The Rise Of The Independent Work Force

Agility – THE hot business buzz word that is getting thrown around the corporate world.  Agility- flexible, responsive, and resilient. Agility and informal structure [which is agility’s birthplace] is direction that not only the corporate world is taking but its people.  As New York Times shares through Alexandra Levit’s contributions, The Rise of the Independent Work Force, “a government report in 2006 said that 31 percent of the American work force is independent or contingent, a category that encompasses contractors, temporary workers and the self-employed, among others”.  These numbers have only increased, especially since the turn of the digital era.

So, why this grand surge of contracted employees and independent contractors?

The economy forced the corporate world to flex and think on its feet.  How does a billion dollar organization continue to thrive in a horrendous recession?  If full time employment is something that regardless of cash flow the CEO can’t justify but still needs, then what does one do?  Companies are forced to think and work smarter not harder, hence the surge in independent contractors.  They offer a treaty, a compromise if you will, through the combination of diligent workers without the full-time commitment.

Alexandra Levit shares her love of the flexibility that comes from being an independent contractor. Freelancing and part-time employment has its challenges, perhaps the greatest is the fervent desire for collaboration. “ I need the energy that comes from collaboration.  There’s comfort in getting a team together to help a client or build a new relationship.”  For those of us with memberships with Hera Hub, I’m sure you are bursting at the seams dying to tell Alexandra that there is a beautiful solution for her desire for flexibility and community, “co-working”.  Levit divulges the future of the world’s workforce, “the given direction that the corporate world is going, I think that many workers need to prepare for the possibility of going out on their own someday”.

Alas, Ms. Levitt, should your predictions be accurate there is an answer within Hera Hub’s communal walls.
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Felena is a long-time entrepreneur and marketing maven.  Her latest venture, Hera Hub, is a spa-inspired shared workspace for female entrepreneurs. This as-needed, flexible work and meeting space provides a productive environment for women who primarily work from home.  Hera Hub members have access to a professional space to meet with clients and to connect and collaborate with like-minded business owners, thus giving them the support they need to be prosperous.  Cost-effective monthly membership options are suited for freelancers, independent consultants, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and authors.

Hera Hub is much more than just a shared workspace; it’s a community of like-minded entrepreneurial women who find the additional resources, such as special classes, workshops, and one-on-one support essential for their business growth. The first San Diego location is conveniently located in Sorrento Valley.  By the end of 2012 Hera Hub will have additional locations in Mission Valley & Carlsbad.

Felena is passionate about education, earning her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of San Diego and her MBA from California State University Dominguez Hills.  She taught Marketing and Entrepreneurship at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and at California State University Dominguez Hills for the MBA online program for eight years. Felena was most recently rewarded for community efforts, as she was awarded the “Women Business Owner of the Year Award” by the local chapter of the National Organization of Women Business Owners.