Freelance Forums

Hi All:

I apologize in advance that I only recently registered with this site. I've been lurking for a while now and have really enjoyed learning from you. But now I have some questions....

In the last few days I have been thinking through a new opportunity and I'm wondering what you folks think....any and all thoughts/comments will be appreciated.

I am fortunate to live in an area with a large number of college students/graduate students/professional students that are a. frequently in need of additional money b. have a great amount of "value added" knowledge and c. have skills that are in demand by both other university students and the community at large. I frequently see advertisements from individuals seeking employment and employers seeking freelance personnel. What is lacking however, is a site that is committed to connecting to two groups.

For me, this seems like a wonderful opportunity because I'm young enough to know the needs of the campus community but old enough to understand the business/real world as well. What I'm looking for here are your thoughts with respect to the following things:

1. If you were a freelancer what would you like to see on a webpage?

2. If you were looking to hire a freelancer what would you like to see?

3. Would you prefer to pay a monthly fee for the connection service or have commissions taken from your payment (escrow processing, service fee, etc.)?

4. What sorts of services might you (the employer) be seeking (tutoring, childcare, web design, computer repair, personal training, etc.)?

5. How should I advertise the site to the non-university community?

6. What would make you feel good/safe about using this site (freelancer or employee)?

7. Anything else that you suggest....

Thanks in advance for your thoughts folks. I really respect this community and look forward to your responses!

Hi freelance

Welcome to the forum!

Below are my thoughts.

I would like to see a lot of projects listed and fee's up front. I have noticed some project sites don't list the total fee's and you have to go really search.

Lots of members, feedback system, and maybe even an escrow service.

No sign up fee's and take a commission. Some people don't feel comfortable with paying monthly because they are unsure they will be successful.

I think you have a good list going. You might need to get a little more detailed on the list but its a good start. Consider adding a "open" service for any type of service not listed.

Try:
1) Word of mouth
2) Local free newspaper
3) University newspaper
4) Local newspaper
5) Google AdWords

I've found that assuring each member has been validated works very well. If you could create a system where members information is validated I think that would work great.

I think that the idea is great but you do have a tough crowd to sell. Because your targeted member is going to be pretty internet savvy you might have problems with some of the bigger sites. Elance, Scriptlance, etc. If you can figure out a way to make it "student" only that might work.

I hope this helps and look forward to seeing you around our community!

Johnny

Thanks so much for your thoughts. I will be doing some brainstorming tonight and your ideas will definitely be included!

I also look forward to being active in the community! Thanks for the warm welcome.

Sounds great! I'm sure all will work out fine for you. Please let us know how everything turns out and I look forward to see you around here.

Johnny

Don't forget to post your site once it's ready, so we can all see it!
Your plans sound interesting

I absolutely will. I'm sure that you folks will be able to give me some fantastic critiques. Thanks again.