Entrepreneurship was almost something that was being used to shame people in paid employment during its peak, and we still hear similar rhetorics from the very successful entrepreneurs. There certainly are tremendous advantages to not being reliant on an employer, but how realistic is it that we all become independent income earners if we wanted to?

The massive layoffs by tech companies should create some room for concern. We now have very skilled men and women tossed back into the labour market and perhaps it is an indicator of how unreliable the employee situation is. Perhaps everyone of these people would have been better off on their own doing their own projects and earning income independently.

Yet the truth remains that to build something really big and dynamic, we need people to remain under paid employment. Some of the biggest organizations of today are a function of tons of brilliant people coming together under a central vision and getting things done. The effect of large organizations economically cannot be overlooked, as we have seen how transformative they can be to an area. This is why governments are usually desperate to attract them.

The Hive Collaborative Model

Is there another way though for people to come together without necessarily be paid employees? Thanks to crypto and the rise of technology we have seen an increase in the Collaborative model where individuals come together based on mutual interests and expectations to build large organizations without necessarily taking on traditional company structures.

Hive is one typical scenario of what the future of business organizations could potentially be - a small core team of actual employees and a host of skilled people building the ecosystem and receiving their dues based on their individual efforts and the ecosystems success. The future of work might indeed be more open source, but would it be an easier and more acceptable model for people to adopt?

No matter how you phrase it, we humans love security and comfort to a large extent, especially the latter. The idea of a steady income does provide that sense of security, albeit for the short term. It certainly beats working all out with no guarantee especially for those seeking some stability in the short term. Paid employment also offers a lot more coordination and direction compared to being independent.

Indeed we cannot all be independent workers. Some people are not self motivated and generally thrive better when given directives to act. Such is the general nature of life, and we will perhaps always have drivers in the business field.

At the same time though, we can all earn multiple streams of income that would make us far less reliant on any paid employment. The key is for us to map out our investment strategies and find a working plan. I work a 9-5 but am currently building myself to earn from other sources. This is perhaps the best hedge against any sudden, unexpected changes.