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The Gig Economy is Here to Stay, and Means the End of Jobs as We Know Them

Gig Economy

New Book By Award-Winning Entrepreneurship Expert Explains How to Survive and Thrive by Redefining Work, Income Security, Career Risks and Vacation

Think the safest route to a secure financial future is to get a full-­‐time salaried job?

Think again.

In her new book, The Gig Economy: The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off, and Financing the Life You Want (Amacom, November 2016), award-­‐winning entrepreneurship lecturer and VC expert Diane Mulcahy explains that relying on a full-­‐time job has become a much riskier bet than building a diversified portfolio of independent work opportunities.

Mulcahy’s Babson College MBA course on The Gig Economy was named one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Business School classes in the country by Forbes.

“With full time jobs disappearing and full time employees becoming the worker of last resort, more than one third of Americans are now mixing together short-­‐term jobs, contract work, consulting gigs and freelance assignments and that number continues to grow. There is no doubt that the Gig Economy is the working world of the future,” she says.

The only real question is: what does this mean for the way we set career goals and plan our finances, and how can we prepare ourselves to thrive?

Drawing on data, recommendations from leading economists, advice from entrepreneurs and Mulcahy’s own hard-­‐won experience, The Gig Economy offers clear, easy-­‐to-­‐implement answers. It explains how, exactly, to seize today’s opportunities and leverage them into a work situation that is not only more viable over the long term, but also brings the security of greater control and the satisfaction of more interesting, fulfilling work in a climate of uncertainty and upheaval.

Specific topics The Gig Economy explores include:

  • How to stop looking for a job and start looking for work.
  • Why income security is the new job security and how to develop the skills it requires.
  • Why diversification is the new climb up the corporate ladder and how to build the right, diversified work portfolio.
  • How to create a Gig Economy financial plan that is flexible, low-­‐leverage, aligned with personal values and addresses retirement.
  • How to create a financial life built on accessing rather than owning things.
  • How to manage time effectively and make the most of the variable work hours associated with Gig Economy work.
  • How to take advantage of the variable work schedule in the Gig Economy to take more time off.
  • How to create an exit strategy to quit your job.
  • How to create a personal vision of success by shedding the employee mindset and reducing feelings of fear and risk that are associated with the Gig Economy.

The Gig Economy also probes the big-­‐picture policy issues such as the employee versus contractor
debate and the categorization of workers, looking at how these approaches can be changed or
improved to support the future of the Gig Economy and all those involved.

About Diane Mulcahy

Diane Mulcahy is author of The Gig Economy: The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off And Financing The Life You Want (Amacom, November 2016). Five years ago, long before the Gig Economy was part of the popular lexicon, Diane created and launched an MBA course on the Gig Economy at Babson College. That course gained immediate traction and was named one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Business School Classes in the country by Forbes.

A former venture capitalist, Diane is a Senior Fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, where she manages the private equity and venture capital investment portfolio. She writes and speaks frequently about the VC and PE industries and entrepreneurship. With two earlier books to her name -­‐-­‐ Venturing Forward and Angels and IPOs -­‐-­‐ Diane has had her articles and work featured in The Harvard Business Review, The Huffington Post, The Economist, the New Yorker, Forbes, Fortune, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Institutional Investor, and on NPR and ReutersTV. Diane holds B.A. and Master of Public Policy degrees from Harvard University.
Title: The Gig Economy: The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off And
Financing The Life You Want
Author: Diane Mulcahy

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: AMACOM
Release Date: November 8, 2016
Language: English
ISBN-­‐10: 0814437338
ISBN-­‐13: 978-­‐0814437339
Price: $22.00