A huge point of controversy in the sharing/gig economy world has been how to classify those of us who work in it. Most people reading this have probably seen or read about lawsuits challenging Uber’s classification of its drivers as independent contractors, rather than as employees. The same lawsuits have been raging on with basically every app out there in this space, including delivery apps like Postmates, DoorDash, and Caviar.
I’ve sometimes wondered if the folks fighting to be classified as employees understand the huge benefits they could be giving up by going that route. Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand the problem with misclassifying workers. Most people need the benefits and protections that come with traditional employment.
But, I suspect that many people fighting to be classified as employees under these apps don’t really understand what they stand to lose. For a side hustler like me, any reclassification to employee status would be devastating. And to be honest, I doubt that any workers on these apps would stand to gain any benefits as an employee other than a (low) guaranteed hourly wage. I highly doubt a company like Uber would allow any newly classified employees to work enough hours to qualify for any benefits.
Instead of blindly jumping in with the masses, let’s stop and think for a second about why you want to be an independent contractor when working in the sharing/gig economy space.
Why You Want To Be An Independent Contractor In The Sharing/Gig Economy
In the debate over being an independent contractor vs. employee, I think many people forget the huge benefits that come with being an independent contractor. These are benefits that you simply cannot get in a traditional employer-employee relationship. Let’s take a look at what I mean:
1. Opens Up Side Hustling To More People
The amazing thing about these sharing/gig economy apps is how much they’ve opened up side hustling to the general population. Being classified as an independent contractor is the only reason that someone like me has been able to step into this space. It’s the reason why we live in the golden age of side hustling. Anyone, if they want, can literally go out and start making extra money today.
Before the rise of these sharing/gig economy apps, side hustling wasn’t really side hustling for most people – it was just picking up a second job. You can get a feel for this just by listening to some of the older personal finance gurus out there. Look at Dave Ramsey, for example, who regularly tells people hustling to pay off debt to consider delivering pizzas at night. Or look at Homer Simpson, when he picked up a second job at the Kwik-E-Mart in order to help pay for a pony for his daughter. These aren’t side hustles. They’re just classic examples of second jobs.
If you’ve got a short-term goal, then picking up a second job is totally fine. But, it’s not sustainable over the long term. Professionals, like myself, don’t have time to commit to weekly schedules at a second job. And there aren’t a ton of jobs out there that will let me work just a few hours a week whenever I feel like it.
In contrast, I think I could do these sharing/gig economy apps into perpetuity.
Fine, you might say, don’t pick up a second job. Instead, start your own side hustle. As much as we like to think it, though, not everyone is cut out to create a side business out of nothing. And not everyone wants to do that anyway. Some of us just want to make a little bit of money on the side without having to deal with a ton of commitment.
2. Gain Access To Extra Tax-Advantaged Space
The little-known benefit of being an independent contractor in the sharing/gig economy space is that you gain access to additional tax-advantaged accounts that most people don’t have access to. When you earn income as an independent contractor, you’re in essence, running your own little business. This makes you eligible to contribute to self-employed retirement accounts like the Solo 401k.
Even a lowly Uber driver or Postmates courier is eligible to put some (or in some cases all) of their earnings into a self-employed retirement account. Your highest level employee can’t even do this. When it comes to independent contractor vs. employee, the independent contractor wins hands down in this arena.
Remember this important fact. Every dollar you earn in a side hustle is a dollar you don’t need to spend. You can literally save 100% of it.
3. Work Whenever You Feel Like It
The ability to work on my own schedule, anytime I want, is the only reason I’m able to do any of these gigs. My day job can be demanding and there’s simply no way I could commit to working any set schedule as an employee in a second job. Even if I could, I wouldn’t want to. I value the flexibility of knowing that I can side hustle whenever I want.
As an example, there’s one prominent delivery service in my city that regularly advertises for delivery couriers. I’ve always wanted to sign up. The problem is that the company classifies its workers as employees. This requires people to work set schedules and make a set hourly wage. It’s probably good for people who are looking for a job, but it’s not good for someone like me who’s just looking for a side hustle. I can guarantee that there are zero lawyers doing deliveries on that platform. The only people working on there are people who really don’t have the skills to do anything else.
For someone working in the sharing/gig economy full time, being able to work whenever you feel like it has another added benefit – you can work as much as you want. Most employers aren’t going to allow employees to work any number of hours. I suspect that if Uber were forced to classify its drivers as employees, it would respond simply by capping the number of hours anyone could work.
4. You Can “Care” Less
Maybe not the best thing to say – you should probably try your hardest at everything you do – but the nice thing about being an independent contractor is that you don’t have to “care” as much. There’s something about picking up a job that makes me feel obligated to work really hard. It’s just a different feeling when you’re an independent contractor using these apps.
Problems With Being An Independent Contractor In The Sharing/Gig Economy
I’m firmly of the belief that most people fighting for employee status stand to lose more than they gain. But, I will admit that I see the reasons why people on these platforms might advocate to be classified as employees. Here are just a few of those reasons:
1. No Safety Net
One issue with being an independent contractor is that the rug can be pulled out from underneath you pretty much without warning. It’s pretty common to hear stories of people who’ve had their accounts deactivated for no particular reason. And unlike with a traditional employer-employee relationship, you’re not eligible for unemployment or other similar benefits.
This isn’t a problem for someone like me who doesn’t rely on this income to make ends meet. But I know that there are many people who need this money in order to live.
2. Most People Doing These Type of Gigs Aren’t Sophisticated Enough To Be Independent Contractors
When you’re an independent contractor, by definition, you’re running your own little business. In the past, people working as independent contractors usually did more complicated tasks. You didn’t really have independent contractors doing menial tasks like driving people around or delivering food. The level of sophistication with an independent contractor was probably higher.
You can get a sense of the level of sophistication in most sharing/gig economy works if you interact with the community. I’m in a ton of these sharing/gig economy Facebook groups and most of the people in there have no idea what they’re doing. Many don’t realize that they can deduct their vehicle expenses. The vast majority have no idea how taxes work. I’d say most people on Postmates or Uber would probably benefit from the hand holding that comes with a traditional employment relationship.
3. More Competition
A workforce of independent contractors usually means more workers. Since the barriers to entry are low, it’s easy for anyone to step into this space. All I have to do is sign up on the app. In many cases, I don’t even need to go in for an interview.
These companies also have little incentive to reduce the supply of workers. Their goal is to get as many workers signed up as possible in order to improve the customer experience. Since these companies aren’t hiring employees, they really don’t have to worry about making sure there’s enough work to go around.
Independent Contractor vs. Employee: You Want To Be An Independent Contractor In The Sharing/Gig Economy
I understand why many sharing/gig economy workers are fighting for employee status. If you’re making a living doing these type of gigs, employee status matters. There’s something to be said about knowing that you’re in a traditional employer-employee relationship and that you have some sort of backup if something happens to you.
But for someone like me, and for most of you reading this, any court ruling or decision to turn sharing/gig economy workers into employees would basically be an end to these gigs as a side hustle. I don’t have the time to take on a second job. I definitely don’t have the time to work scheduled nights and weekends as a delivery person. What I do have time for is to do deliveries on my own time, whenever I feel like it.
I’m all for worker’s rights and I do believe that people should get paid enough so that they can live comfortably. But in the sharing/gig economy space, I’m not sure that reclassification to employee status would be the right move. Instead, look at the positives that come with independent contractor status and capitalize on it. That’s what I’m doing anyway.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:
- GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
- Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks, $100 cash reward, 1 stock of Tesla or Google) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 3 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (24 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 24 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- GO2Bank ($100) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $100 referral bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($750) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Fifth Third Bank ($225) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Netspend ($40 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $40 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $40 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Digital Federal Credit Union ($20) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($35) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $35 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $750 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
These are good points. I think it comes down to people thinking traditionally about work and “feeling safe” (even when they’re not). This is one of Robert Kiyosaki main talking points in his Rich Dad, Poor Dad book. Even though people think of being an independent contractor as being more risky, whether you’re able to work or not depends largely on the work you decide to put into it and your determination. Whereas when you’re an employee, it’s your boss that decides whether you get to work or not. Good article. -Aaron
Thanks Aaron! There’s an idea that being an employee is good, and obviously, it is. But at the same time, there are a ton of advantages with independent contractor status, especially with the sharing economy. I think that a turn to employee status would be harmful to a lot of people who use these apps.
Great write up, FP.
I am quite conservative and I like the stability my “day” job provides.
However, I’m trying to bootstrap my way into two or three side hustles that could replace my current income. I have a LONG way to go to turn my side hustles – blogging, internet of things (IOT) consulting and teaching – into revenue streams. I need to stop with the “I don’t have time” and really start to focus more on these side hustles.
Finally, one significant concern I have for side hustling or starting my own business is healthcare costs. They are EXTREMELY high when you venture out on your own.
Yep, healthcare costs is an issue. Probably the best thing is if you do your own thing and have a spouse with a regular day job. Seems like you could then get the best of both worlds!
I hear you on the “benefit from handholding.” The side hustlers I run into most are the Uber/Lyft-ers. Excited and thrilled to be earning the extra $, they forget YOU STILL NEED TO FOLLOW THE RULES OF THE ROAD. Its important to prevent you from colliding with others!
The incomprehension on driver’s faces as they receive a notice of traffic violation is hard to quantify. It’s like we are not speaking the same language.
“Here’s a ticket for running the stop sign.” “But I’m an Uber driver.”
“But you ran the stop sign…right in front of me.” “But I’m an Uber driver.”
The pernicious hidden costs of participating in the gig economy are there…lurking. Like a photo credit lawsuit for a blogger. *shudder*
That’s one concern I have that I think I mentioned. The level of sophistication with a lot of these new wave of 1099ers is really low. I’m in a ton of these gig workers facebook groups and you can just see it – people have no idea they’re not an employee, wondering how to do taxes, confused they have to pay taxes or that taxes weren’t taken out for them, and having no idea how to deduct expenses. In the traditional 1099 context, you really didn’t have these type of workers doing 1099 work – it was usually more sophisticated workers, like consultants and things like that. It’s only recently that a taxi driver or delivery person could conceivably be considered an independent contractor.
You know the real difference to me, besides the benefits you mentioned, is motivation. To side hustle or be a contractor you have to be self motivated. Being an employee often means punching a clock. Someone else is dictating your hours and driving you. It’s all about the type of person you are imho. I personally like mixing and matching.
Good point and I didn’t think about that. But you’re right, if no one’s setting a schedule for you, it’s a real eat what you kill situation.
For people with a full-time day job that pick up shifts in the gig economy, they definitely want to keep the independent contractor status.
It would be good to know what percentage of workers are working the gig economy full-time vs as a side hustle before concluding what’s better for society overall.
One of the negatives of being an independent contractor is the self-employment tax (i.e. the IC having to pay both sides of FICA taxes). Arguably these costs are factored into your salary anyway but I’m not so sure in practice it works that way and suspect that the vast majority of ICs just end up eating the extra taxes.
Of course the flip side to the last point is the ability to deduct all kinds of expenses incurred in operating your business, so perhaps if everything is handled perfectly it’s still overall better for the IC.
I suspect that most people probably aren’t doing Uber or other gig economy apps full time and I think that’s the position that these apps take as well. My thinking when it comes to these sharing economy apps is that, few people will really benefit from getting classified as employees anyway. Most likely, Uber and other companies would just put a hard limit on how many hours you can work in order to avoid having people be eligible for benefits. I know Instacart made that move a few years ago and they limited their workers to 30 hours or less per week. In essence, people doing this full time would probably just be forced to pick up two jobs with fixed schedules.
The SE taxes are problematic and one that most people in the sharing economy don’t understand. As a counterpoint though, the nice thing about paying SE taxes is that it means you can throw it all into tax-advantaged accounts like a Solo 401k. One issue I’ve discovered is that I really have no way to tax-shelter my Airbnb income, and since my income is firmly in the 25% tax bracket right now, I’m basically stuck paying 25% + state taxes on that money even though I don’t really need it.
I guess ultimately, my thought is that, with these gig economy apps, classification as an employee seems detrimental. You won’t see people like me or Financial Samurai or Rideshare Guy doing these type of gigs if it requires you to work as an employee.
It would definitely be interesting if companies allowed you to check a box if you wanted to be considered an employee or independent contractor. That way those that wanted employee status could get the benefits associated with it and those that wanted to be independent contractors could go that way. I’d love to see how people will pick given the option.
That would be pretty interesting if that were possible. In a way, companies like Instacart are sort of doing that. When you sign up, they give you the option of signing up as an independent contractor or as an employee.
I think the flexibility is the most important aspect of an independent contractor but I definitely agree that most people aren’t cut out for this. Sure, it sounds great and looks amazing when you have all that power and freedom to decide what you want to do. But it’s really just tons of hard hard work to be able to reach the level where you’ll be able to receive a substantial amount of compensation for your work.
Very true. It’s why its interesting now that you have Uber drivers and delivery people working as independent contractors. These aren’t the typical jobs that are full of sophisticated people who understand how to run a business or do taxes and all that other stuff.
I remember a few years ago, when Uber first started they used to brag that “our independent contractors make more money than full time tax drivers”. That was a load of BS once you factored in the lease costs, fuel costs, etc.
The sharing economy is great for businesses but not so much for the employees who now no longer have a guaranteed income.
It’s a good point. From the standpoint of a traditional employee, being an IC for Uber, Lyft, Postmates, etc is much worse than being a traditional employee. A lot of these companies are obviously doing this in order to take advantage of cheaper labor.
As the same time, its really opened up doors for people like me or early retiree folks or people who are just doing this stuff as a side gig. If these gigs were all employee gigs, it’d be much harder to do on the side.
It’s great for students as well. I think it’s better to work as an Uber driver during one’s spare time than to work in some retail store. Part time work in retail doesn’t have many employee benefits either, but at least you can set your own hours.
I totally wish I had these type of options back when I was in college. I graduated college in 2009 and the only things we really could do was to get a part time job either affiliated through the school or with some restaurant or store near campus. I ended up grabbing a gig as a janitor and I had buddies who worked as lab assistants or at the cafeteria. Honestly, with all these gig economy apps out there now, I don’t know why any college kid would do a regular part time job.