The way we work is changing rapidly, so we need new tools and new mindsets to succeed. In this series, Prönö’s founder Helene Auramo shares her vision of the future of work. She wants you to find new ideas for both your own work and leading others. In this second installment, Helene discusses the unpredictability ahead and how to make the most of it.
“You must be crazy! That’s what being an entrepreneur is! You really should consider working in a big company, because it’s much safer. Don’t ruin your life.” That’s what a friend told me when I explained my career plans 13 years ago. I knew that I wanted to build a business of my own. And that’s what I did. And you know what? I have never regretted that decision.
I love the freedom and the possibilities, especially the ones that I believe in and that are in line with my own values and passion. I love the fact that I can also choose who I work with. Because of digitalization and new tools (such as Prönö, www.prono.fi), I can be more flexible in the work I do. With Prönö, I wanted to create a space where people can find others who match their energy and to help others focus on their own goals. Usually the best way to do this is through smaller side projects. You don’t have to start as a full-time entrepreneur like I did.
Looking for new side projects? Need help with a problem? Join the waiting and get access to Prönö platform as soon as we get it perfected for you!
Where do you put all the hats?
If you have time and energy, you can wear many hats at the same time. Beside your main job, you can do many things after gaining some experience such as mentoring, sparring, or becoming a board member or an advisory board member. Usually you just realize at some point that you want to do something more than just your main job and give more to the people around you and your community.
You can start with smaller projects that require no more than a couple of hours per month. That way you won’t get exhausted, and sharing your time between multiple projects is easy. From there, you can take small steps and find the perfect balance for you. And you shouldn’t be worried about giving less of your time to your current employer: new projects give you energy and also help you use your time more wisely and more efficiently, while cultivating new skills and perspectives.
I think it’s a good idea to have several projects going on. For me, it seems risky to have one focus. What happens if you suddenly are laid off and are forced to start something new? Or maybe you decide that you want to make a total life change? What would you do? Where would you start? These contacts, projects and side hustles can help you to find out more about yourself and your passions but also about the people you want to work with.
If you are just by yourself, it might be a rough start. However, if you have good connections and a caring network, you are much more likely to find the next thing for yourself – and to ultimately succeed. Your network won’t do the hard work, but you can learn from their mistakes and receive their support. You can share your side hustles or dreams and get new people onboard with you. You can learn and open new doors for opportunities. We have built these possibilities into the Prönö platform.
Soon, employees will work for multiple companies – and need to manage the supply and demand of tasks
In the past, careers were mostly linear. What this meant was that people stayed with the same employer for decades and usually whole careers were made within the same company. So, working for just one company was what people focused on.
Now and especially going forward, this is no longer the case. In their study ‘The way we work – in 2025 and beyond’, PwC reported that 49% of HR professionals believe that employees will be working for several employers simultaneously. Careers have twists and turns, with so much happening at the same time. This means that employer expectations are changing, and this grants the freedom you need to try new things, such as board membership or entrepreneurship.
Sharing your time with multiple projects has many advantages. For example, it reduces the financial risk of entrepreneurship. You can start doing your side hustle alongside your day job. There are many ways to start as an entrepreneur: you can do the same thing you do in your day job but as an independent consultant, or you can do something completely different. It might be a passion, a hobby or just a crazy idea that you quickly develop into a business.
If you are an entrepreneur already, starting something new might still be a bottleneck. If you work hard on your current customer cases, you won’t have time for sales and contacting new customers. You might feel stuck in your current way of doing things, leaving little time for development.
With Prönö, you can easily find potential customers who are actively looking for help. We wanted to figure out a different approach to the conventional sales process. There is a constant battle of supply and demand, and balancing that struggle was one of the reasons we created Prönö. On our platform, your skills and knowledge are recommended to others by your current customers.
As we stated in our What makes the Prönö platform so special blog post we explained that on Prönö, your work speaks for you. The people you work with recommend you, and this is how you will find new customers in the future. The Prönö platform focuses entirely on human-to-human interaction – free of self-branding and self-bragging.
Prönös of the future, come along!
The number of solo-entrepreneurs and freelancers is on the rise. In Finland, there are many services for light entrepreneurship. In the essence, this is about using your time for the most productive work and outsourcing all the administrative tasks. This helps with the bureaucracy and removes the barriers for trying out entrepreneurship.
In the US, the number of freelancers is estimated to grow within the coming years by 57% (99FIRMS). Young people in particular consider freelancing, and generation Z is most likely to freelance. It seems that in the future, everybody will sell their time and expertise flexibly.
My question for myself is ‘How do I help these entrepreneurs?’ I’ve talked with many of them, and their core message is that they don’t want to compete with low prices but with high quality instead. They are networkers by nature, and recommendations are the best way to get new clients. For them, self-bragging and self-promoting is difficult and uncomfortable.
Eyes on the future
Conventional social media channels don’t work well if you have a big change in your career or do many things at the same time. Traditionally, you needed to pick a profession or skill you use as the basis for your professional brand. This is the thing you are known for and also the core of the content you create. If, however, you decide to change careers or do many things at once, the situations might get complicated. Which audience do you want to serve?
We considered this issue when developing Prönö. We want you to show the world who you truly are. You can be a corporate member and a freelancer at the same time. You can offer sparring in marketing while selling your photography services too. You can be recommended to others in all areas.
Prönö’s solution for helping those talented people is our focus on recommendations. In the bigger picture, I think it is also socially responsible to support freelancers and solo entrepreneurs and recommend them.
Read The future of work 1/5: Working remotely from here
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