The Freelancers Union and Elance - oDesk released a study showing that 34% of the American workforce freelances in some form. According to the study, 53 million Americans said they engaged in some form of freelance work in the past year. The study breaks these folks into 5 segments: "Independent Contractors" (40%, or 21.1 million) don’t have a traditional employer and do freelance, temporary or supplemental work on a project-to-project basis. Moonlighters” (27 percent, or 14.3 MORE
The study consisted of a survey of over 400 small business owners coupled with a set of 26 in-depth interviews with "successful" business owners. MORE
The 2015 MBO Partners State of Independence survey results , which we worked on with MBO Partners, shows that most independent workers report being happier (79%) and healthier (59%) working on their own. MORE
The Freelancers Union is conducting a survey on how freelancers work and live. The goals of the survey are to better understand how freelancers are changing the definition of success and how they are working with one another to improve their business outcomes. MORE
So we're just getting to a survey on side gigs that CareerBuilder released in September. Key quote from the survey press release : According to a new CareerBuilder survey, 29 percent of workers have a side hustle, a trend that is especially strong among the millennial demographic. MORE
Federal Reserve study 2015 Small Business Credit Survey: Report on Non-Employer Firms also found a high rate of contract worker usage by non-employers. MORE
We like seeing other surveys finding similar results to ours. TD Ameritrade did a study late last year on retirement savings and the self-employed. One of the questions they asked was why people chose self-employment over traditional employment. MORE
Key quote: But over and over again, studies and surveys show us that "weak connections" are key to getting the job of your dreams—not the strong ties that everyone places so much weight on. MORE
The Forbes article Survey Says Americans are Losing Their Appetite for McDonald's, Taco Bell and Burger King covers a study showing that consumers - and especially Millennials - are choosing fast casual restaurants over fast food places. Key MORE
They surveyed 7,700 U.S. The Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) recently released a study showing that nearly 30% of the U.S. workforce are gig workers. This works out to be about 44 million Americans. They also found that contingent workers represented $792.4 MORE
retirement survey. Transamerica's Center for Retirement Studies recently released the results from their 17th annual U.S. As with prior years, it's full of interesting data on the retirement preparations and plans of Americans of all ages. MORE
The results of their informal survey are not surprising - most everyone was doing some sort of job related work. I ran across a really interesting post in Medium titled What are People Working on in Coffee Shops ? The title is a bit misleading. MORE
We were very surprised by the results from a recent survey on contingent work done by a group consisting of the Aspen Institute’s Future of Work Initiative, the Markle Foundation, Burson-Marsteller and TIME Magazine. They surveyed employers and found that only 58% think their employees are more loyal than their contingent workers. The survey also reports that almost all employers are satisfied with the performance of their contingent workers. MORE
73 Late in August Deloitte released survey results under the headline Deloitte survey finds 67 percent of Americans who have worked as independent contractors would choose not to do so in the future. This led to a series of articles suggesting that this shows the gig economy is doomed because no one wants to be a freelancer ( click here for an example from Forbes ). More recently the Staffing Industry Analysts released their Gig Workforce study. MORE
65 
According to one of their recent surveys, small business owners turn to a number of sources for advice and as the chart below shows, accountants are their first choice. We were somewhat fascinated that the survey asked about Google. MORE
A Bloomberg Government survey found that 77% of direct sellers are highly satisfied. According to the Direct Selling Association (DSA), about 20.2 million Americans are involved in direct selling the U.S. This is up from 15.8 million in 2010. MORE
You many have noticed that different surveys show very different small business social media usage rates. For example, the Wall Street Journal article Facebook Tops for Small Business reported on a survey that found small businesses quite positive about social media. Key quote on the survey results: "About seven in 10 small-business owners say they “strongly agree” that social media is important to their business." MORE
In our spring 2016 MBO Partners State of Independence survey , 43% of independent workers surveyed reported being independent is more secure than holding a traditional job. Cisco announced last week it's laying off 5500 employees. This is about 7% of their workforce. Cisco MORE
" One of the more interesting specific findings of this study is that the way government surveys ask about employment leads to an under counting of the self-employed, and especially those holding multiple jobs. MORE
We used statistical clustering based on the results of a survey of about 4500 on-demand economy workers. We're currently in the field with this year's On-Demand Economy survey. MORE
The Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Enterprising and Informal Work Activities (EIWA) provides a detailed look at those working in the online and offline gig economy. MORE
These findings are very much in alignment with the results of our work surveying and interviewing the self-employed. Life Satisfaction and Self-Employment is an interesting academic study out of the UK. MORE
The study the article refers to is Deloitte's 2017 Millennial Survey. Deloitte surveyed 8,000 Millennials from 30 countries and found: "In spite of perceived across-the-board advantages of working as freelancers or consultants, nearly two-thirds of millennials said they prefer full-time employment. The Inc. article What Do Millennials Want From Their Employers, Exactly? MORE
The study's key findings are: Gig workers are uninsured at three times the rate of average Americans : 35% of those surveyed were uninsured while only 10.5% MORE
The map's horizontal axis is based on survey of "members of the Traction Network (mostly CIOs, CTOs, and senior IT execs in the enterprise)" They were asked to rank the importance of a wide range of technologies. MORE
According to the National Technology Readiness Survey , in 2015 22.4 Last week's always excellent O'Reilly Next Economy newsletter asked the question Have We Reached Peak Gig? They asked this in response to a number of recent negative press articles on the gig economy. MORE
Census 2014 Survey of Entrepreneurs. Regular readers may remember back in 2014 we reported on a survey that said most small businesses are started with less than $10,000. The data from the 2014 survey was for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees. MORE
According to the survey results, 37% of those using online, on-demand platforms have an existing business and 21% have a desire to run their own business. MORE
Their survey asks: "In the last year, did you earn money by selling something online?" " 18% of adult Americans surveyed said yes. 8% of the survey respondents said yes to this. MORE
The study surveyed around 300 global business leaders to understand the talent challenges large organizations are facing and identify the best practices among leading companies working with external talent. MORE
Last week the results from the spring coworking space member survey were released at the Global Coworking Conference Unconference (GCUC). Emergent The key results from the survey illustrate this. Emergent Research (that's us) partnered with GCUC and Jacob Sayles of Office Nomads on this study. The key finding is while coworking spaces are definitely workspaces, they are also much more. They are places where members work, network, learn and socialize together. MORE
Key quote from the article: "A sizable 60 percent of retirees surveyed last year by the nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies said they were pushed out of their jobs before age 65, largely for reasons out of their control, according to Catherine Collinson, president of T.C.R.S." Work a Little, Play a Little: A New Retirement Strategy from the New York Times covers the growing trend towards people working part-time in retirement. MORE
Annual Survey of Entrepreneur s, the median U.S. According to data from the 2014 U.S. employer small business (those with paid traditional employees) generates less than $400k in revenue. MORE
For over a decade Barlow has fielded a quarterly survey of businesses on topics of interest to financial institutions. Because of their history and the comprehensive nature of the their surveys, Barlow has lots of interesting and insightful information on small businesses. MORE
The report chart below shows (click to enlarge) the results of two surveys on the potential impact of AI, robotics and automation. The London Times has an interesting special section on the future of work that was developed by the marketing content agency Ranconteur. MORE
The chart below (click to enlarge) shows some of the key data on the improvement from our annual survey of independent workers. MORE
The study is based on a survey and series of interviews with mostly HR and procurement professionals at large corporations. Ardent Partners recently released their 2016-2017 State of Contingent Workforce Management report. MORE
In our most recent survey of people with 2nd jobs, about 20% of these "side giggers" said "learning new skills" was the reason they had a 2nd job. We don't have historical survey data on this. MORE
As the article's title states, 87% of the surveyed freelancers reported having more than one source of income. But its been very hard to quantify this information via surveys. MORE
It's clear from the Sleeter survey that small businesses are looking towards their accountants to move beyond providing just tax prep and bookkeeping and become trusted business advisors. MORE
Survey Related Topics 
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 23, 2017
The RideShare Guy released their 2017 Survey Results: Driver Earnings, Satisfaction and Demographics. This confirms something we see across all our survey work on the gig economy.
Small Business Labs
NOVEMBER 7, 2016
So we're just getting to a survey on side gigs that CareerBuilder released in September. Key quote from the survey press release : According to a new CareerBuilder survey, 29 percent of workers have a side hustle, a trend that is especially strong among the millennial demographic.
Small Business Labs
SEPTEMBER 29, 2016
Census 2014 Survey of Entrepreneurs. Regular readers may remember back in 2014 we reported on a survey that said most small businesses are started with less than $10,000. The data from the 2014 survey was for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 3, 2017
Federal Reserve study 2015 Small Business Credit Survey: Report on Non-Employer Firms also found a high rate of contract worker usage by non-employers.
Small Business Labs
APRIL 25, 2017
A Bloomberg Government survey found that 77% of direct sellers are highly satisfied. According to the Direct Selling Association (DSA), about 20.2 million Americans are involved in direct selling the U.S. This is up from 15.8 million in 2010.
Small Business Labs
AUGUST 22, 2016
They surveyed 7,700 U.S. The Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) recently released a study showing that nearly 30% of the U.S. workforce are gig workers. This works out to be about 44 million Americans. They also found that contingent workers represented $792.4
Small Business Labs
OCTOBER 14, 2014
Intuit recently did a survey of small business owners. A key finding was 64% of small business owners surveyed said they started their business with less than $10,000 in invested capital.
Small Business Labs
AUGUST 23, 2016
In our spring 2016 MBO Partners State of Independence survey , 43% of independent workers surveyed reported being independent is more secure than holding a traditional job. Cisco announced last week it's laying off 5500 employees. This is about 7% of their workforce. Cisco
Small Business Labs
DECEMBER 6, 2016
The report chart below shows (click to enlarge) the results of two surveys on the potential impact of AI, robotics and automation. The London Times has an interesting special section on the future of work that was developed by the marketing content agency Ranconteur.
Small Business Labs
JULY 19, 2016
Key quote: But over and over again, studies and surveys show us that "weak connections" are key to getting the job of your dreams—not the strong ties that everyone places so much weight on.
Small Business Labs
FEBRUARY 28, 2017
According to the survey results, 37% of those using online, on-demand platforms have an existing business and 21% have a desire to run their own business.
Small Business Labs
MAY 12, 2015
Last week the results from the spring coworking space member survey were released at the Global Coworking Conference Unconference (GCUC). Emergent The key results from the survey illustrate this. Emergent Research (that's us) partnered with GCUC and Jacob Sayles of Office Nomads on this study. The key finding is while coworking spaces are definitely workspaces, they are also much more. They are places where members work, network, learn and socialize together.
Small Business Labs
NOVEMBER 29, 2016
The Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Enterprising and Informal Work Activities (EIWA) provides a detailed look at those working in the online and offline gig economy.
Small Business Labs
JULY 5, 2016
We were very surprised by the results from a recent survey on contingent work done by a group consisting of the Aspen Institute’s Future of Work Initiative, the Markle Foundation, Burson-Marsteller and TIME Magazine. They surveyed employers and found that only 58% think their employees are more loyal than their contingent workers. The survey also reports that almost all employers are satisfied with the performance of their contingent workers.
Small Business Labs
SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
The Freelancers Union and Elance - oDesk released a study showing that 34% of the American workforce freelances in some form. According to the study, 53 million Americans said they engaged in some form of freelance work in the past year. The study breaks these folks into 5 segments: "Independent Contractors" (40%, or 21.1 million) don’t have a traditional employer and do freelance, temporary or supplemental work on a project-to-project basis. Moonlighters” (27 percent, or 14.3
Small Business Labs
OCTOBER 10, 2016
Late in August Deloitte released survey results under the headline Deloitte survey finds 67 percent of Americans who have worked as independent contractors would choose not to do so in the future. This led to a series of articles suggesting that this shows the gig economy is doomed because no one wants to be a freelancer ( click here for an example from Forbes ). More recently the Staffing Industry Analysts released their Gig Workforce study.
Small Business Labs
NOVEMBER 1, 2016
The study is based on a survey and series of interviews with mostly HR and procurement professionals at large corporations. Ardent Partners recently released their 2016-2017 State of Contingent Workforce Management report.
Small Business Labs
JUNE 14, 2016
The chart below (click to enlarge) shows some of the key data on the improvement from our annual survey of independent workers.
Small Business Labs
OCTOBER 3, 2016
We used statistical clustering based on the results of a survey of about 4500 on-demand economy workers. We're currently in the field with this year's On-Demand Economy survey.
Small Business Labs
JULY 25, 2016
The study consisted of a survey of over 400 small business owners coupled with a set of 26 in-depth interviews with "successful" business owners.
Small Business Labs
JUNE 22, 2017
The study the article refers to is Deloitte's 2017 Millennial Survey. Deloitte surveyed 8,000 Millennials from 30 countries and found: "In spite of perceived across-the-board advantages of working as freelancers or consultants, nearly two-thirds of millennials said they prefer full-time employment. The Inc. article What Do Millennials Want From Their Employers, Exactly?
Small Business Labs
MAY 15, 2014
The Freelancers Union is conducting a survey on how freelancers work and live. The goals of the survey are to better understand how freelancers are changing the definition of success and how they are working with one another to improve their business outcomes.
Small Business Labs
FEBRUARY 19, 2015
According to one of their recent surveys, small business owners turn to a number of sources for advice and as the chart below shows, accountants are their first choice. We were somewhat fascinated that the survey asked about Google.
Small Business Labs
NOVEMBER 22, 2016
Their survey asks: "In the last year, did you earn money by selling something online?" " 18% of adult Americans surveyed said yes. 8% of the survey respondents said yes to this.
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 27, 2014
We like seeing other surveys finding similar results to ours. TD Ameritrade did a study late last year on retirement savings and the self-employed. One of the questions they asked was why people chose self-employment over traditional employment.
Small Business Labs
OCTOBER 27, 2016
The study's key findings are: Gig workers are uninsured at three times the rate of average Americans : 35% of those surveyed were uninsured while only 10.5%
Small Business Labs
APRIL 16, 2014
A new tracking survey by Sam's Club and Gallup has some interesting data on microbusiness owners and 2nd jobs.
Small Business Labs
MAY 15, 2017
According to the National Technology Readiness Survey , in 2015 22.4 Last week's always excellent O'Reilly Next Economy newsletter asked the question Have We Reached Peak Gig? They asked this in response to a number of recent negative press articles on the gig economy.
Small Business Labs
JULY 9, 2015
The 2015 MBO Partners State of Independence survey results , which we worked on with MBO Partners, shows that most independent workers report being happier (79%) and healthier (59%) working on their own.
Small Business Labs
OCTOBER 20, 2016
Annual Survey of Entrepreneur s, the median U.S. According to data from the 2014 U.S. employer small business (those with paid traditional employees) generates less than $400k in revenue.
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 13, 2015
For over a decade Barlow has fielded a quarterly survey of businesses on topics of interest to financial institutions. Because of their history and the comprehensive nature of the their surveys, Barlow has lots of interesting and insightful information on small businesses.
Small Business Labs
JULY 29, 2014
As the article's title states, 87% of the surveyed freelancers reported having more than one source of income. But its been very hard to quantify this information via surveys.
Small Business Labs
MAY 10, 2011
You many have noticed that different surveys show very different small business social media usage rates. For example, the Wall Street Journal article Facebook Tops for Small Business reported on a survey that found small businesses quite positive about social media. Key quote on the survey results: "About seven in 10 small-business owners say they “strongly agree” that social media is important to their business."
Small Business Labs
MARCH 24, 2015
In our most recent survey of people with 2nd jobs, about 20% of these "side giggers" said "learning new skills" was the reason they had a 2nd job. We don't have historical survey data on this.
Small Business Labs
MAY 14, 2014
It's clear from the Sleeter survey that small businesses are looking towards their accountants to move beyond providing just tax prep and bookkeeping and become trusted business advisors.
Small Business Labs
AUGUST 30, 2016
retirement survey. Transamerica's Center for Retirement Studies recently released the results from their 17th annual U.S. As with prior years, it's full of interesting data on the retirement preparations and plans of Americans of all ages.
Small Business Labs
MAY 24, 2016
Key quote from the article: "A sizable 60 percent of retirees surveyed last year by the nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies said they were pushed out of their jobs before age 65, largely for reasons out of their control, according to Catherine Collinson, president of T.C.R.S." Work a Little, Play a Little: A New Retirement Strategy from the New York Times covers the growing trend towards people working part-time in retirement.
Small Business Labs
SEPTEMBER 15, 2014
The Forbes article Survey Says Americans are Losing Their Appetite for McDonald's, Taco Bell and Burger King covers a study showing that consumers - and especially Millennials - are choosing fast casual restaurants over fast food places. Key
Small Business Labs
MAY 5, 2015
The study surveyed around 300 global business leaders to understand the talent challenges large organizations are facing and identify the best practices among leading companies working with external talent.
Small Business Labs
MAY 28, 2013
These findings are very much in alignment with the results of our work surveying and interviewing the self-employed. Life Satisfaction and Self-Employment is an interesting academic study out of the UK.
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