Where the Gig Economy, Passion Economy, and Creator Economy is going in 2022

It seems like every few years a new “economy” emerges around the idea of making extra money when you want.

The term “gig economy” was coined by the former New Yorker editor Tina Brown in 2009 describing side hustles, or work with no fixed contracts. Mastercard expects that the global gig economy will be worth almost 350 billion US dollars this year, with the help of Uber and Airbnb driving the growth. A case study predicts that the global gig economy will be at $455 billion USD by next year in 2023, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 17.4%.

Then the Passion Economy evolved around the notion of making money from doing what you love or your passion. According to Forbes citing Disciple Media, the Passion Economy is worth today over $38 billion.

With social media as a tool, the Creator Economy was born as a subset of the Passion Economy. These are people who are creating content and making money from something they feel passionate about (ie: Youtubers and Tiktok ers). There are more than 50 million people globally who consider themselves as creators.

The proliferation of new platforms over the past decade was a result of the demand for tools to help creators to monetize what ever they are creating, including audiences. We’ve got Substack for articles, Clubhouse for podcasts, and now Festi for activities, which is kinda like Etsy for doing things instead of selling things. These activities include pop-up meals, deals and workouts (online and in-person).

While making extra money is great, having people admire what you create is greater. Chef Leonard Holton, creates pop-up meals from his restaurant when the kitchen is slow. He says “providing dinners people enjoy brings value to my life.” Chefs are artists at heart who derive the most joy from sharing their culinary creations. Tiphanie’s passion is dance fitness and she charges $5 to join her on Zoom at 7am. With the ability to share their passion, the community not only gets an opportunity to support individuals and local small businesses but we get more food and exercise options to live a healthier life.

Coming out of the pandemic… what we’ve seen and learned.

The Creator Economy Finds New Ways to Make People Productive. Thinking back way before the Gig Economy, creative people had hobbies. All these people have talents, but previously they were unable to monetize the hours spent on their hobby. Since the emergence of the Passion Economy now people can derive some value for their hobby in a marketplace. People who may have been discouraged from spending time on their passion are now encouraged to share their skills and get rewarded. If the Passion Economy thrives, it becomes a new way for people to be more productive, advance their skills and contribute to a better community.

During the pandemic people had more time to spend on their hobby and think of creative ways to monetize it. When people start to make their way back into the office with their day job, it is apparent that remote working with some hybrid schedule is probably here to stay, which means it is easier than ever to start or continue a side gig.

Over the last decade, we’ve seen creators convert their side gig to a successful business. We’ve learned that following your passion can lead to self-employment instead of unemployment. If more and more people can find passion in their work or work from their passion, it doesn’t matter what term is coined next, growth in this sector can only be a good thing.