Is Freelancing Right for You?

Jan 14 (edited) in 💬 General

Naval Ravikant, co-founder of AngelList and well respected entrepreneur and investor, thinks that we are heading towards a future where we will all be freelancers again.

He offers valuable insights into why this shift might occur

Factors such as the rise of remote work, the emergence of freelance platforms, advancements in AI technology, and evolving cultural norms are all contributing to the gradual transformation of the work landscape, working together to reduce external transaction costs.

Naval also makes a fair point about humans not being built to work consistently all the time and still be expected to remain productive. Quality of work output is not linear.

He describes how the "modern knowledge worker athlete" is most productive. Which involves training hard, sprinting, resting, and reassessing, then using the feedback loop to prepare for the next sprint. Similar to how freelancers move from project to project.

If you purely look at the numbers, Naval might be onto something here.

According to a recent study by Upwork:

Freelancers made a significant contribution of $1.27 trillion to the U.S. economy in annual earnings in 2023, which is a substantial increase from $713 billion in 2014.
The study also revealed that the number of professionals freelancing has risen to nearly 64 million Americans, accounting for 38% of the U.S. workforce. This marks a noticeable growth from 34% in 2014.

I've been freelancing for a decade, so I might be a bit biased, but I agree with Naval's perspective on the future of work.

What do you think? Will the number of freelancers continue to increase in the future?

And have you ever considered freelancing? What's holding you back?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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