The Free Agency Revolution

Written by Janet Ilacqua


The Free Agency Revolution

"I am as cool - or uncool - as my project. Period. My projects are my life. My projects are my legacy. Period." Tom Peters, Author ofrepparttar Project 50

What is a Free Agent? Anyone who defines themselves as self-employed, freelancer, temp, home-based businessperson, independent contractor, solo practitioner, and operator of a micro-business (that is, a business employing less than 3) is considered to be a Free Agent. Today, there are approximately 33 million Free Agents across North America, which represents approximately one in every five people inrepparttar 122992 workforce. Freelancers vs. independent contractors vs. temp Quite simply, a freelancer is an independent contractor who earns his or her living by contracting for projects on a project by project basis. A freelancer is not an employee of anyone and so he or she must actively seek out work, negotiaterepparttar 122993 terms and conditions ofrepparttar 122994 project (the contract) and completerepparttar 122995 work torepparttar 122996 satisfaction ofrepparttar 122997 client. Oncerepparttar 122998 project is complete,repparttar 122999 freelancer seeks out and enters into another contract for another project. A freelancer becomes a microbusiness when they obtain a business license. Independent contractor is a legal term for a freelancer. The importance is that independent contractors are covered by different labors than regular employees. Consultant, often a euphemism for unemployed white-collar worker, is now a common label for independent workers. Freelancers are not exactly a twenty-first century innovations. Writers, artists, and photographers gave worked this way for decades. And bothrepparttar 123000 idea of freelancing andrepparttar 123001 term itself are even older, dating back torepparttar 123002 Middle Ages andrepparttar 123003 bands of Italian and French mercenaries who roamed Europe looking for a war. These so-called free companions would fight for any sovereign and march under any banner ifrepparttar 123004 price is right. When this notion migrated to England, some British subjects began calling these rent-a-knights “free-lances.” They weren’t free of charge, just free of loyalty Onrepparttar 123005 other hand, temporary agencies hirerepparttar 123006 temporary worker and then sellrepparttar 123007 worker's services to an employer. Sorepparttar 123008 "temp" worker receives their paycheck fromrepparttar 123009 agency. Typically, employers may offerrepparttar 123010 temporary worker a permanent job, but terms and conditions apply that usually costrepparttar 123011 employer an additional fee. This raises your cost of hire, but it gives both you andrepparttar 123012 employer an opportunity to "try before you buy" - testingrepparttar 123013 relationship andrepparttar 123014 job fit, Temporary workers, since they are employed byrepparttar 123015 agency, are not independent contractors. There are high-end temps, like 5000-a-day CEOs; however, many temporaries are not so lucky. They work for meager pay and no benefits. Temporary workers, since they have little control overrepparttar 123016 conditions of their work, tend to berepparttar 123017 most dissatisfied member ofrepparttar 123018 workforce. According to one economist’s survey, only 27 percent of temporaries are happy with their present situation. (Sharon R. Conahy,”Workers in Alternative Economy” Monthly Labor Review (October 1, 1996)) Not that long ago, freelancing was something people did mainly in larger metropolitan areas where work for writers, artists, and other creative types was plentiful and easily accessible. Today, however,repparttar 123019 freelance landscape has dramatically changed.

American Dream

Written by Janet Ilacqua


American Dream” Success Model The present model of business and career motivation ,repparttar one most closely associated withrepparttar 122991 “American Dream” which emphases enterpreuneurship, individual achievement, competition, and domination has been around for at leastrepparttar 122992 last 50 years . Up torepparttar 122993 mid 20th century,repparttar 122994 predominant prosperity model wasrepparttar 122995 Calvinist work ethic originally derived fromrepparttar 122996 Puritan. The Calvinist work ethic emphasized hard work, saving forrepparttar 122997 future, and foregoing vacations, paying bills in cash, and foregoing luxuries to save for a rainy day. Onrepparttar 122998 other,repparttar 122999 motivation for moneymaking is no longer saving forrepparttar 123000 future, but, what Thornstein Veblen,repparttar 123001 famous 19th century economist characterized as “conspicuous consumption.” Luxury homes, luxury cars, fancy electronic gadgets, and exotic vacations createrepparttar 123002 illusion of wealth. The philosophy ofrepparttar 123003 Amway Corporation, now known as Quixtel inrepparttar 123004 U. S. is a good illustration ofrepparttar 123005 concepts involved. Amway Corporation is a direct selling organization that produces and markets products using a Multilevel Marketing system (or MLM for short). Multilevel marketing is a form of direct selling in which manufacturers authorize independent contractors to sell their products directly to consumers, bypassing intermediaries and retail stores. Usingrepparttar 123006 garage or a spare bedroom as a warehouse and a home office as a business hub, a distributor makes a profit by buying wholesale from his or her company and selling to customers at retail prices. MLM is also a recruiting business. A distributor is permitted to sign up other individuals to become part of his company’s distribution force--and is paid a commission onrepparttar 123007 wholesale product purchases made by recruits. Both methods then furnish consumers with new options in acquiring consumer items they desire. The motivator for work and sole measure of success measured is money andrepparttar 123008 goods that money can buy: This is a business, and a main reason people work at any business is to earn money that not only will help them pay their bills, but also meet other goals. Those may be short- or long-term goals, and they could be large (like buying a new house) or small (like saving for a vacation). A better standard of living is a common motivation and reward for people starting any kind of business. Money - and what it can buy - isrepparttar 123009 universally recognizable indicator of success that distributors use to motivate and establish credibility for their business. (http://www.amway.com/InfoCenter/questions/question20.asp)

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