[newbie912]

These mistakes and the ending advice are pretty distracting tangents to a fundamental flaw: The business model can't afford employee overhead at even poverty salary levels. Everything else is just noise.

The best take away is yet another damning piece of evidence against the "gig" economy.

[Tade0]

To me this article indirectly implied that everything would've been okay if only the workers shouldered the risks of this business.

[scarface74]

The problem isn’t the “gig” economy. Having flexible part time work hours can work for some people if they want some extra money and they aren’t the primary bread winner.

Also $12-$14 hour is a livable wage in rural America, for full time hours, if you didn’t have to worry about health care.

The biggest issue with the gig economy is our insane health insurance system where the only way you can get affordable insurance is through your job.

But expecting college students to work for that amount is crazy.

[Fomite]

"...if you didn’t have to worry about health care" Also known as That Thing Everyone Will Need To Worry About Eventually.

[jjeaff]

Health Care isn't really affordable through your job. The company is paying a large amount for it, rather than paying you that money in salary.

But you can make decent money in rural America, if you have a family, and still qualify for subsidies through the aca.

[th3iedkid]

>The biggest issue with the gig economy is our insane health insurance system where the only way you can get affordable insurance is through your job.

Are there good books/papers that have good research on this?

[paxys]

Worst of all, they required college degrees and offered employees $11-$12 per hour?

[mud_dauber]

Exactly. I could push a broom at Home Depot for that much.

[dabockster]

> The business model can't afford employee overhead at even poverty salary levels.

And on 1099 too. You've managed to play so much financial hop scotch that you've gotten out of paying FICA taxes and labor premiums, and you still can't sustain your business?

Just wow.

[traek]

Did you read the article? A big part of their financial problems was that the virtual assistants were full employees, not 1099/contractors.

[duxup]

Yeah it's all "omg full time employees" than you read $15 an hour ... oh yeah that's not that much of a cost there.

I don't care how many bad charts they put up, their employee costs were pretty low either way I think. They just couldn't float the boat through a storm fundamentally.

[dabockster]

And why full time? Why not part time? Were they paying out benefits?

[jessaustin]

That wouldn't be "poverty" in the rural South and Midwest, but one does wonder how much recruiting Zirtual would have done in those regions...

[driverdan]

$11-12/hr is poverty everywhere in the US.