The world of virtual employees is here, and businesses
everywhere are recognizing the benefits of contracting with
freelancers instead of hiring permanent workers. What's driving
this trend? Business owners are discovering that there's often
a better value for their dollar when they hire freelancers. And
they're able to choose from an almost unlimited field of
skill-sets for each specific project they need help with.
With the freelance industry worth millions of dollars worldwide,
as a freelancer, you have the ability to start a profitable
business with a very low investment as well as have the flexibility
to work almost anywhere, anytime.
But just where do you find the work? At last count, there were
110 freelance sites on the web--and that number's only bound to
grow. Out of this large number of freelance marketplaces, there are
a few, like Guru.com, Elance.com and RentACoder.com, that are
hugely popular. Smaller, evolving sites like GetAFreelancer.com and
Bid-Job.com are also starting to make their mark. To help you
evaluate your choices, we've reviewed these five sites to
determine how each stands out from the crowd.
- Guru.com With a service provider base of more than
481,000, Guru.com is the largest freelance exchange on the web.
When you log on, you'll be struck by the website's clean
and simple--yet instinctive--user interface.
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What it costs: Freelancers pay quarterly registration
fees based on what type of membership they buy. Prices range from
the free Basic Membership to the Vendor Membership, which can cost
as much as $130. In addition to the quarterly membership fee, the
site charges a commission fee per project that's deducted from
your earnings.
How it works: Guru's minimum bid is set at $25 for
any project, and it follows what's called a "closed
auction" type of bidding, meaning no one competing for a
project can see their competitors' bids. Your bids for a
project can be based either on hourly rates or the total project
cost. This site also allows you to submit your proposals with basic
HTML formatting for a professional-looking bid.
Once a project's finished, it's usually uploaded to the
temporary "Workroom," which is only accessible to the
contracted parties. An optional escrow service protects the mutual
investments of both the freelancers and the companies buying their
services--a very important service when both parties are in
different cities or even halfway round the world. Another important
point: The site has an excellent help and support system.
- Elance.com Elance.com is known for its outsourcing
solutions for medium to large enterprises. No freelance site beats
Elance in the marketing arena. Therefore, you'll pay a little
more to showcase your portfolio, set up your own web store or even
list "Buy Now" links.
What it costs: Registration fees range from $5 to $30 a
month, depending on the type of package you buy and what type of
service you offer.
How it works: Freelancers create a business profile and
portfolio to highlight their expertise. They can create "Buy
Now" packages or bid on projects posted to the Elance
marketplace. The minimum bid rate here for most projects is $50 and
follows the "open auction" bidding system. This means you
can strategize and place bids after factoring in competitors'
bids. Although the site doesn't have an escrow service,
freelancers and buyers are protected by a third-party arbitration
service called "Square Trade."
- RentACoder.com If you want to start your freelance
business with a minimum investment and good gains, this is the
website you'll want to register with. This Texas-based firm,
more commonly referred to as RAC, has a service-provider base of
105,710 and counting.
What it costs: You can register free of charge for any or
all categories, with one catch: The commission-per-project rate can
be as high as 15 percent.
How it works: A main attraction of RentACoder is the
excellent escrow and arbitration service--you don't start a job
until all the funds are escrowed. There's no minimum bid, so
don't be surprised to find a bid as low as $3 with a commission
of equal value (which means you'd earn nothing for the
project). Like Guru.com, HTML tags are allowed to help you
"beautify" your bid proposals.
- GetAFreelancer.com This is Europe's answer to
the U.S.-based freelance sites--the firm is based in Sweden and has
a subscriber base of 65,000 freelancers around the world.
What it costs: Registration is free, although you can be
a "Gold" member by paying $10 per month to get access to
the site's higher priced projects.
How it works: On this marketplace, the buyers get to
decide whether to allow closed or open auction bidding. The site
has a very basic interface but makes up for that by having an
excellent e-mail alert system that feeds relevant project leads to
service providers. There's also a capability for basic
formatting of bid proposals and an escrow service to help protect
your funds.
There's no doubt the internet has revolutionized the way
people work. Online freelance marketplaces such as the ones
mentioned above offer freelancers a platform to garner a client
base that's not limited by any boundaries. If you've got
skills that can easily be freelanced, now may be the best time to
get your own business started.
Amod Puranik is an IT consultant who has completed numerous
projects he bid for and won in online freelance marketplaces. He
can be contacted at amod@amodpuranik.com.