Comments on: Rightsourcing As Important As Ever

By: Christopher

Christopher — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:26:15 +0000

I am an avid user of Elance. For a small business it is an effective way to add resources which I could not afford to keep on staff fulltime. Like all business interactions you need to be crystal clear on what you want before you put out a bid. This allows for better bidding. Like all things in life, I found I often get what I pay for. Part of the double edge sword is you receive international bids. I just keep that in mind when submitting a project request. If an intimate understanding of the US is required, I take that in to account when reviewing overseas bids. My biggest issue is getting the same resource to bid more than once. Some of my best providers seem to trickle off of Elance after a few months. I hope this is not indicative of an underlying retention issue for the site.

By: Kris Bovay

Kris Bovay — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:38:34 +0000

I know about Elance but I’ve never used it. I find the idea of bidding for business a bit off-putting; there is always someone willing to do the work cheap (whether or not they are capable). I recognize that in the ‘normal’ bid process I do the same thing – I just find I can tell my story (present my value; my unique differentiation) better. But, I’ll go back and have another look after listening to Brad’s discussion.

By: Zach Heller

Zach Heller — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:44:44 +0000

In my experience with ELance, there are a lot of good resources out there. But sometimes, you have to weed through a lot of nonsense to find them. Very useful for young entrepreneurs who are new to the space and looking for some “cheap” help. More services like this ought to sprout up as more startups begin to develop.

By: Ryan Martin

Ryan Martin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:45:11 +0000

I have come across Elance before while searching for php scripts. If Atniz’s comment is true, it sounds like it could be a great place to hire someone to write things that are over my head. I also agree about the webmaster forums. It is amazing how much help you can get from a good forum.

By: Atniz

Atniz — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:52:46 +0000

I have used Elance before too. I was offering article writing services. The competition there is too high. Most of them willing to write it for free as they only charge the transaction fees from the customer and chance to get feedback count. I think the best place that we can find workers is from webmaster forums. And, 100% agree with you on communication wise. The more communication we have with the seller, the better our satisfactory level will be.