Grow Your Gig: Getting Started Financially as an Influencer or Gig Worker

Are you looking to start gig work or become an influencer? Welcome to the SaverLife microentrepreneur community! Through surveys and interviews, we’ve found that a majority of SaverLife members are pursuing gig or influencer work to make ends meet and increase their monthly income. In some cases, they’re also planning to transform this work into a full-time business.

In fact, an estimated 36% of the workforce in the United States are classified as freelancers. And this sector is continuing to grow.

If you’re planning to start gig or influencer work, it’s critical that you set realistic expectations and make a plan of how you’ll bring your work to life. This way you can keep your finances stable while you take the first steps on your new career path.

Keep reading to learn more about getting started as an influencer or gig worker.

Realistic Expectations

Before we dive into the definition of gig workers and influencers and the best ways to set yourself up for success, it’s necessary to set realistic expectations for this work. Yes, you’ll see stories online or in the news about the influencers who are “overnight successes” or who “made it big.” But it’s important to remember that these people are often the exception, not the rule.

Being an influencer or a gig worker takes a lot of time and energy, and often people don’t make enough to cover all of their living expenses at the same time. As you make plans for your gig or influencer work, make sure you have another source of income that can help you cover expenses. This will help you ensure your bills are paid and you can keep your life moving forward. 

What are Influencers and Gig Workers?

You might be familiar with influencers through social media.

An influencer is someone who influences the buying decisions of others through their knowledge, authority, or position. They often collaborate with brands in a specific niche to help them achieve their marketing goals. They can make money from these collaborations from things like affiliate marketing, brand ambassador positions, digital products, sponsored content, video and photo sales, subscriptions, brand deals, and other revenue generating activities. If you’re looking to be an influencer, you’ll want to find an area to focus on that you know about (or wouldn’t mind learning more about). This expertise will help you along the way.

A gig worker is different from an influencer.

Gig workers are individuals who work freelance or as independent contractors. Typically, they earn money for each individual job they complete. This project-based work is appealing because you can do it on your own time and often from home.

Gig workers can also complete specific tasks like driving for Uber, delivering food orders for DoorDash, or walking dogs through Rover. But there are so many other opportunities inside the gig economy. People set up businesses as painters, graphic designers, virtual assistants, nannies, and even as handy people. If you’re looking for ideas of gig work you could pursue, or want to start completing projects, websites like Fiverr and Upwork can help you get started. 

How to Get Started on Gig Work or Influencing

It may seem straightforward to become an influencer or gig worker: you set up your social media or web presence and start taking jobs. But if you want to be successful, it’s important to take the right steps to set yourself and your work up for success. 

Here are some things you can do to ensure your gig work or influencing starts off strong:

Make a Business Plan

Whether you take on gig work or influence, the first thing you’ll want to do is make a business plan. While some business plans are long and complex, yours doesn’t have to be as detailed. Consider it a tool to define:

• What your gig work or influencing is
• Who it’ll serve
• How you’ll run it

Knowing what your work is and how you’ll operate it will help prepare for other decisions you’ll make along the way. You can learn more about writing a business plan and starting gig work or influencing on the U.S. Small Business Administration website.

Analyze Your Competition

Once you have a business plan, it’s also important to research your competition. Why? To avoid providing a service that’s too closely aligned with work they’re already offering.

As you get a sense of your competition, you’ll want to make sure you understand what they do and how they do it so you can determine what sets you apart. Take a look at their social media presence, their website, and any other business resources they might have. 

Reviewing your competitor’s services and platform is called a competitive analysis. And it can help your business stand out.

If you know how others are providing similar work, you can take steps to stand apart from them and entice potential customers in new and unique ways. It also gives you a chance to see how you can improve on the gig work or influencing your competitors are already doing.

When you’re ready, HubSpot has a great blog on how to run a competitive analysis for your brand.

Research Your Market and Set Your Price

Along with considering your competition, you’ll want to conduct research on your market and set a price that reflects similar services. Review how others in the same space are pricing their products or services, and how you can set a price that will bring in customers and still produce a profit.

When you think about pricing, remember that if you’re new to the gig work or influencer space, your prices may be lower than more established competitors. That’s okay. You can always raise them over time.

Know Your Audience

Whether you’re working to become an influencer or setting yourself up in the gig economy, it’s key to know your audience. You want to be sure you know who you’re talking to. But more than that, you want to understand their pain points. Pain points are the reason they might be looking for the products or services you offer.

In your branding and message, address your audience’s pain points and how you can help eliminate them (and in a way that stands out from your competitors).

Get Familiar with the Legal Side

As you’re working to bring in extra money, it’s also important to understand the legal obligations you’ll have as a gig worker or influencer.

To separate your income and track your expenses, you’ll want to set up a business bank account that’s separate from your personal finances. Keeping these accounts separate will help you determine any taxes you’ll need to pay on your gig work or influencer income.

When you’re a gig worker or influencer, you’re responsible for pulling money out of your paycheck for Social Security, Medicare, or taxes. Be sure to set aside money as soon as you start earning it to pay taxes when they’re due. You should also be sure you have the right insurance policies or licenses needed to legally operate your gig or influencing work in your city and state.

Resources to Help You as You Get Started

There are countless resources you can rely on when starting gig or influencer work. Consider checking out blogs, podcasts, and websites to help you as you grow, like:

• The IRS Gig Economy Tax Center. This website gives you good information on taxes for gig workers.
• The Roadmap to Rideshare Taxes. This offers good information on the tax implications of a rideshare business.
• The SaverLife article Resources to Help You Take Your Small Business to the Next Level. This offers a wide range of information on starting and building your gig or influencer work.

Keep in mind that as your work gets off the ground, you’ll want to have another income source that you can rely on to cover the necessary costs of living. This way, you can build toward your financial goals and still get by.

Finally, as you kick off your gig work or step into an influencer role, remember to celebrate the hard work you’ve put in to get there. It’s not easy pursuing new job opportunities: congratulate yourself on the steps you’ve taken so far — and maybe even share your success in the SaverLife forum.