The first Freelance Network was held virtually. Hosted by Professor Kitahara, many MBA graduates and current students from Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya gathered to discuss how freelancers can expand their activities in the face of current demands for self-restraint. The first session was held with Mr. Ryuta Nakamura, a multi-talented freelancer who works as the general manager of Cybozu, a software development company, and also started his own business, Collabo Works, and runs his own farming business. He mentioned that engagement in each business can go up or down, which is a concern when doing side jobs. Based on his own experience over the years, he said that if the engagement of the main business goes down, it is necessary to quit the side job altogether.
In Japan, the number of freelancers has been increasing year by year, and now there are more than 10 million freelancers, and the economic scale is said to be 20 trillion yen, with 8 trillion yen in side jobs. There are many freelancers who are facing an economic crisis as all industries are being asked to close or refrain from work. However, freelancers can be a part of rethinking the way of working in Japan after overcoming this after-corona and with-corona. Dr. Kitahara, the organizer of this Network, also said, "I want you to think of what is happening now as LOC (Locus of Control) and not as bad luck, and I want you to think that you are responsible for the outcome of everything. From now on, I will deepen my research on the use of freelancers based on these words."
The Freelance Network will conduct research on the actual situation of freelance work, design a system for freelancing while working for a company, and solve problems faced by freelancers through research and study, information sharing, implementation of problem solving, and networking. It is a place for the study of freelance networks, research and practical activities contributing to companies and society.