerging entrepreneurs are turning to the Direct Sales Industry for opportunities to build on a brand that is organized and backed by a larger, more established corporations who provide products and services backed by the latest research, fully funded and offer motivated entrepreneurs a well-rounded marketing platform that allows for individuality and structure at the same time. The beautiful thing about opportunities as a professional network marketer is that it’s a business that has low startup costs, no specialized knowledge required and you can earn an income as you develop the skills to grow a scalable and leveraged income that can create a lasting income for generations to come. Even famed investor and author of the “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” series Robert Kiyosaki says “If I had to do it all over again, rather than build an old-style type of business, I would have started a network marketing business.” And the late Jim Rohn, an iconic motivational speaker and network marketing professional stated “There are many steps between desire and riches. But you begin with desire. And that’s what’s phenomenal about network marketing. A chance to turn pennies into a fortune, a chance to turn nothing into something, a chance to truly make the American dream come true by participating in capitalism at the grassroots level.”

Kari-Lyn and I have participated in many vehicles within the You Economy already but I will add that our experience in Network Marketing has been the most rewarding by far to date. Aside from the financial reward for the effort and time invested, we have been blessed to have helped many others free themselves up from the financial burdens that hold them back from living their best life. We have also collected a wealth of friendships that are all in alignment with our values and who’s desire is also to leave the world a better place than when we found it. Years ago, one of our many mentors Jimmy Smith offered us a piece of wisdom around our money mindset. He told us that “poor people can’t help poor people” which inspired us to increase our financial blueprint to push past looking after our own family, but to also be able to freely offer support to the countless people in our world that struggle beyond measure. For us, it’s about playing a bigger game. What’s it for you?

So, in closing I ask you…. what’s your side gig?

Reference Article “Introducing the YouEconomy” from Success Magazine, June 10, 2016

www.success.com/introducing-the-youeconomy