The year is 1194. Maurice De Bracy, enemy to the English crown, is locked in combat with a mysterious Black Knight. Suddenly, the Black Knight gains the upper hand. He whispers his true identity in De Bracy’s ear: King Richard the Lionheart of England. De Bracy yields. Later, De Bracy offers to let King Richard use his army of “Free Lances,” mercenary soldiers who were free to use their lances in service of whoever paid the most.
Godina je 1194. Moris de Brejsi, neprijatelj engleskog kraljevstva vodi žestoku borbu sa tajanstvenim Crnim Vitezom. Iznenada, Crni Vitez dobija premoć. Šapuće svoj istinski identitet u de Brejsijevo uho: kralj Ričard Lavlje Scre od Engleske. De Brejsi se povlači. Kasnije, de Brejsi nudi Kralju Ričardu na korišćenje armiju „Slobodnokopljaša”, vojnika plaćenika koji su bili slobodni da koriste svoje koplje u službi onoga ko plati najviše.
That’s how it plays out in Sir Walter Scott’s 1819 novel, “Ivanhoe.” Scott didn’t coin the term, but it was probably this use that stuck, and evolved to describe someone who works independently of any single company.
Tako se odigrava radnja u romanu Ser Voltera Skota iz 1819, „Ajvanho”. Skot nije skovao termin, ali se verovatno njegova upotreba zadržala i razvila da opiše nekoga ko radi nezavisno od bilo koje firme.
That independence seems to make people happy. A 2016 survey of freelancers in six countries found that those who freelance by choice— 70% of respondents, by the way— were happier than people in traditional jobs, specifically when it came to things like independence and flexibility in terms of where and when they work. In a survey conducted in the US, half of freelancers said there was no amount of money that would convince them to rejoin the traditional workforce.
Čini se da taj vid nezavisnosti čini ljude srećnima. Anketa iz 2016. godine među frilenserima iz šest država je otkrila da su oni koji su odabrali da budu frilenseri - 70 odsto ispitanika - srećniji od ljudi sa tradicionalnim poslovima, naročito kada se radilo o stvarima poput nezavisnosti i fleksibilnosti u smislu gde i kada rade. U anketi sprovedenoj u SAD-u, polovina frilensera je rekla da nema tog novca koji bi ih ubedio da se vrate tradicionalnim poslovima.
At some point in your life— maybe even now— you might wonder whether freelancing is right for you. You'll need a few things to be successful.
U nekoj tački u životu - možda čak i sada - možda se pitate da li je frilensovanje prava stvar za vas. Trebaće vam nekoliko stvari da biste bili uspešni.
First, you'll need a skill that's in demand. This can be as universal as driving a car to as specialized as neurosurgery, and it can be in pretty much any field.
Prvo, potrebna vam je veština za kojom vlada potražnja. To može bit nešto univerzalno poput vožnje automobila ili specijalizovano poput neurohirurgije, a može se raditi gotovo o bilo kojoj oblasti.
The more people who want your skill, and the fewer people who have it, the more you can charge for your services.
Što više ljudi želi vašu veštinu, a što je manje ljudi poseduje, više ćete naplaćivati svoje usluge.
Next, you’ll need to transform yourself into an entrepreneur. Before freelancers can do any work, they have to find it. That takes marketing your services, negotiating contracts, building a network of satisfied clients, and a whole set of administrative skills like project management, time management, and accounting.
Sledeće, moraćete se preobratiti u preduzetnika. Pre nego što frilenseri počnu da rade bilo koji posao, moraju da ga nađu. To zahteva reklamiranje vaših usluga, pregovaranje ugovora, građenje mreže zadovoljnih klijenata, kao i čitav skup administrativnih veština poput projektnog menadžmenta, menadžmenta vremena i računovodstva.
And thirdly, if you can afford it, it's probably a good idea to budget for some benefits for yourself and maybe your family. Freelancers don’t automatically get perks that some salaried jobs offer, like paid vacation or sick leave, life insurance, college tuition, or retirement plans. In countries like the US, where the government doesn’t provide healthcare to most people, freelancers are responsible for that, too.
I treće, ako možete da priuštite, verovatno je dobro da odvajate novac za neke benefite za sebe i možda za vašu porodicu. Frilenseri automatski ne dobijaju privilegije koje nude stalni poslovi, poput plaćenog odmora ili bolovanja, životnog osiguranja, školarine za fakultet ili penzionog. U državama poput SAD-a, gde vlada ne pruža zdravstveno osiguranje većini ljudi, frilenseri su i za to odgovorni.
Freelancing has been around for a long time; but digital freelancing platforms like Uber, Lyft, and Fiverr are pretty new. They say they’ll connect you with clients and take care of some of the entrepreneurial and administrative stuff so you can focus on the work. But there are some hidden costs to consider.
Frilensovanje postoji već dugo vremena; digitalne pak frilenserske platforme poput Ubera, Lifta i Fajvera su prilična novina. Tvrde da će vas povezati sa klijentima i da će se delom pobrinuti o nekim preduzetničkim i administrativnim stvarima kako biste se fokusirali na rad. Međutim, uzmite u obzir skrivene troškove.
First, your life may not be as flexible as you think. For example, if you're a rideshare driver, you get to choose when to work, but not how: the app recommends what route to take, enforces how you act with the threat of low customer ratings, and sets your rate. Those rates may be so low that you end up working more than if you had a salaried full-time job.
Prvo, vaš život možda neće biti fleksibilan kao što mislite. Na primer, ako ste vozač na taksi platformi, birate kada ćete raditi, ali ne kako: aplikacija preporučuje kojim rutama da idete, nameće vam kako da se ponašate pod pretnjom niskih ocena mušterija i određuje vaše tarife. Te tarife mogu da budu toliko niske da na kraju radite više nego na stalnom poslu s platom.
Speaking of rates, it can be hard to figure out exactly how much money you’ll make. Earnings vary based on location; platforms might advertise hourly rates that don’t factor in expenses, and large scale data on actual earnings is sparse. One of the largest data sets we have is from Uber. It contains 740 million trips by 1.8 million drivers between 2015 and 2017. Researchers analyzed these figures in a 2018 paper and found that once you deduct Uber's cut and the cost of business expenses, drivers’ average earnings dropped from about $22 an hour to about $12 an hour. And buying benefits would reduce that number even more.
Govoreći o tarifama, može da bude teško izračunati tačno koliko novca ćete zaraditi. Zarade variraju u zavisnosti od lokacije; platforme mogu da reklamiraju satnice koje ne uračunavaju troškove, a podaci širih razmera o stvarnim zaradama su retki. Jedan od najvećih skupova podataka koje imamo je iz Ubera. Sadrži 740 miliona vožnji od strane 1,8 miliona vozača između 2015. i 2017. Istraživači su analizirali te brojke u radu iz 2018. i otkrili da kada odbijete Uberov udeo i cenu poslovnih troškova, prosečna zarada vozača pada sa oko $22 na sat na oko $12 na sat. A plaćanje privilegija bi još više umanjilo taj broj.
And there is a lot of variability in working conditions across different gig platforms. For example, the company 99 in Brazil operates a rideshare platform that many people use to deliver packages. Drivers are matched with shippers, and 99 takes a cut. The company’s terms and conditions hold both the shipper and the driver liable for anything that could go wrong— including things like if a package gets stolen.
I radni uslovi uveliko variraju širom različitih frilenserskih platformi. Na primer, firma 99 iz Brazila upravlja taksi platformom koju mnogi koriste za isporuku pošiljki. Vozači se povezuju sa pošiljaocima, a 99 uzima procenat. Pravila i uslovi rada firme smatraju i pošiljaoca i vozača odgovornim za bilo šta što krene po zlu - uključujući stvari kao što je krađa pošiljke.
If you’re considering joining the app economy and don’t want to read all the fine print, there’s a network of researchers who publish ratings of platforms based on five categories of fair employment.
Ako razmatrate da se pridružite aplikacijskoj ekonomiji, a ne želite da čitate sitna slova, postoji mreža istraživača koji objavljuju ocene platformi na osnovu pet kategorija fer zapošljavanja.
Digital gig platforms come with drawbacks and may not provide a reliable living wage. But for many around the world who don’t have the luxury of choice and need to make money as soon as possible, like, say, if you just lost your job, the gig economy is the easiest and fastest place to get hired. For this reason, some have called it an “alternative safety net.”
Digitalne frilenserske platforme imaju mane i možda ne pružaju pouzdanu zaradu. Međutim, za mnoge širom sveta koji nemaju luksuz izbora i potrebno im je što pre da zarade novac, kao na primer, ako ste upravo izgubili posao, ekonomija tezgi je najlakše i najbrže mesto da se zaposlite. Iz ovog razloga su je neki nazvali „alternativnom bezbednosnom mrežom”.
So, considering all these factors and many others, should you dip your toes into the gig economy? Or dive in? Ask yourself: how much do you value flexibility or autonomy? Do you prefer to work within an established structure, or to make your own? Are you willing to network to find new clients? Are you organized and self-directed? And perhaps most importantly, how much do you value knowing exactly what you'll earn from week to week?
Stoga, uzevši sve ove faktore i mnoge druge, da li da umočite prste u ekonomiju tezgi? Ili da zaronite? Zapitajte se: koliko cenite fleksibilnost ili autonomiju? Da li više volite da radite unutar utvrđene strukture ili da izgradite sopstvenu? Da li ste voljni da se povezujete i nalazite nove klijente? Da li ste organizovani i disciplinovani? I možda najvažnije, koliko cenite saznanje tačno koliko ćete zarađivati iz sedmice u sedmicu?