Chapter 6
The Rise of the Gig Economy
Michael’s description of this chapter:
Did you ever have that friend who had a full-time job but in the evenings would invite you to see him perform at a bar? I have a friend like that. His name is Paul David, and to this day, I still find him one of the most interesting people I know. He would say, “After work tonight, come by the CopaCabana and catch my gig.” He was always doing gigs every week. I wondered where he got the energy to do it. I thought, Wow, this guy really knows how to maximize his downtime. Now imagine a lot of people starting to do side hustles in their spare time. You don’t need to imagine anymore, as it’s happening right now. Welcome to the gig economy.
“There is no downside to a side hustle. There are only benefits to building more than one source of income. A side hustle is the new job security.”—Forbes
In this chapter I discuss the concept of the Gig Economy. This economy is one of the fastest growing economies as it includes freelancers, contractors, consultants, coaches, and anyone making an extra dollar in their part time. Websites like Fiverr or Upwork have allowed people from all over the world to participate in the Gig Economy and so can you. No longer are the excuses as to why you can’t start your own business in today’s world apply. The Gig Economy is open to everyone and this chapter opens the door for you to enter.
- What is the Gig Economy and why does it matter to you?
- Old excuses don’t apply here— no excuses, just pivot!
- Lack of Resources
- Lack of Knowledge
- Lack of Time
- Lack of Confidence
- Fear is a lie!
- How I pivoted: Amanda Chen, Founder, The Salty Paloma
Contributing Author:
Amanda Chen
Founder of Salty Paloma
Amanda Chen is obsessed with uncovering the truth behind why we are the way we are. A
huge advocate for women entrepreneurship, she spends her time empowering women to live
life on their own terms by challenging the status quo and gaining the courage to conquer their
fears.
Amanda recently launched a new Podcast called the Miss Amanda Chen Show that will focus
on uncovering how our sexuality affects our ideas of self worth based on the reactions of
people we interact with. With over 10 years of experience in digital content and journalism, she
now seeks to use her skills in research and storytelling to empower others to have real
conversations about themselves and what they truly want in life.
The first season of the Miss Amanda Chen Show is called #100MaskedMen, where Amanda
will interview 100 anonymous men about their views on masculinity and how the attention from
women contribute to their feelings of success or failure as a man. As a huge advocate for
women empowerment she now realizes the power in providing two sides to the story and
hopes to bring out new perspectives that define how we view our self worth and how to
overcome our insecurities so we can be less affected by the actions of others and have a
stronger self awareness.
Amanda founded Salty Paloma in 2018 with a desire to create a brand for herself. Salty Paloma
began as a line of naturally flavoured salts and sugars designed specifically for cocktails. She
soon realized there was a huge demand to make mixology more accessible to people at home
and began operating open-level cocktail classes for cocktail enthusiasts. Over the past year
Salty Paloma cocktail classes became one of the top “things to do” in Toronto with top reviews
on AirBnB Experiences and was one of the first experience businesses to participate in Indigo’s
online gifting platform, Thoughtfull.
Amanda has been known to be the bold, courageous, fearless leader that never accepts the
first “no” as the final answer. She actively seeks multiple opportunities to reach her goals and
feels grateful to be the source of strength for the women in her life. She aims to add more
fairness, kindness and equality in the world and restore the balance between men and women
by sharing as many stories and perspectives she can find.
Facebook: @missamandachen
Instagram: @missamandachen
Twitter: @missamandachen
Email: missamandachen@gmail.com
Salty Paloma
So what makes us different? We like lime just fine, but lime salts have been done. (So done.) Citrus is perfect in cocktails – but if we were going to bring another rimmer into this world, we wanted it to be unlike anything we’d ever tasted. A few grapefruits later…nailed it.
As for our collection of flavours, our OG salt will always be Fiesta, the original with lime and grapefruit. But you can’t cocktail like you mean it with just one rimmer. Enter Heartbreaker – raw cane sugar with grapefruit, for those with a sweet side, and Dynamite – the bad gyal of the bunch, with dark chocolate and a kick of chili.
And we couldn’t leave out our love for mojitos, so we’ve got fresh Havana here with raw cane sugar, grapefruit, lime and mint. Last but not least, Maria, our spicy Caesar rimmer for all your brunch needs.