'a Paradigm Shift': This Centuries-old Industry Is Embracing Flexible Work — And It Could Be The Chance To Start Your New Side Hustle

Is nan early of activity flexible? According to a study by Future Forum reported by nan Economic Policy Institute, 80% of knowledge workers want elasticity successful wherever they work, and 94% of them want schedule flexibility.

Americans' desire for powerfulness complete wherever and really they activity coincides pinch nan emergence of nan gig economy, allowing an expanding number of group entree to freelance aliases part-time jobs — sometimes successful nan style of a broadside hustle, which astir one-third of U.S. adults have.

Related: 'My Whole Life Changed': This 28-Year-Old's Side Hustle Made $10,000 successful nan First Month. She Quit Her Job and Is About to Hit $10 Million.

Even industries that personification been astir for hundreds of years are embracing — and benefiting from — nan U.S. workforce's caller normal. Marketing, which traces modern roots backmost to nan Industrial Revolution opening successful nan precocious 18th century, is 1 of them.

We Are Rosie, a institution offering strategical consulting and talent solutions for trading teams, brands and agencies, compiled a study to investigation really freelancing impacts nan manufacture today.

The results are clear: Whether you're a 9-5 marketer consenting successful nan pivot to full-time freelance activity aliases searching for a trading broadside hustle to supplement your superior income, it's a lucrative clip to get started.

Related: How Side Hustles Are Redefining Careers and Shaping nan Future of Work

The mean trading money was slashed by 15% comparative to gross successful 2024, which intends that employers successful nan trading abstraction mightiness petition alternatives to accepted employment if they want to execute a amended return connected finance (ROI), according to nan report.

Over nan past 3 years, astir three-quarters (74%) of trading teams personification accrued their usage of freelance talent, and successful 2025, 57% of those employers expect their usage of freelance talent to increase, per nan data.

An uptick successful ratio is nan apical logic business leaders mention for hiring freelance professionals (81%); further benefits noted spot overmuch accomplishment sets connected nan squad (67%), impermanent assistance to surface an summation successful workload (63%) and that it's small costly than hiring full- aliases part-time employees, among others, nan study stated.

Related: I Made Over $4 Million connected Upwork While Battling Kidney Disease. Here's How I'm Helping Patients Like Me Achieve Health and Financial Freedom.

The displacement isn't conscionable a affirmative 1 for trading leaders, though. Workers who usage their talents to freelance opportunities, whether elastic full-time gigs aliases supplementary broadside hustles, tin summation overmuch elasticity successful their schedules and powerfulness complete their incomes.

Sixty-six percent of freelancers expect to still beryllium freelancing successful 3 years, and 68% of them are apt to impulse freelancing to a friend, nan study found. In summation to flexibility, freelancers admit independency (42%), nan expertise to summation a higher income (33%) and nan opportunity to activity connected a assortment of projects (30%).

Related: Scaling Up Your Freelancing Career to a Small Business

"Freelancing has fixed maine nan abstraction and autonomy to fig retired what I want to do next," Rosie statement unit Dwayna Haley said successful nan report. "I get to proceed working, applying and learning against this discipline, but nan level of elasticity that I personification allows maine to style my life and days truthful that I tin really return nan clip to beryllium thoughtful astir what I'm doing."