Taking freelance challenges to the stage at Vivid Ideas 2017

In 2015, Hacking Happiness took ‘the myth of worklife balance in a get ahead culture’ to the stage at Vivid Ideas. We were atop the city with a glorious view with the likes of Beyond Blue, Gen Baijan from the University of Sydney, Sarah de Graaf from the Mind and Movement Centre and of course, Hacking Happiness.

A lot has changed yet remained the same in that time.

Rebekah is still in good contact with both Gen and Beyond Blue as they work in their various corners to improve the mental health outcomes of Australians. Brook is currently empowering business owners through her amazing group coaching program, Hustle and Heart. It’s not the end of Rebekah and Brook working together though and new things will start to appear in the second half of 2017.

Rebekah has finally launched a website for project founded in 2010, the Freelance Jungle. The Freelance Jungle began as a survey of the Australian landscape to identify challenges faced and grew into events in 2011. By 2012, it had a permanent home on Meetup. Since that time, it has grown to a community of over 2000 freelancers that come together to end the isolation inherent with self employment.

And Australians are still in need of fast, simple and practical solutions to increased pressure from long hours, do what you love mythology and the burden of job insecurity.

This year, Rebekah (as the community manager for the highly successful and popular Freelance Jungle) is teaming up with Creative Plus Business and Freelance Australia to take a long hard look at self employment and freelancing in Australia. As we move towards automation, information rich jobs and continue to question what we want from our working lives, we seek to investigate if ‘the future of work is freelance’.

Why freelancing is the way forward

According to a survey by Edelman in 2015, 4.1 million Australians chose to freelance for a living. Of that number, 73% would recommend the lifestyle to their friends and 69% made more from freelancing than they did when they were full time employed. 72% believe there’s still more joy to come from Australian freelancing.

Agencies are now hiring people for campaigns as opposed to long term relationships. Government departments and universities are shifting employees to yearly contracts. Job share is becoming increasingly popular. And an estimate 65% of jobs that exist now won’t be here in another 15 years.

Freelancing is one way that people, young and old, are gearing up for the changing nature of work in Australia. We’re bringing together the people already in the 4 million that freelance together with others looking for a better way.

We’re inviting the people that want freedom, to see their kids grow up, to create projects that are worthwhile, who love travel, that need to manage health or mental health conditions better, that want more money, greater flexibility and more certainty to come together and discover what freelancing in Australia could mean in the future.

We’ll talk about things that you need such as being able to sell yourself authentically. There are grants, money and opportunities that are passing many a freelancer by that will be uncovered. And of course the tackling of that self doubt, self confidence and self care issue will be front and centre. Plus we’ll be identifying challenges and problems so that the Freelance Jungle, Freelance Australia and Creative Plus Business can advocate for change, develop the things you need and better support your freelance journey.

So what are you waiting for?

Join 100 other people at TAPP Gallery and have your voice heard as we craft the future of Australian freelance in June.

Your $29 (plus booking fee) ticket covers:

  • Entry to the event plus the panel
  • Participation in our QnA and brainstorm
  • Access to networking drinks post event
  • A light show for your entertainment

So what are you waiting for? See you at the ‘Future of work is freelance’ on June 7th.

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