Migrant workers join the "slash army", how can the sideline remain "negative"?
reading tips
Many migrant workers use their spare time to run their side businesses prosperously.
At the same time, some negative problems have also arisen. For example, some migrant workers are in a hurry to achieve success, falling into "anxiety of sideline business" and abandoning their main business;
Expert tips: It is necessary to balance the relationship between sideline and main business, and life, and at the same time continuously improve employability, so as not to increase the burden on yourself if the increase in income is not counterproductive.
At 8:00 pm on June 29th, the delivery boy Du Yanghu finished the day's delivery and went home to turn on the computer, and his sideline business started immediately.
During the day, Du Yanghu is a rider on the streets and alleys. At night, he becomes a platform "big V" with 65,000 fans.
In recent years, many migrant workers, like Du Yanghu, have seized the new opportunities for social development and made great strides into the ranks of "slash youth".
They use their spare time to increase their income or develop their hobbies to make their side businesses prosperous.
At the same time, the "slash" road also has hidden pitfalls.
Some migrant workers are eager to achieve success, falling into "anxiety of sideline business" and abandoning their main business at the same time; others enter the market in a hurry, and they are not screened when choosing a job, but they are "cut leeks" by their sideline business.
So, how can a sideline remain a "negative" business?
What is the correct way to open it?
The multifaceted life of the slash group
Three years ago, Du Yanghu, whose hometown is in rural Sichuan, groped and released his first video. He never expected to get more than 5 million views and more than 10,000 platform subsidies.
"I can earn extra money and be known by so many people, so I feel a sense of accomplishment." After tasting the sweetness, Du Yanghu plunged into it.
For nearly a year, Du Yanghu spent half of his day on his sideline: researching content, editing videos, and interacting with fans.
A rider's job is a natural material. He takes pictures of what he sees on the road, the scenery of the city, and also records the heart-warming things he has with customers.
In the video, he helps a female customer who is inconvenient to go out to buy sanitary napkins, and is entrusted by his parents to deliver food to middle school students... One month after the first video was released, Du Yanghu received the first advertisement, "Although the explosive style is released It's hard, but when it's hottest, it's not a problem to make seven or eighty yuan a day."
Pastry chefs, electric welders, fitness coaches... The reporter found that there are not a few migrant workers active on the short video platform.
They are often based on their main business, or share professional knowledge, or record professional moments, and successfully find a connection point with the audience.
Compared with being a blogger, the post-90s Wu Chuang's sideline is different.
He is from Hunan doing exterior wall cleaning in Beijing. The instability of his main business often makes him feel a sense of crisis: "It's too cold to dry, it's too hot to dry, it's windy and rainy to dry." How to use a lot of free time?
The low threshold for car-hailing and the freedom of time have become Liu Chuang's first choice for developing a side business.
Since then, he has been "walking" in the sky for half a year, and galloping on the road for half a year, and his life status can be switched at any time.
"I used to go back to my hometown to stay in the off-season for my main business. Although it was hard to drive, I had an extra income and I felt much more at ease." He told reporters cheerfully that the monthly running water of the side business is up to 15,000 yuan, which is very clean. Earn more than 8,000 yuan.
Regarding the "sideline boom" that has emerged in recent years, Wang Ting, director of the Human Resource Development and Management Research Center of the Business School of China University of Political Science and Law, analyzed that, on the one hand, under the influence of the "mass economy", the occupational value orientation has become more and more diverse, and many migrant workers have passed the On the other hand, the development of the Internet platform economy provides more possibilities in technology, makes the form of sideline more flexible, and maximizes the value of idle labor resources.
New explorations come with new risks
Side hustles do not always bring rewards, and bitterness and helplessness go hand in hand.
After graduating from college, Zheng Fei worked as a clerk in a Japanese-funded electronics factory in Dalian, Liaoning Province. In recent years, the factory's business was sluggish. In order to give herself a way out, she used the Internet to start a small business: "A friend introduced a clothing agent, and I I stocked up 3,000 yuan of goods at one time, mainly selling underwear, pajamas and accessories.”
In order to ship quickly, Zheng Fei tried to enter more WeChat groups while frequently posting products in the circle of friends.
"I send about 30 pieces a day, and I think about copywriting when I have time." However, after three months, only a quarter of the clothes were sold, and customers reported that the style and quality were not good.
Seeing that she was about to lose money, Zheng Fei was so anxious that she could not sleep every night.
What makes her even more uncomfortable is that "screen promotion" has already affected her interpersonal relationships.
"I found out by accident that my colleagues who had a good relationship before also blocked me."
After a year of triumphant progress, Du Yanghu's sideline business also encountered a bottleneck.
Starting in 2020, as more and more people flock to the short video track, the competition has fallen into homogeneity.
"On a platform now, there are dozens or hundreds of takeaway riders alone." His fan base is no longer growing, the number of broadcasts has plummeted from 100,000 to thousands, and his income has shrunk to "a few dollars a day".
A colleague initially lagged behind Du Yanghu, but later formed a team to carefully design and shoot the script. Currently, he has gathered 800,000 fans, which makes Du Yanghu both envious and has to admit that his skills are not as good as others.
Although he was full of energy, he still changed his strategy and devoted more attention to his main business: "If you don't focus on delivering food, you won't be able to pay the rent."
The reporter's investigation found that the high demand for sideline business has also fostered a number of training institutions that "cut leeks", and they recruited students under the guise of "low threshold" and "high return".
On a complaint platform, these merchants "showed their original shape".
Taking a dubbing training institution as an example, some students called the course "unreliable" and "difficult to refund", and the previously promised introduction orders could not be fulfilled.
A migrant worker from Dongguan left a message saying that in order to pay the tuition fee of more than 5,000 yuan, he chose to pay in installments under the guidance of the customer service, and then found out that it was a high-interest loan.
How to keep the side business unchanged from the "negative" business
According to a survey released by a recruitment website in 2021, half of the professionals with side jobs have less than 20% of their income from their side jobs, and only about 6% of respondents said that their income from side jobs is higher than that of their main jobs.
So, how should workers treat side jobs?
Wang Ting believes that, first of all, it is necessary to balance the relationship between side business, main business and life.
The main business is the foundation of one's life. Only by constantly improving the main business can we maintain the competitiveness of the workplace.
Even if you have spare energy to engage in a side business, you must plan rationally, find the right position based on your own situation, and don’t blindly follow the trend and abandon the basics.
Recently, Du Yanghu has re-planned his time, delivering at least 10 hours of takeout every day, and trying to earn 200 yuan.
He made three chapters of the law with himself, and he had no distractions when he was working. Only when he encountered good material, he could take out his mobile phone and cut videos for no more than two hours every night.
"Don't give up easily and don't be too persistent. Treat this identity with a different attitude. What if it becomes popular again one day?"
Zheng Fei gradually realized that a sideline business alone cannot resist the risks of life, and a stable main business is the source of a sense of security.
She put her failed micro-business business on hold for the time being and started looking for a new job.
"People's time and energy are limited, and each profession has a threshold. Rather than betting on side jobs, it is better to strive for a better platform for the main business."
Wang Ting reminded migrant workers that they must verify their qualifications and confirm word of mouth in advance to avoid being deceived by false career information when developing side businesses through third-party agencies.
Relevant departments should also refine policies and ensure good guarantees, requiring both employers and employees to enter into an agreement to clarify the rights and interests of part-time employees such as social security and salary.
"Regardless of the main business or the sideline, efforts can be rewarded, and continuous improvement of employability is the key." Wang Ting mentioned that at this stage, all localities have allocated special funds to set up vocational skills training courses for migrant workers.
On the basis of doing their job well, migrant workers may wish to make full use of these public welfare resources to enhance their employability, broaden their career choices, and realize their professional value.
Chen Xi