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State of Independence 2021 — A breakdown on all things independent work
Contra, along with Li Jin, presents The State of Independence Report. We surveyed over 10,000 independent workers in design, engineering, product, writing, content marketing & social media on the what, how, and why of their work.
Read the full report here!
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The State of Independence Report is one of the well designed and well-detailed reports I ever saw. Absolutely love the interactive website.
Particularly learned a lot of tools creators prefer to use.
Congrats on the launch Li and Contra team
@5harath Ahhhh thank you so much, Sharath! This means so much to our team. ❤️
Our design team + Jill and Willie Russell deserve it!
"Independents don’t freelance for the money; they’re doing it for autonomy and freedom" - love this take!🔥
Hi everyone!
I'm super excited to present The State of Independence Report 2021, in concert with Contra, a new professional network that gives workers the tools they need for a flexible career.
Anyone who has ever met me can probably tell that I'm obsessed with how the future of work will look more independent and creative than the corporate 9-5s of yesteryear. Workers are increasingly choosing projects that they personally feel values-aligned with, taking charge of their own education/upskilling, and choosing freelance not for the money but for the autonomy and freedom. This report quantifies those trends; we surveyed over 10,000 independents who work in digital product-related industries. The report reflects the incredible shift we are seeing in the current workforce. Hope you enjoy it!
-Li
@ljin18 Congratulations on the launch. The project was lucky with an investor and a hunter :)
@ljin18 Love the report 🔥🔥 ! From the insights to the data viz 🤤
Thank you for sharing!
@ljin18 I downloaded this report and was sorely disappointed with it. These guys are just trying to grow their email list with some very obvious survey results. There's nothing in here that any freelancer wouldn't already know, even a beginner. For example, most valuable social media tools include all of the obvious ones that would come up in a quick google search. Top skills being monetized by engineers include React and JavaScript.
But kudos to you guys for getting this upvoted on PH and getting a bunch of emails.
Next time try to capture or share something that is actually helpful or not totally obvious.
@ljin18 Most of the people commenting and being upvoted in this thread work for Contra. I'm sure they organized a big upvoting session via Slack.
@ljin18 I would love to see the Contra take over all the major freelancing platforms who kind a have monopoly in the market, it's good to see that you guys actually decided to a platform like Contra to help the community, Congratulations I wish you so many more victories in the future. Lots of Love
Excited to finish creating my Contra profile 👀, also really neat to see the stats around being a freelancer 🧙♂️
Congrats! ?makers 🎉
The future of work is changing! Work is no longer bound to an office and 9-5 hours. People are taking charge of their own education and focusing their energy on projects that they are personally passionate about.
Contra is the new professional network that allows anyone to work for themselves. We provide the tools and infrastructure needed to build your career around the life you want, with zero commission fees; our mission is to enable everyone love what you do & do what you love. 🤗
This survey is a summary of how independents are finding work, getting paid, and everything in between. Learn how to work independently, the benefits, and tools used by independents around the world today. 🚀
@kuizinas Couldn't have said it better. Flexibility is the key of the future - excited for what's next!
The future of work is clear: it is flexible and people have agency over their day-to-day. People are tired of sacrificing their lifestyle for work -- which is why working independently and having a flexible career is the now and the future. 🚀
I am so proud of all the work the Contra team put into this report. When someone doubts the power of working as an independent, this is what I'll send their way.
@samtaylorr15 Really cool report - can't wait to dive in! Just a heads up, the guides on Contra's showcase page all lead to Google 🙂
https://contra.com/showcase
@shilohjohnson We are on it! Thank you so much for pointing this out 👀
@samtaylorr15 I am so grateful to work alongside such a positive & driven spirit like yourself!
The future of work is here, and it is revolutionary ✨
Independent workers are making more and working less, and most importantly -- making work they love 💛 I was so inspired reading this report, and in addition to all of the useful data, it was so fun to interact with!
It has been an absolute dream working at Contra on this team of fellow independents & visionaries! The best is yet to come 🚀
@madi_pignetti It's been such a fun ride working alongside you, can't wait to see what we collaborate on next! 🚀
I’m thrilled to be able to share the incredible research our team at Contra has been doing over the past year, surveying over 10k of the best independents in the world. We’re seeing a big shift happening in the way we work, and with the State of Independence Report, we’re giving a peek into Contra’s “why”.
I’m endlessly inspired by the talented folks we get to collaborate with everyday, in particular the team at Green Chameleon (https://www.craftedbygc.com/) who helped bring the State of Independence site to life, and Jill and Willie Russell of Advntr (https://advntr.co/) who are just the best partners for all our video drops.
@erin_horner The designs are impeccable, thanks to you and the entire team (hat tip to Green Chameleon & Advntr)!
Right now, I’m at the beach celebrating this launch. Celebrating not only the immense hard work that my team has put into this launch, but the fact that I can work anywhere, anytime, and that I am thriving with this model.
The workforce is changing–the future is flexible, and it's NOW. Read how 10,000+ independents agree. No longer do we have to be confined by location and commute. Creativity shouldn’t come from staring at a cubicle wall, but from the vibrant life around you that you have time to live.
The State of Independence Report is an example of the driving force behind the passionate team here at Contra. We are creating the tools that enable and empower you to become a part of this movement. To work with people you value on projects that you are passionate about.
Cheers! 🚀
@alxndrabrown Enjoy the well-deserved beach vacation, cheers to many more successes to come 🏖
As someone who has never taken the traditional path. It is exciting to see the shift of people choosing autonomy and flexibility. Seeing the results of our first annual State of Independence Report it has never been more clear that the time is now to build your career around your life. Whether that means going independent or starting your own business — the shift is proving that we will no longer look at this as the untraditional path.
Knowing that what we are building at Contra is here to support individuals taking that journey is the best feeling in the world and to be doing that with a team that has lived it themselves makes it that much more rewarding.
As we like to say - the best is yet to come 🚀
Its so exciting to launch the first annual State of Independence with @ljin18 and the entire Contra team.
The world has changed and the future of work is flexible. If you have ever thought about going independent, becoming a business of one, or freelancing, this report will give you a good idea of what it takes and how others are doing it.
@ljin18 @ben_huffman Fortunate to work alongside you in building this incredible community and product. Best is yet to come 🙌🏼
Hi Everyone,
The future is remote. Work can now be truly flexible and anyone can have an amazing flexible career today no matter where they are. The State of Independence Report which we launch today is just the start. We, at Contra, are working passionately to bring you even more awesome tools to help take your career completely flexible and truly remote. Stay tuned!
Hard work & dedication.
Couldn't be more proud of what we are doing at Contra. Our tech is superb and our team even more. But there's more! We are not solely looking to have a great platform that can actually help people all around the world find flexible and remote work, we want to inform and educate people (and especially companies) about what the independent community actually looks like.
The state of independence is the product of incredible amounts of hard work, dedication, and passion. Just like everything we do at Contra.
The future of flexible work means more and more individuals will be able to live the life they choose. They'll have the autonomy to make their own executive decisions; working hard to play just as hard! 🚀
Had I not been in the world of independent work, I wouldn't have been able to land my dream opportunity to work with a dynamic and supportive team like Contra's.
Proud of all of the hard work the team puts into this, and endlessly grateful that we're working on the future of work together 💛
@janjirasun So happy we found you on Twitter and now you are helping us take Contra to the next level 🚀
Our work no longer needs to be 'just a source of income'. It can be something that we enjoy doing and something that improves the quality of our day to day lives in the same way that hobbies do while still addressing our financial requirements.
We now know, for a lot of jobs, it is possible to do this. In fact, a lot of people around the world are already doing it this way and have been doing it for a while. Remote work is one important aspect of the new way of working but that's not the whole thing. For this to be sustainable, you need a platform that removes the friction from working remotely so that you can spend more time on what you want to do rather than what you need to do.
The State of Independence report, based on a survey of 10,000+ independents, includes a lot data and information that is driving us to build the platform, tools and community to help independents and companies around the world thrive in this new era.
@kulshekhar So proud to work alongside talented folks like yourself that treat work like a passion project everyday. You rock!
I believe the future of work is no longer about freelancers, because they're all called entrepreneurs :)
There's no better time to go independent! Working on projects you're passionate about, with folks you enjoy working with, from anywhere is now an attainable lifestyle. This report and the Contra platform were created to empower and uplift folks to unlock flexible work that fits their life/values/goals. I'm SO proud of and thankful for our talented and passionate team at Contra – the best is yet to come 🚀
looked at the report. I totally resonate with people charging per project rather that per hour. It opens up a new can of worms, but I think it makes a lot of sense for creators and results in better products
The research you have done is absolutely incredible, 10k independents and their ideas and opinions have truly created something magical. It’s SO cool how I can still be autonomous and find inspiration from those who share the same path as me. Can’t wait to get some motivation going!
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