‘Gig Economy’ shows what ELSE you’re doing in New Jersey

Regardless of whether New Jersey ever gets a 15 dollar an hour minimum wage, you're never going to make it here working one job. Unfortunately, we are not alone. Thanks to many businesses scaling back hours and turning many full time jobs into part time, workers are forced to take multiple jobs to make ends meet. Thus is born the "gig economy" which is a labor market where people take on several part time jobs as opposed to one full time.

The gig economy is growing to the point where one study says in 2020 40% of American workers will be involved in it. In my family, we've been doing it for years.

My wife Deneen, who's a physical therapist who recently went full time, worked part time for multiple companies for several years, by choice. This gave her the flexibility to have her own schedule and choose her own hours. Since our benefits were covered by my radio career, she was in a good position to do it. The downside was not getting paid sick days.

Radio lends itself very well to the "gig" industry. While some tried to get as many jobs as they could in radio, I went the other way and got as many jobs as I could from being on the air. This led to a mobile DJ business where I hired many of my colleagues and paid them more than they were making on the air at the time. Later, I got into the comedy business where I not only perform but also hire my colleagues for fundraisers, parties, and concerts. I've even opened a couple of successful comedy clubs. But you can only do so much.

The point is here in New Jersey, it's not about what's you're doing to make money, but what else you're doing as well.

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