Ideally, clients beat down your door. In reality, it is you who must pound the pavements, virtual and otherwise, to find clients that are a good match for your services. In between these extremes are Micro Job Sites, like the ones I mentioned last time.
Some of these sites are huge and the competition is fierce. On top of that, the business model is based on bidding - which often leads to razor-thin margins for freelancer who get caught up in price undercutting.
My basic strategy is to state my price and work with those who will pay it. It's not perfect. Now comes a 20-something entrepreneur named Adam Stone, who thinks he's cracked the code:
Instead of freelancers bidding for posted projects and letting the employers pick (possibly on price), why not have the employers tell the freelancers how much they will pay for a specific gig? Just as the traditional model is a buyers' market, Stone's model leads to a sellers' market.
If the freelancers don't feel that the price doesn't adequately reflect the amount of work requested (25.00 for a website? Really, Mr. CEO?), the gig is ignored until it expires in ignominy. This should teach the employers to be more realistic / less stingy.
There's more to the model, but that is the cool part. Now, here is where I ask you for a favor: I use Speedlancer. To date, I have completed two gigs. The concept hits the sweet spot between beating of doors and pounding of pavements. Can you help publicize this site? Adam and I thank you!
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Cheers,
Mitch
