Committee on Small Business Holds Hearing on How the Gig Economy is Reshaping Entrepreneurship in America

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Roger Williams (R-TX), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, held a hearing titled "Independent Work, Real Opportunity: The Gig Economy and the Future of Entrepreneurship" to examine how the gig economy is expanding opportunity, lowering barriers to entry, and creating new pathways for Americans to start and grow businesses.

"This hearing demonstrated that the rise of the gig economy is creating real opportunities on Main Street," said Chairman Williams. "Independent work allows Americans to earn, build, and succeed on their own terms. Republicans delivered the Working Families Tax Cuts to secure this progress by lowering taxes, reducing regulations, and ensuring that gig entrepreneurs and small businesses keep more of their earnings. Digital platforms are expanding customer access, while flexible, project-based work enables businesses to scale and compete. These policies make entrepreneurship more accessible than ever, fueling a new generation of small business owners who are reshaping our economy."

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Watch the full hearing here.

Below are some key excerpts from today's hearing:

Chairman Williams: "Ms. Buxton, throughout our nation's history, small businesses have grown by adapting to change and finding new ways to compete. Today, the gig economy continues to transform how small businesses and entrepreneurs operate. My question is: As someone who is successfully adapting to this shift, can you describe how your business has embraced gig entrepreneurs and the impact that has had on your operations and your growth?" Ms. Buxton: "Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the question. The gig economy has helped our growth because we are a small business, but we serve large companies. Many large companies want to work with small businesses because we're nimble. We have new ideas, and we innovate. But often, we don't have access to all the people we need. We've been able to grow by working with various consultants and a fractional CFO. We can bring on a project manager for a project that we only need for a couple of weeks. So now, for example, instead of having to do work for a client all year round, we can do work for them for two weeks-for a quick in-and-out project-which is really very helpful to our clients, and it's helped us grow our business. We would not have been able to make those investments in employees in advance without having the projects coming in. So the gig economy has really helped us get access to capabilities."

Rep. Meuser: "The Department of Labor under the Trump Administration ruled to provide greater clarity around independent contractor status. Can you explain why clear and flexible worker classification is so important for gig entrepreneurs who value independence and control over their schedules?" Ms. Acevedo: "I think that the flexibility alone makes a big difference. For us personally, we're able to, even with our own customers, when they call in, and they want something to go out quickly, and our drivers are already on a different run. We send them through DoorDash so they can pick it up and get it out quickly. So, we're really excited to have the platform and to use it to our advantage."

Rep. King-Hinds: "We do have young entrepreneurs. One, Cameron Atalig, is trying to develop an app. I want this to be an opportunity to encourage somebody like him to focus on figuring it out. How do we break into this new industry? This question is for you, Ms. Sharp. How do digital platforms help reduce barriers to entry, such as capital requirements, access to customers, or other administrative burdens, for aspiring entrepreneurs? In what ways do they support small businesses beyond just providing delivery or logistics for services? I want him to hear this, or that he can be encouraged to focus and, hopefully, create this type of industry back home." Ms. Sharp: "Thank you for that question, Congresswoman. I think that you've hit on a couple of different, really important things. The first and foremost is that, generationally, we are seeing younger people embrace digital platforms and digital work to learn entrepreneurship skills so enthusiastically. So, the fact that you have constituents who are doing that doesn't surprise me. There are three basic ways that digital platforms support entrepreneurship. The first is experimentation. Through a platform, you are able to try out multiple kinds of work. You can jump on and off at your leisure and work whenever and wherever you want to, often around other kinds of work. So that's one. Secondly, it provides a ready, easy on-ramp to earning money immediately. There's no waiting, there's no application, there's no two weeks before you hear back from a potential boss. You are the boss. So, you learn how to operate in that sense. It used to be, many years ago, in this country, that people's first jobs, often in the service industry, were things where you learned about the chain of command. Now we see people learning how to be their own bosses and how to do things like multitasking and evaluating the cost-benefit of working with or through different platforms. Those skills of entrepreneurship are so critically important."

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