Source : Perth Now news
Alicha Robertson noticed a shift in how stories were being told and decided to tell them her way.
The journalism graduate decided to build a full-time career as a content creator after spotting an opportunity in the growing world of social media.
“I used to work a traditional 9-to-5 job and then I wanted to learn more about the digital landscape,” Ms Robertson told NewsWire.
“While I was studying at university, I felt the need to explore journalism in a different format and that is when I started to talk about fashion online.
“Alongside my 9-to-5, it just developed into a content creation job, and over the process of about six years, then it became my full-time job.
Ms Robertson said the media landscape had changed so much over the last decade, and she decided to take the risk of going out by herself and “sharing her own perspective online”.
“I’m very lucky it shifted at that time. I still respect all the people who taught me my journalism skills because it was a good time to learn the foundations but also learn how to navigate this new landscape,” she said.
Over the years, Ms Robertson became the founder of fashion blog Fashion Heist and co-founder of clothing label The Great Beyond.
She moved her content to TikTok, where she has more than 136,000 followers.
“Of course it is not like instant bam great income, but you learn to balance and budget. I’ve been lucky now that I’ve been able to make it into a full-time job that is beneficial to me,” she said.
“The biggest misconception is that it can’t be a full-time job.
“Obviously, you have to build client relations and it does take time, but you can make it work.
“Treat it as a 9-to-5, be out there boots on the ground getting your name out there, solidifying your work and making sure you bring something of value to the table.”
Growing shift away from traditional work
Ms Robertson is just one of many Australians who have ditched the traditional 9-to-5 in a new employment era dubbed the “flex economy”.
Afterpay data shows 36 per cent of Australians now earn from multiple sources, a shift away from the traditional model of one employer, one salary and one predictable pay cycle.
Afterpay director of trade partner marketing APAC Emily Marshall told NewsWire there had been a change in how people wanted to work.
“There has been a rise of the flex economy and it has been driven by Australians’ own desires for greater flexibility, independence and control over how they earn and spend their money,” she said.
Leading the way is younger Australians, with four in five Gen Zers now earning from multiple income streams, nearly double the number five years ago.
According to the research, this is largely driven by valuing lifestyle over cost-of-living pressures.
“It’s interesting actually, the figures show it more of a value shift rather than a response to cost-of-living pressures,” Ms Marshall said.
“Flexibility has become No.1 (for Gen Zers) and cost of living definitely may have accelerated the shift towards multiple income streams, but the data tells us a broader story about changing expectations about work itself.”
Changing way people spend
As Australians change the way they earn, the research also found households were changing the way they spend.
The traditional Thursday night payday and retail splurge has been shifted to Saturday, as spending marries more with lifestyle.
Additionally, Afterpay found nearly two-thirds of Australians said financial flexibility was critical when choosing how to pay.
One in five rely on services such as buy now, pay later to manage irregular cash flow.
Ms Marshall said the classic “payday effect”, where spending spikes around a single pay cycle, was fading as Australians aligned their purchases with multiple and varied income streams.
Ms Robertson said flexible ways to pay helped with a non-traditional payment cycle.
“The spending patterns we are seeing reflect this rise of the flex economy. The traditional payday effect is fading as Australians increasingly align their spending with their own unique cash flow,” she said.
Ms Robertson said a more flexible payment pattern helped with an irregular income.
“Being a content creator means my income doesn’t always arrive in the same way every month. I can have multiple projects happening at once, but the timing of payments can vary,” she said.
“I’ve had to become much more intentional about budgeting and planning ahead. I use Afterpay for larger purchases, like tech and equipment for my work, because it allows me to spread payments out and manage my cash flow in a way that works for me.”
