Wethos Freelance Report 2020: The Power of Freelance Founders
Freelancers are under-represented and under-supported as small business owners, and very infrequently viewed as employers.
As a consequence, there are very few tools to help them scale up teams to take on bigger opportunities.
In May and June 2020, we set out to fill what we see as a massive research gap. By examining the attitudes and behaviors of high-earning freelancers, we knew we could uncover a sizable segment with habits that starkly contrast with typical "gig workers," and instead offer a lens on the freelancers who proactively create jobs for their community.
Our team completed sixty hours of qualitative research through focus groups and 1:1 interviews, and fielded a fifty-question quantitative study with an independent research partner and a representative online sample of (n=300) US-based freelancers earning more than $75K annually and working across the tech, marketing, and creative sectors.
Executive Summary
THERE'S MORE TO FREELANCE THAN GIGS
- 84% have been full-time freelance for 4+ years, and 30% for 10+ years
- 17% of our respondents report earning more than $200K annually
34% OF FREELANCERS THINK LIKE FOUNDERS
- These entrepreneurial small business owners have long-term ambitions
- Only 11% would prefer to “stay behind the scenes” rather than lead
75% OF FREELANCE FOUNDERS ARE EMPLOYERS
- Their top motivation for growing their business is creating jobs for others
- 71% say they keep track of who they’ve worked with and would hire again
62% OF FREELANCE FOUNDERS IDENTIFY AS SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
- 63% have registered operating entities such as LLCs, LLPs, S-Corps and C-Corps
- They’re spending 19+ hrs a month on financial management and staffing
FREELANCE FOUNDERS TEAM UP TO EARN MORE
- 66% view other freelancers as collaborators, not competitors
- 83% say they’ve referred a lead to someone else in their professional network
FREELANCE FOUNDERS ARE THE FUTURE OF AGENCIES
- Rather than wait for traditional agencies to catch up with new standards for diversity, equity, and inclusion, they’re building their own progressive workplaces
- Less overhead means lower prices for clients and more money directly in the pockets of the people doing the work — we haven’t felt a power shift like this in decades
If this segment of high-earning Freelance Founders can find support in the form of new technology, education, and more favorable freelance laws that take their specific business needs into consideration, they may unlock a whole new job market.