Business Writing For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 14

Writing for Entrepreneurs and Virtual Workers

IN THIS CHAPTER

Communicating in a virtual world

Using the tools and techniques of teaming

Mapping your communication plan

Handling the entrepreneur’s writing challenges

Today, three major trends in the U.S. economy converge to transform how business is practiced, and business communication hustles to catch up. One trend is the growing number of people working as freelancers. In 2019, this group already accounted for 35 percent of the U.S. workforce with 53 percent of Gen Z workers engaged in freelance and gig work. Fueled by new technology that makes independent work practical, this trend reflected the situation before the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 upended the job market and accelerated the need to earn a living in nontraditional ways.

The second trend is toward a remote workforce. Those who work for an employer but carry out their jobs from a home base full-time comprised 18 percent of the workforce in 2019, and another 34 percent based from home part-time. Those figures also represent the pre-pandemic situation, and now ...