Ten Key Reasons to Become a Fractional Worker

Employment has gone through a dramatic change over the past 20 years.  A significant amount of the workforce has left the corporate world and struck out on their own.  According to a recent study by McKinsey and Company, more than 30% of workers are considered Fractional Workers, and the number is expected to grow to more than 50% of the workforce in the next 5 years.

If you’re one of those employees who are interested in taking the plunge, there is a significant opportunity to change the direction of your career. 

Here are 10 reasons someone might consider becoming a fractional worker.

1. Flexibility in Schedule – Rather than working the traditional 8 to 5 day, working as a Fractional Worker allows you to work the number of hours that you want, when you want.  You gain total control over your time.  This provides you with the flexibility to more ideally manage your work/life balance.  The demands you face are the deadlines for the delivery of the products or services that you provide, not being constrained by when everyone else is “working.”
2. Pick Your Own Clients – Working with people you like always makes the day go faster, and makes working more enjoyable.  By working independently, you have the flexibility of picking the people you want to work with and the work that you want to do.  If you find that working with a client is no longer a good fit, you have the freedom to “fire that client.”
3. Increased Earning Potential – No longer are your earnings constrained by the salary guidelines of the company you work for.  You can set your rate based on the market, and  your specific skills, not an artificial level set by your employer.  You get to earn what you’re worth, and get paid for your unique abilities.  You even have the opportunity to work with multiple clients, so your income is not capped by a single salary.  And, if you work harder and longer, you can earn more.
4. Autonomy and Independence – You’re working for yourself.  Of course, you’re working for your clients, but there is no “boss” that’s your intermediary, only the commitment that you made to your client.  You work with them to set your schedule, and the work that you’re doing.  You also get to pick the work you want to do, and the people you want to do the work for.
5. Lower Overhead Costs – You don’t need a big office, you don’t need a lot of staff.  You are lean and mean.  Your costs are lower, which makes it easier for you to make more money.  And you get to decide what you’re going to spend money on, and what you’re going to defer.
6. Opportunity to Specialize – You have the flexibility to be a generalist, or niche down to a particular type of service.  Showing off your specific abilities to a narrowly focused prospect base just means that you may be able to charge more money for that specialization.
7. Fast-Tracked Professional Growth – If you’re new to the niche, or to a particular service sector, you can concentrate on serving those needs.  You’ll be surprised how fast you will be able to show off what you’ve learned in that specialty.  Through specialized training, you’ll be able to grow faster professionally than you could in a generalized corporate environment.
8. Geographic Freedom – Since the Pandemic, working situations have become flexible.  But many companies are pulling their staff back into their offices.  People who have enjoyed the flexibility of working from home are often unwilling to give that up, or have forged a new more flexible work situation that provides for a better work/life balance for them and their families.  Being your own boss, in a Fractional Executive situation, allows you the freedom to work wherever you want.  And, most companies that hire fractional workers like that they don’t need to provide office space for them, and have reduced their office footprint as a result.
9. Scalable Business Model –  When you’re your own boss, you have the opportunity to work as hard as you want.  You can add more clients when you want to earn more money, or scale back during the summer when the weather is nice and you want to be outdoors.  You also have the opportunity to hire other fractional workers to take care of your added workload, providing you with additional staff, without the overhead of benefits or office space.
10. Stronger Work-Life Balance – There are many anecdotes about the driven corporate executive.  Working as a fractional worker, you have the opportunity to shift your schedule as you want to take advantage of family opportunities, or leisure activities that otherwise would be out of reach.  That flexibility changes your personal dynamic and can provide you with greater self-satisfaction.

There’s no question that there are advantages, both from a personal point of view as well as a professional one, to being a fractional worker.  The independence and creative and work freedom are obvious positive aspects of working fractionally.

But one thing to be cautious about is that the administrative services that you never thought about, accounting, business insurance, IT support, were all things that were provided by your employer.  As a fractional worker, you need to find the time and energy to do that yourself, or you can hire BackOffice Simplified to take care of those responsibilities for you, leaving you free to serve your clients.  For more information, check out www.BackOfficeSimplified.com.