Self-employed workers in NOLa. navigate a new COVID-19 world

By Emeka Dibia
Contributing Writer

Self-employed workers from generations past to present are often known for taking their careers and success into their own hands. However, the road to entrepreneurship can often present its own challenges, the latest of which is COVID-19.

According to the United States Census Bureau’s 2018 Community Survey, 11.3 percent of the New Orleans Metro Area’s total workforce is self-employed. That amounts to 66,947 workers. According to the Census Bureau report, the more than 15 million self-employed workers in the U.S. make up 9.7 percent of the nation’s workforce.

New Orleans ranks fifth among large metro areas with the most self-employed workers. Portland came in fourth; San Francisco took the No. 3 spot; and the Los Angeles metro area landed at No. 2. Miami topped the list at No. 1. (Even though New York has the largest city in America, its metro area came in at No. 14. Houston made the list at No. 15 and Atlanta came in at No. 10.)

Millions of people have lost wages and work due to the coronavirus. Many businesses shut down due to the pandemic or had to rethink and rework the way they do business. T-Ray the violinist, whose brand and business is his music, had to adjust to the new norms personally and professionally.

“I had a chance to really step back and kind of reassess what I’ve done and where I currently am … and thinking about what future really looks like from an entertainment perspective as far as how performances are going to look just being a lot more open-minded to being as versatile as I possibly can,” T-Ray said.

To supplement income, T-Ray says he’s started playing online course performances, micro-weddings and virtual performances. He’s adapting but says it’s been a significant difference with income compared to before COVID-19

“Obviously we all have dealt with some financial loss so I’ve been very diligent about applying for the grants that have come out,” T-Ray the violinist says.

The self-employed, from a technical standpoint, includes those who operate either incorporated or unincorporated businesses, they are represented in every industry sector except public administration.

Self-employed workers become more vulnerable during economic downturns since some do not receive the same type of job protections as other workers. The federal CARES Act provides fast and direct economic assistance for American workers, families and small businesses – the $2 trillion emergency relief package passed as a financial response to COVID-19.

Kiere Mare, a local-based nutritionist and owner of the juice company “The Pink Coconut,” said this interesting time in the world is causing people to be resourceful even beyond the use of grants and federal funding.

“One of the things I’ll have to say is that a lot of business owner had to learn resilience. It’s a hard time for a lot of people but in business you have to learn how to pivot in situations like this.”

This article originally published in the June 1, 2020 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.