Creators was a great rebrand for many freelancers, and they’re building longevity

This article was first published on Business Insider, check it out here https://www.businessinsider.com/vc-mercedes-bent-creator-economy-booming-after-pandemic-2021-6

Freelancers. Gig workers. Creators. Self-employed. The blossoming of overlapping terms to describe independent workers is yet another sign of a major shift happening in the global workforce: the shift toward a majority self-employed world.

In a few years, if your sole form of income is from a traditional employer (i.e., you aren’t self-employed), you very well may be in the minority.

If you’re a GenZer, this is already becoming the new norm: 50% of working GenZers freelanced in the last year.

According to Freelancers Union, at current rates of growth, the overall US workforce will be majority freelance by 2027.

This survey was done pre-pandemic, before 20 million people lost their jobs — nearly 15% of the workforce. The pandemic accelerated these trends, adding 2 million freelancers in 2020. Many of them became creators.

This is not just about your 15-year-old niece lip syncing to Dua Lipa on TikTok. Today more than 50 million people globally consider themselves creators, according to seed investment firm Signalfire.

Just over 2 million of them generate six-figure incomes on sites like YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch. YouTube’s new $100 million shorts fund is likely to spawn many more.

And the creator economy is still in its infancy. Kids who started out in middle school wanting to be the next Issa Rae, Seth Rogen, or Oprah are now 18 to 22 years old and earning incomes for the first time. They’re just beginning to understand how to effectively rent out their time and audience.

Please read the rest of my article on Business Insider where it was first posted https://www.businessinsider.com/vc-mercedes-bent-creator-economy-booming-after-pandemic-2021-6