Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. Some people think of big name entrepreneurs – like Richard Branson, Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos and either gain inspiration or create unrealistic expectations.
Other people start out with a particular goal and keep plugging away day by day and with sheer persistence and resilience, achieve remarkable results either personally or collectively for their local or wider community.
It is important to remember that achieving financial wealth is not the only way to become a successful entrepreneur. It could be a calling that speaks to you and empowers you to wake up every day with a passion and commitment to making a difference to your own life or to the lives of other people, but not in the form of a normal ‘job.’ It could be that you have a restless spirit and you thrive on starting something new, but when the project has been developed, you are ready to move on to the next challenge. It could be that you simply want to experiment with a few different options in life and a side hustle could be just the ticket for your next big venture.
Entrepreneurship is not for the faint hearted. It involves risk, tenacity and self-reliance. There will be many people who will find your approach to work threatening to their sense of stability and certainty. They may not feel comfortable dealing with your highs and lows or understand why you would be willing to rock the boat or do things differently. You will need to personally find people who are part of your ‘tribe’ to support you as your regular friends and family may not be as supportive as you would like.
There are many different ways to develop enterprises, and some strategies are much more reliable for securing revenue or outcomes. Entrepreneurs need excellent research skills, the ability to connect and engage and ultimately the ability to lead, manage and negotiate across all levels of society. They need high levels of discernment and have the ability to interpret information accurately. They need to rely on knowledge, experience, creativity and wisdom and bypass vanity, shiny objects and time wasting activity.
That said, every person is unique and in my opinion, multi-dimensional. As for every other type of gigster, I would like to encourage you to be your own kind of peculiar! I can happily report that I have experienced most of the 12 different Gigster Types throughout my working life.
In the Gigster Types, each type has a different rating scale for the types of people they would like to work with (different or similar), the policies that exist in the workplace (different or similar), the level of variety in a role (low or high) and the level of autonomy in a role (low or high). The number 1 is on the lower end of the scale, the number 3 is either middle of the road or neutral and the number 5 is on the high end of the scale.
Here is the chart for the Entrepreneur Gigster Range.
This type of gigster is very much the master of their own destiny and needs to work with people who are closely aligned. They are highly motivated by gigs that are innovative, challenging and complex. In their own right, they shine like a star – as an example to others as champions of change. They need extra resilience to cope with all sorts of criticism, both real and perceived but they thrive when they can prove that their ideas actually work.
This type of gigster is driven by making a difference to themselves or the world. They know that they will have to personally stand up and be the face of the change they are trying to create and that there will probably be a range of tasks that are either boring or repetitive but their focus and commitment will ensure that they find meaning and purpose in everything from the magnificent to the menial. They are driven to make an impact.
This type of gigster is usually doing something new or improving on what has been done in the past. They are very aware of the latest trends and even fads and may be perceived as ‘fadpreneurs.’ Innovation and technology are often incorporated into their entrepreneurial endeavours and whilst they love a challenge, they may avoid anything that is boring or repetitive and usually move on to something new and more ‘fun’ within three years.
This type of gigster is willing to experiment, trial and test before jumping in boots and all. They are highly motivated by their own sense of competence and self-efficacy and iterate frequently to improve and perfect their ideas and philosophies. As patient and persistent people, they find joy and pleasure in the journey and the rewards they find along the way and don’t mind using another source of income to enable them to start their entrepreneurial efforts.
Employees and Experts have their own four types and these are discussed in other blog posts here on Weploy.
Please remember that these are indicative Gigster Types, you may find yourself a sort of combination gigster! There are also some really useful gigster competencies and super powers you can develop to really enhance your gigster lifestyle.
If you would like to learn more about the indicative Entrepreneur Gigster Types or learn more about the gigster lifestyle, you can either read other articles here on the Weploy blog or purchase ‘Gigsters – Any Age or Ability Employees, Experts and Entrepreneurs’ Paperback is AUD$24.99 and digital edition is AUD$7.99.