Ketaki Karnik - Secrets for Thriving in the Gig Zone

Hay House Publishers (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Muskaan Complex, Plot No.3, B-2 Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110 070, India
Hay House Inc., PO Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018-5100, USA
Hay House UK, Ltd., The Sixth Floor, Watson House, 54 Baker Street, W1U 7BU, UK
Hay House Australia Pty Ltd., 18/36 Ralph St., Alexandria NSW 2015, Australia

Email:
www.hayhouse.co.in

Copyright 2020 Ketaki Karnik

The views and opinions expressed in this book are the authors own and the facts are as reported by her. They have been verified to the extent possible, and the publishers are not in any way liable for the same.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private use other than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews without prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN 978-93-88302-56-2
ISBN 978-93-88302-57-9 (e-book)

To
Aai and Baba for encouraging me to explore
uncharted trails...

Part I
GAME START: GIG RIDE ON

1. WELCOME TO THE GIG ZONE
What Can You Expect from This Book?

2. DEMYSTIFYING THE GIG ZONE
A Brief Primer

3. OPEN SESAME: OPENING THE GIG WORLD TREASURE CHEST
The Successful Gig-Er Framework

Part II
SYMPHONY NO. 5 ACCOMPANIED BY WARM NOVEMBER RAIN
The Gig Lifestyle

Part III
THE FALL OF THE PYRAMID
The Gig Personality

Part IV
MASTER OF THE GAME
The Gig Functional Skills

Part V
YOU 2.0
The Gig Attitude

Part VI
DONT IGNORE THE ELEMENTS

The game is on. Are you a player or a mere spectator? Do you really have a choice? Or will you perforce be assigned player status?

In recent times, the gig economy has become a popular buzzword. Like most buzzwords, very few actually understand the concept. This section decodes the jargon and dissects its benefits for you. It helps you assess your individual contextwill the gig zeitgeist affect you and when? How do you manoeuvre for success?

Read on, to find out.

Five years ago, I gave up almost two decades of a full-time corporate job to do something different... the meaningful work I always wanted to do. Be your own boss, the underlying philosophy sounded uber cool. Advisory roles, consultancy assignments, mentoring new venturesI had it all mapped out in my mind.

Brimming with excitement, I couldnt wait for the notice period of my job to end. The preparation was perfect. Years of experience had built my expertise and provided me with a solid resume. I was finally ready to take on the world, and it all seemed super easy. Like a babys jigsaw puzzle. At least, so I thought.

As I discovered, pretty much immediately, I had stepped into a completely alien universe. Earlier rules no longer applied. Things I took for granted vanished. New, completely unexpected elements appeared in the equation. I had to transform into a different personchange my work style, my attitude, my lifestyle, and, most of all, forget everything I knew before.

I stumbled around a lot, making heaps of mistakes. In short, a disaster.

Gradually, I picked up nuggets of advice from here and there. Observing successful gig-ers helped immensely. In addition, I worked out a few aspects drawing from my own experiences. Finally, I created my own rules.

These rules are captured in this book in great detail. The learnings from my experience and others living the gig life have been converted into actionable secrets for you. I want to share these with you to spur your gig life. Whether you are contemplating entering the gig-zone, have just entered it, or are already a gig-er, you should find a number of hacks and, hopefully, most of them will resonate with you.

By all accounts, the future of work will be fewer formal jobs and more gig-ers. So, whether by choice or perforce, you are likely to turn into a gig-er pretty soon. Use this book for a peep into the brave new gig world and to better prepare yourself for what to expect.

Although the formal definition of a gig-er does not include an entrepreneur, there are distinct similarities with the gig life. The secrets to being a successful gig-er, therefore, also largely apply to the entrepreneur life, as well as all others who are not part of the traditional full-time job scenario.

This book is organised in the form of short, easy-to-read chapters.

The next chapter demystifies the concept of the gig economy; think of it as a brief primer on the gig economy. Chapter two lays out the overall framework, comprising four dimensions, for succeeding in the gig world. The subsequent four chapters elaborate on each dimension of the framework. Interspersed with real-life examples, quotes from other gig-ers, and formats/templates, the intent is to make this a relatable and practical read, even as it serves as an essential survival guide for the rapidly emerging gig world.

The real trick to getting the most out of this book is to conscientiously adopt each of the secrets. You may find that few are not applicable to you at the current stage in your gig life. Over time, you may find these are relevant, while others no longer are. Be that as it may, here they areall of themfor you to refer to.

Each aspect is short and crisp because, as a fellow gig-er, I understand you are crunched for time and have so much on your mind. Read sequentially or pick an element at randomcompletely up to you.

The book ends with a self-assessment quiz to gauge your gig readiness along the various elements of the gig framework. This will highlight areas you need to work on to become an even more successful gig-er.

Happy reading!

The shape of water quite accurately sums up the current state of the gig economy. It is still a concept in the metamorphosis stage. There is no formal definition of the gig economy and, therefore, of someone who operates in ita gig-er.

A gig-er literally does gigs for an organisation. She/he is an individual who works on a short-term contract, or as a freelancer, on a temporary basis with an organisation. If you are employed in a consultancy firm, working on multiple projects, are you a gig-er? No, because you have been employed on a permanent basis by the firm. However, if the consultancy firm gives you a three-month contract for a specific task or for multiple tasks over the three-month period, then you are a gig-er. Likewise, if you are working with an IT firm and sent on four-month projects to different clients, you are not a gig-er. On the other hand, if you are not employed by the IT firm, but undertake a four-month assignment for a client, then you are a gig-er.

The one defining characteristic of the gig economy is a specified output rather than work hoursfor instance, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or flexible eight-hour dayswithout the benefits received by a regular employee. These benefits could take the form of health insurance, provident fund, leave, office space, training programmes, office equipment, and a host of other elements.

Another common attribute is that the firm, which engages the gig-er, typically cannot dictate professional exclusivity. In other words, the gig-er is free to simultaneously pursue and to work with other companies. That said, in select circumstances, particularly in areas such as technology or IP development, the client may require the gig-er to refuse any directly related work during the tenure of the project. Naturally, such restrictions come with a higher payout to the gig-er.