Alternatives To Bidding Sites: Client Hunting Grounds For Freelancers

If you’re a freelancer, it goes without mentioning that it’s a field of its own, with its own unique challenges: working remotely, managing time and keeping clients satisfied. And it’s not for everybody.  However, the market is gradually becoming more and more saturated with people leaving their full-time jobs to start freelancing.  This has made business quite difficult for veteran freelancers, who are beginning to find it extremely hard to find clients that will pay them according to their respective skills and expertise.

For example, the average rate for a freelance professional content writer is around $10 to $30 (USD) per hour and there was a time when it was easy to find work that paid this much on bidding sites such as Odesk and Elance.

Now because of this recent influx, clients have gotten used to taking advantage of newbie freelancers who are willing to work for $1 an hour, or worse $1 for 500 words of content or even eviler for free just to build a portfolio for themselves in the hope that in the future they can secure bigger deals that pay better.  And since they’re new, impressing the client is their primary objective, which usually means somewhat satisfying results that keep cheapskate clients coming back for more.

Due to the competitive nature of this business, it’s in every veteran freelancer’s best interest to stay one step ahead of the rest.  And I have decided to share some of my methods of finding work that is interesting, pays more and adds more long-term clients to my list.

New freelancers usually hang around bidding sites and marketplaces such as Odesk.com, Elance.com and Guru.com, but do not delve deep enough to find clients that value quality over quantity and are not willing to lower their expectations or risk their deadlines by hiring an inexperienced person.

While there’s no one way to achieve success with freelancing, speaking from experience: I’ve found that the best way to find work and acquire clients is through a combination of job boards, social apps, bidding sites and online freelance marketplaces.

In addition to all my other techniques, I still use Odesk and it’s still quite profitable if you know how to sum-up clients and choose the right ones to work with.

Here are some of the other places I find some pretty high-profile work from:

TWITTER.COM
Twitter is considered by some, a breeding ground for babbling, time squandering people who have nothing better to do then tell people about how boring they’re day was, or how they made a huge mistake at work etcetera… etcetera.  But if you use twitter, you’ve probably already discovered some really intelligent people who actually make every one of those 140 words count, whether it’s by giving good advice, a link to an interesting article, a case study, or their perspective on business, current events or particular situations.

Due to the fact that a lot of these sensible people are actually entrepreneurs, CEOs and small business owners that are always looking for someone or something that can help them in one way or another; advertising your skills and services there can be quite rewarding.  I have personally secured a number of long term clients using twitter and I recommended it to any freelancer that is actually looking for some solid work.

LINKEDIN.COM

A social media app, quite similar to Facebook but geared towards career professionals; LinkedIn lets you add connections and build an online profile quite the same as an online resume.  LinkedIn has helped millions of students and professionals find full-time, part-time and freelance jobs. And is one of the best ways to meet new clients and find freelance work.  The quickest way to get started is to search for and join LinkedIn groups that provide job listings and help clients meet freelancers and vice versa.

JOB BOARDS

The first place that most people looking to hire new employees, whether full-time, part-time or freelance is to visit classifieds sites and forums.  They’ll usually Google for job boards and places where they can post details of vacancies and requirements etc.  Over the past couple of years a number of freelance job boards have been launched with freelancers in mind and prospective clients have found success with these sites, since they offer a place where they can communicate with and find professional freelancers.

Here’s a list of some of the most popular freelance job boards (in no particular order), some of which have helped me find long-term work and build rapport with some great clients:

• KROP.

• FRESH WEB JOBS.

• COROFLOT.

• AUTHENTIC JOBS.

• FREELANCE SWITCH.

• GO FREELANCE.

• SOLOGIG.

• PROGRAMMER MEET DESIGNER.

FREELANCE JOB AGGREGATORS AND SEARCH ENGINES

Created for the very purpose of helping freelancers find jobs posted all over the web, these sites allow you to search for and browse through job listings posted by clients all over the world.  The most practical way to get started is to simply visit one of these sites and search for jobs that require a skill you possess:

• DONANZA.

• GET APPS DONE.

• ALL FREELANCE.

If you have some relevant advice or sites to share, please leave me a comment and I’ll add them here.

Freelancing, The Odesk Way!

Apart from all the other advice I can give you.  The most important thing to remember is to be determined and you’ll get what you want in life.

When I started out as a freelancer, I couldn’t take a risk and leave my fulltime job (40+ hours a week), I was always tired.  And I found it hard to find clients, when I did; I was either underpaid or stuck with job that really didn’t interest me.   But I stuck with my plan, I was determined and today I’m a lot better off than I was back then.

I tried every which way to find work, online sites, domestic clients, word-of-mouth marketing. But only one avenue was truly a payoff, ODESK.

To put it simply: Odesk is an online human resource contractor.  They provide small businesses, corporations and even individuals with a platform to outsource work.  And freelancers and even businesses with the means to find work and get paid.

This article is aimed at amateur freelancers who need help getting started, here’s why I selected Odesk and not any of the other, similar sites out there (Elance, Freelancer.com, Guru etc.):

Guaranteed payment for the time you work. 
Odesk guarantees payment on hourly-jobs, so you never have to worry about your hard work going in vein.  And even protects employers from unscrupulous freelancers.

Leave the accounting to them.
No accounting experience is required to ensure that your freelance finances are in check.  Odesk takes care of invoicing, timesheets and lets you pull up the records when you want them.

Work where you want, when you want and on jobs that really interest you.
All you need is the expertise, a computer and the internet.

Get paid what you deserve with an hourly rate.
Odesk offers thousands of jobs from employers that are will to pay you on an hourly basis.  And even provides you with the latest market trends based on your skillset, so you know you're being paid accordingly.

Access jobs from around the world.
From the United States of America, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Japan, China to Australia and the rest of the world.

No membership or upfront fees.
Odesk doesn’t charge you, until you’ve found a job.  Odesk keeps 10% of the your earnings once you have been paid.  It’s a fair deal, since they’re helping you find work and establish yourself..

Build your own business online.
If you’ve intentionally or unintentionally bitten off more than you can chew and found enough work, you can hire freelancers, negotiate a rate and have them work for you.
  
Here are some tips to help get you started:

Getting started.
Whether you’re an individual freelancer or a business looking for work: It’s simple; to start offering your services to employers you need to sign-up for an account, which doesn’t take too long.

Build a killer profile.
Writing a great profile is the first step towards success.  Your profile should emphasize on your expertise, experience and achievements and should be capable of drawing prospective clients instead of being a bore.  Here are some great tips.

Maintain an updated portfolio.
Odesk allows contractors (freelancers) to create and maintain an online portfolio, you can upload images, include descriptions and links to jobs you’ve done in the past.

Passing tests.
Odesk includes numerous online skill tests, which allow you to prove your capabilities.  The more tests you complete the more chances of scoring interviews with employers.

Applying to jobs.
Odesk allows employers to categorize jobs into sections according to the skills required.  For instance if you’re looking for web design jobs, simply visit that section and start applying to the jobs there.  When applying to jobs you are required to submit a cover letter for the employer to review.  Here’s a great article on writing a killer cover letter.

Start working.
Once an employer invites you to an interview, it’s up to you to seal the deal. Once the employer is satisfied and hires you, you can start working,

Odesk Team.
Odesk team allows you to log the hours you work and maintain an online work diary, so that your employers know you are working and can pay you accordingly.  Read more about Odesk team here.

Remember to read the Odesk Blog for informative articles from successful freelancers and employers.

Become A Freelancer

Why Freelancing is Taking Over:

The recent economic recession has seen jobless rates sky rocket and for many of the lucky people who still have jobs has resulted in wage cuts and revoked employment benefits.  

But even in these troubling times, people are finding new ways to earn.

With employers hesitant to hire full-time employees, many business owners are opting to hire freelancers.

Business owners need their work done and for that they require employees. Hiring means committing to a monthly salary and possibly providing benefits to employees that are potential liabilities. Considering that these employees may not even have enough work to keep them busy 40 hours a week and justify their salaries. 

That’s where freelancers come in; a freelancer does the work as and when it arises and is paid once it’s complete.  Long-term freelancers are usually grateful and will keep in contact with the hope of acquiring more work.  And businesses have a lot more options, considering that these freelancers work from different parts of the world, possibly even third word countries where the economies are not stable and because of this are quite inexpensive.  They belong to and have mastered their own respective fields.  And can be hired according to requirements: for instance, some of the world’s most proficient software engineers, call center agents and graphics designers come from Pakistan, India and the Philippines (not necessarily in that particular order).  

Finding Work:

If you’re an aspiring freelancer trying to find work relative to your career field and capabilities, the fastest way to do so is to visit online sites such as Odesk, Elance and Freelancer.com to name a few.  These sites serve the same purpose as a real-world human resource contractor,   i.e. providing businesses and individuals, referred to as ‘prospective clients or clients’ from here on, with a platform for hiring qualified man-power.

These sites let prospective clients post details of the jobs they need done and allow freelancers to submit bids for the jobs.  Once the client has found a freelancer that meets his/her requirements (usually judged by the cover letter submitted with the bid and the freelancers profile), can proceed to hire the freelancer or negotiate on the terms.

The Cons of Being a Freelancer:

The benefits of being a freelancer are endless, but there are draw-backs as well.  For example: most reliable full-time employees have a boss to report to, hence they stick to deadlines, maintain quality of work and are professional.   Whereas freelancers usually work remotely (from home) and have to report to their clients only at certain times of the day/week and staying professional and adhering to deadlines can be daunting when you’re not at an office desk and don’t have to face a boss. And by face I mean literally stare them in the eyes.

Full-time employees also retain the benefit of being spoon-fed, bosses will tell them exactly what they want, show them examples and will regularly check-up on the work being done and sometimes even guide them.  Freelancers on-the-other-hand are in most cases expected, by the client, to understand the requirements and complexities of the task over the phone or in written, which makes envisioning what the finished job would look like quite difficult.

Unlike freelancers, most full-time employees know that they will be paid at the end of the month.  Whereas freelancers run the risk of being duped by unscrupulous clients.  Many freelance contractor sites mentioned earlier in this article have enforced methods to prevent this from happening; however it is still something to be taken very seriously and can happen.  In the end, it’s all up to the freelancer to judge whether the client is capable of fraud and to build long-term rapport with reliable clients and vice versa.

Full-time employers usually provide employees with benefits such as basic health and life insurance, however most freelancers are left to fend for themselves.  Odesk recently introduced their own health benefit plans (at a rather affordable per month rate) to help freelancers based in the United States deal with this problem.

Being a freelancer myself, I have reaped the rewards of hard work, but along the way have been faced with some of these problems.

Please All Types of Clients: Guide to Choosing Color Combinations

A must read article for web and graphic designers:

Please All Types of Clients: Guide to Choosing Color Combinations

DIY surface mount soldering iron for under $20

Recently had a motherboard go bust: one of the surface mount resistors fell off the board because of incorrect heat redirection from the processor and a DIY water cooler.

  I did manage to find a component identical to the one originally installed on the motherboard. But what I didn't realize, is that its practically impossible to solder such a tiny component (the size of a red ant) to the board, without an SMD rework station , which costs anywhere from $200 - $800 depending on the make and model.

Luckily, I came this tutorial which converts a standard soldering iron into a surface mount soldering iron for under $20. And after completing my own, I was able to get my old server board chugging along again.

A must read for DIY geeks:
How-To: Make a surface mount soldering iron -- Engadget