See Why 70% of Gen Zers Are Thinking About Starting This Type of Business

The past few years of pandemic, economic upheaval, work from home, and big changes in everyday life have also brought an upsurge of interest in entrepreneurship. Millions of Americans have started a business or started a side hustle while holding down a full-time job. This entrepreneurial spirit is especially evident with the youngest generation in the workforce: Generation Z.

A recent survey from online talent platform Fiverr found that 70% of Gen Zers are actively freelancing or plan to in the future. This is a huge figure that shows how important independent work, flexible schedules, and entrepreneurial upside can be to young people today.

Let’s look at a few reasons why Gen Zers are interested in starting a business as freelancers — and how you can get inspired to make more money and have more fun in your career.

Gen Z: Generation Freelance?

A recent survey of 5,000 Gen Zers in the U.S. and 10,000 Gen Zers worldwide, conducted by Fiverr in partnership with Censuswide, found that today’s young professionals are more interested in freelancing than full-time jobs. Nearly 70% of all Gen Zers are already working as freelancers, or want to in the future. In the U.S., over 70% of Gen Z respondents said they are “thinking more about freelancing” compared to last year.

Here are a few intriguing insights into why Gen Z wants to freelance.

Building better job security with freelancing

Although the job market in 2024 is still going strong with a 4% unemployment rate, younger workers have been more vulnerable to recent corporate layoffs. The Fiverr survey found that layoffs are top of mind for Gen Z: 10% of respondents said they were let go from a job, and another 14% said they’re afraid to be.

This desire for job security is making freelancing more appealing to Gen Z:

• 38% of U.S. Gen Zers told Fiverr’s survey that they believe “freelancing full-time gives them the power of never getting laid off”
• About 36% of Gen-Zers see freelancing as a good back-up option in case of losing a job
• Nearly 25% of Gen Z respondents say that they think “freelancing is more stable than a traditional full-time job”

Freelancing can be stressful, and there’s no guarantee of having a paycheck from month to month. But at its best, freelancing gives you a well-diversified “portfolio” of income. If you get your money from multiple clients and projects per month, your income is more resilient against setbacks and shocks. With a traditional job, you could be laid off and lose 100% of your income at any time for reasons beyond your control.

Freelancing for life: Designing a flexible lifestyle

Another reason why Gen Zers want to be freelancers, according to the Fiverr Gen Z survey, is that it gives them flexibility and better control over where and how to work. Many Gen Zers don’t want to go back to the office after the pandemic; they want to work remotely and work from anywhere. And instead of making excessive sacrifices for companies that lay them off, Gen Zers want a flexible life.

Here are a few “lifestyle reasons” why Gen Z wants to become freelancers:

• Nearly 30% of Gen Z respondents want to travel for work and work from wherever they want
• 29% of American Gen Zers want full control over return-to-office policies
• 28% of American Gen Zers prefer a hybrid work environment
• 25% of American Gen Zers want to own their own business
• Nearly 20% of Gen-Zers believe that “companies have no loyalty to employees anymore”
• 20% say they work to live, and don’t “live to work”, an increase of 3% over 2023

Being a freelancer is a great way of life, because it lets you be a digital nomad. You can work from anywhere, with low overhead costs. You don’t need to pay for an expensive retail storefront or restaurant food costs or brick-and-mortar office rent and utility bills. As a freelancer, you can work from a cozy home office, from a beloved local coffee shop, from a laptop at a shared workspace, from the center of a bustling international city, or from a laid-back beachfront hotel. Is it any wonder that this active, mobile, dynamic, colorful freelance life sounds better to Gen Zers than sitting in a gray cubicle for 40-plus hours per week?

Bottom line

Freelancing can be a marvelous way to work and live your life. Be sure to form an LLC to make your business “real” in the eyes of the tax authorities, and help protect yourself from the worst-case scenarios of being in business. Open a business checking account (and business credit card) so you can separate your business expenses from your personal finances. And be prepared to hire an accountant (or pay extra for small business tax software) to help you with the complexities of small business taxes.

But if you’re serious about working for yourself, and you’re willing to hustle hard and learn fast, being a freelancer is a great way to start a business. Freelancing can give you the best of both worlds — financial security like a corporate job, but with the location-independent personal freedom of a creative professional.

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