Do these characteristics describe you and your work/life values?:
- I desire flexibility in my work (work hours, days, etc.). This is more important to me than the stability of a consistent check or the stable benefits a company can provide.
- I desire autonomy or control in how work gets done (when, where, etc.)
- Or to more bluntly sum up the above two bullets, quiet frankly I don’t like other people telling me what to do! I’d rather decide how things get done and be rewarded (or not rewarded) according to the outcomes I decide to achieve.
- I don’t mind taking risks
- I have a strong sense of what work is important for me in relation to my purpose and who I am.
If most of these characteristics describe you, then you may be designed to a free agent instead of an employee. People who seek an arrangement where a particular company does not employ them have been called many things from contractor, to freelancer to self-employed and the number of these types of workers is growing. Do you desire to be one of them? As both individuals and companies desire more flexibility in how work gets accomplished, the trend for a “Free Agent Nation” will continue.
If the above description fits you, how might you transition into yourself out of an employee role and into a role that allows you to more fully foster the personality and values that exhibit best who you are?
Here are some tips:
- Use the Power of 3 Worksheet to help you determine your mission/purpose. This helps you explore your talents, passions and values to set goals, create ideas and identify accountability partners to help you on your pursuits.
- After defining that purpose, explore avenues where you could live the purpose through providing a service or product that meets needs. Create of list of these ideas.
- Create a plan, complete with goals, to act on the path you have determined through your mission and ideas.
- Already doing work you enjoy, but just don’t like the structure that is required in being an employee? Talk to your current employer about how you might shift your relationship to an employer contractor model instead of an employer employee one. Come prepared with facts that will help show that it will create a win situation for the company.
- Explore websites that can act as platforms for you to pursue a free agent approach. Here are some:
- Etsy
- Udemy
- Google Helpouts
- Freelance.com
Are you a free agent by nature? What’s holding you back from pursuing this path?
