Special report: Shifting economy spurs new ways of working
A campsite builder who holds down several other jobs, including managing social media for area restaurants, cleaning Zip cars, working with his wife to market and distribute essential oils — and braving it in the ring as a professional wrestler.
A graphic artist who works out of cafes and a studio in her new apartment over a Main Street restaurant.
A personal trainer who runs a boot camp out of his converted garage in Marlboro.
A former IBMer who started a company that hires recovering drug addicts and creates handbags out of donated material.
A Poughkeepsie resident who makes fine jewelry by hand at home and ships the work herself.
A Rosendale man who makes a living with microphones, but “left puppetry because of injuries.”
The founder of a growing coworking and community space in the City of Beacon.
Welcome to today’s emerging and transforming economy, an environment where so many people — whether by choice or necessity — are untethered to a single traditional company and have instead started their own ventures or are working under contract, moving from project to project.
Depending on the circumstances, there are different names for the job trend — the “gig,” “sharing,” “freelance” and “on-demand” economies among them, but whatever you call it, it’s quite clear the shifting occupational sands are changing the way we work, live and socialize.
Earlier this year, more than 200 people attended a conference called “Disrupted: The Future of the Hudson Valley Economy” that focused on this fascinating, sometimes harrowing landscape. The Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp. organized the panel discussion at the SUNY New Paltz campus. Citing a Pew Research study, HVEDC officials pointed out that more than 70 percent of all Americans “have used some type of shared or on-demand online service.”
HUDSON VALLEY FORWARD: How we did it
GIG ECONOMY: What experts have to say
SERIES: See our Hudson Valley Forward project
So how did this occur? Writing in his agency’s publication, Kevin Phelps, senior economist at the New York State Department of Labor, said, “The modern gig economy was born in the aftermath of the Great Recession, when more than 15 million Americans were out of work and desperate to make ends meet. Unable to find full-time positions, many people began working several part-time jobs or used their existing assets (e.g., homes, cars) to make money by gigging.”
Phelps noted that, at the same time, smartphone apps and other technologies have nurtured “peer-to-peer transactions. These apps and platforms also helped unemployed people to find gig work. It was this confluence of factors, both economic and technological, that enabled the gig economy to flourish.”
Phelps warns, however, that hard numbers are difficult to come by, mainly because government statisticians have to determine how to classify or count gig economy workers. “Should a retiree who drives full time for a ride-hailing service be counted differently from a college student who occasionally resells her used textbooks on Amazon.com?” he points out.
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Nevertheless, it’s clear substantial business models based on the gig economy have emerged, ranging from Airbnb home rentals to ride-sharing services, such as Uber and Lyft.
Those working in these services and endeavors often tout the independence and flexibility their choices have given them. Many are motivated by the notion of working on particular projects that speak to their values. But they recognize the challenges, such as trying to nail down a stable work schedule, managing fluctuations in the income they are earning and worrying about handling health-care costs without an employer backing them.
While there are similarities and themes, these stories and motivations aren't all alike, of course. For some, it's an undying devotion to the Hudson Valley — and their desire to make it here by virtually any means necessary. For others, it’s a calling of sorts, a way of working they simply can’t resist for various reasons. Through email and text messages, the Poughkeepsie Journal has talked with dozens of such workers and recently did in-person interviews with seven of them to get a window into their world.
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— Red Hook resident Robert Begley, a campsite builder, car cleaner and professional wrestler, said he didn’t necessarily want to “do one thing or have one boss” but wants the freedom to explore opportunities. Video: Robert Begley
— Sarah Berman, a freelance illustrator and graphic designer who recently moved from New Paltz to Beacon, says she too enjoys a flexible schedule, though she cautions “you have to know when to stop,” when to put down the work and spend time on yourself, rechanneling both your creativity and energy. Video: Sarah Berman
— Joe Wiles, a former chiropractor turned personal fitness trainer, says, “When I am working from home, we are technically always open.” Wiles also serves as chairperson of the Town of Marlborough Recreation Department, runs boot camps and started a fitness club. His goal is to be “physically in the Hudson Valley but to have influence outside the valley." Video: Joe Wiles
— Kelly Lyndgaard, a former IBMer, started the nonprofit “Unshattered” and employs women who are in drug rehabilitation. The women make handbags out of donated materials, such as military uniforms, Broadway sets and manufacturing scrap. "I knew I was leaving a world of high achievers who were focused on climbing the ladder and who are doing big things in the world, and I thought I would miss that piece,” she said, “but it turns out there is a whole world of entrepreneurs who are just as smart, achieving just as many amazing things, solving just as many hard problems, and I have loved getting engaged in that community of people who are figuring it out." Video: Kelly Lyngaard
— Caitlin McNamara, who designs, creates, and ships jewelry from her home studio in the City of Poughkeepsie, says, “In a perfect world, I always knew I wanted to make something with my hands.” She works with precious metal clay that include particles of silver and says “this work draws me, calls me." Her business, Blue Dot Jewelry, is named in honor of the planet we share, as astronomer Carl Sagan often referenced the “pale blue dot” for the Earth. Video: Caitlin McNamara
— Carl Welden is, among other things, a freelance production sound mixer, radio announcer, emcee and voice actor. He lives in Rosendale, but his work has him traveling around the region — and sometimes beyond. “If you find a niche — if you can find some quality that you have that you can put out there and make a living from — don't give up. Put yourself into it.” Video: Carl Welden
— Scott Tillitt runs The Beahive, a Beacon coworking space that reflects the changes occurring. Tillitt left corporate public relations to pursue something that would provide him more meaning and purpose and says he has found that in the vibrant southern Dutchess County city. “I fell into the localism movement. This is my place,” he says. The Beahive not only provides a place for freelancers and others to interact and feed off the “work energy” around them, it serves as a community hub. A recent “Main Street Summit,” for instance, focused on development and gentrification and included business owners and managers and city leaders among them. Video: Scott Tillitt
Fortunately, the Hudson Valley has incredible assets to nurture such efforts and the workers attracted to them. The natural beauty makes it an ideal place for many, and, thanks partially to IBM’s legacy, the area has a considerable high-tech presence on which to build. Gains in tourism, health care, small businesses and craft manufacturers have enabled the county to weather certain hits, including IBM’s downsizing. The valley also features strong colleges that bolster the area’s brainpower in addition to people moving here for their own personal or creative reasons.
The area also has untapped potential in at least some of its cities. In fact, a recent report by the nonprofit Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress suggests a growing influx of New York City area transplants to the valley’s urban centers, places that also are most likely to attract millennials. Strengthening the valley’s cities, particularly Poughkeepsie and Newburgh, by improving housing opportunities, capping crime and expanding the walkable aspects of these compact locations can help greatly.
One thing is clear: A transforming economy is, in many cases, leaving in its wake the preconceived notions of what jobs and occupations are like. It will present undeniable challenges — but also opportunities for those with vision and unyielding determination to stay and work in the Hudson Valley.
“If there is something special that you do, you will find an avenue for it in our region,” Welden said. “It's happening now, and just be ready for it."
John Penney is the opinion engagement editor at the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at jpenney@poughkeepsiejournal.com