Finding freelance jobs: 6 sites for talented techies
You know the story: layoffs are everywhere and those who have managed to keep their jobs are taking cuts in pay or reducing their hours. If you're lucky enough to have a day job, chances are you've at least had thoughts of moonlighting.
Assuming you're not ready to pack it in altogether and open a bookstore/coffee shop (wait, that's my dream Plan B), maybe it's time to give freelancing a try.
Here we look at 6 services that promise to help you put a little cash in your pocket. You'll learn how the services work, what skills are in demand, how much you can expect to earn, and you'll get the inside scoop from freelancers who use these services.
Which is best? Well, that depends on you.
If you're a developer who thrives on competition, TopCoder might be up your alley. If you're the very picture of patience coaching your granny through a virus scan, chances are you have what it takes to be a CrossLoop "Helper" or a LivePerson "Expert." Elance, RentACoder, or Guru.com might be good choices for established freelancers looking to source jobs and market their services.
Ready to hang out your shingle? Let's get started.
First up: Elance
Also in this series: Elance | TopCoder | CrossLoop | RentACoder | Guru.com | LivePerson
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Equity is the way to select quality
The "lowest-bidder wins" mentality has a huge problem: as a good coder, you compete with people willing to work at impossibly low wages and don't care about providing quality code.A sure way to avoid cheap outsourcing firms is to offer equity instead of as a complement of cash. By offering equity, it forces the coder to decide that the project has value. They now have a stake in its success. That will give you quality. You can replace equity with various forms of revenue sharing, it works the same way.
After all, if you don't treat your programmers like slaves, you both win.
My experience with Guru
Guru is a great service and I have hired Taras Vovk and Zallas Technologies before for design of my website and a CRM I needed for my business. They did a great job, although it took a little longer then I expected. What I did want to make sure is stressed here is that any time you hire a freelancer online, do as much research on them as possible!! No feedback - red flag, no testimonials - red flag, no portfolio - red flag, $10/hr rate and promising to do a million dollar project for $1,000 somewhere in India - forget about it :)That's at least what I have learned... But, bottom line, go by rank - right now, on guru, www.zallas.com is #1 in the Web Design and Internet Marketing category. So that's why I went with them and it worked out great.
Good luck with your project!
Some skin in the game.
I could not agree more with Alain's comment. In fact, I think we'll be taking this idea into a whole new economy and a new way of structuring our firms.I'm part of a startup that is commiting itself to be a member managed organization. Every month, the contributors vote points to their peers. The firms profits are then split amongst the contributors according to the number of points they have accumulated during their entire "career" with the firm.
We're just getting started at www.fireworksproject.com and looking for contributors/founders.
- Kris Walker ( fireworksfactory.blogspot.com )