Do you need help for your craft business? Are you wondering what remote outsourcing site suits your needs as a crafter?
We can help you with that.
Getting Started
If you are running your craft business online, it is useful to consider outsourcing work to third parties. Not only can these providers do a better job, but it’s also cheaper. Your time is valuable. You should be focusing on your core business, doing what you do best. Everything else can be outsourced. You need to let go if you want to scale your business and take your income to the next level.
Choosing the right remote outsourcing site can be difficult at first – each of these sites uses a different system, different rules, and has a different layout but we can show you their difference.
All of these sites will require you to:
- Post your job.
- Start receiving proposals from freelancers.
- Compare profiles, reviews, ratings, credentials, portfolios and price to select the best fit. Methods of payment and working together generally vary from site to site (explained in more detail below).
Elance
How it works – You can hire by the hour or by the project and then track progress in your “Workroom” where you can “View and manage work-in-progress online instead of on-site. Messages, screenshots, files and completed work are automatically saved here”. One good feature is the ability to Invite co-workers to join your Workroom as needed.
Payments – Approve milestones or time sheets prior to making payment.
Fees – Elance deducts between 6.75% and 8.75% from each payment (depending on the project budget), transferring the remaining amount directly to the service provider’s Elance account. In addition, there is a one-time $10 account activation fee to set up an Employer account.
General User Testimonial – Generally higher quality providers that are bit more expensive. Probably the best option for larger jobs where you need to hire a team with strong technical skills, or if you don’t want to be bothered with mediocre providers.
Learn more about Elance here.
oDesk
How it works – You’ll only pay for verified time spent working for you – Odesk’s Team Room feature allows you to see each of team members activity levels (keyboard and mouse activity), and feedback (Work diary), as well as web cams and screenshots of their computer to make workers more accountable.
Payments – It is based on hours worked, or completed jobs.
Fees -The oDesk fee is 10% of the employer’s payment to oDesk which equates to 11.11% on top of the amount paid to the contractor.
General User Testimonial – It works best for you when you have a task where you’d prefer to pay by the hour.
Get started with oDesk here.
Guru
How it works – Pay for completed work just like oDesk.
Fees – Memberships are available from $29.95 to $99.95 per quarter.
- Project Fee – Either 5 or 10% of the Invoice or Escrow amount, depending on your membership level.
- Escrow Fee – 2% of the escrowed amount. Only charged when SafePay Escrow is used.
- Employer Payment Method Fees – Up to 4% for a credit card payment and 2.5% for Withdraw
- Method Fees – $3 to receive funds by check and $9 to receive funds by wire transfer.
General User Testimonial – You will find more US based freelancers here (182,000 workers in the US vs 51,242 in India, and only 1,887 in the Russian Federation). Working with a native English speaker is sometimes a good option when you need to be able to verbally communicate project requirements.
Learn more about Guru here.
Other remote outsourcing sites include:
That’s it. Hopefully this guide help you in understanding how remote outsourcing works for your craft business.
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