On-Demand Hiring Will Continue to Flourish

If the names Guru.com and Elance.com are unfamiliar to you then listen up. These are two of many sites that connect businesses in need of help with businesses that provide the type of help needed. Of course, many of these businesses are one-person companies like some of us. Called “on-demand hiring” by some, this method of hiring and paying for help only when needed was made viable with the rise of the internet. Finding qualified help is as easy as buying a book on Amazon.com now.

Two sites I recommend you visit whether you’re on the buy-side or the sell-side are Guru.com and Elance.com. They’ve both been operating for years and have enough critical mass (i.e. a lot of people buying and selling) to make it worthwhile to join. If you’ve been looking for extra income without the hassle of a “job” then visit these sites and explore the various types of skill sets that are marketable by the hour on these sites. Everything from administrative assistance, typing, or writing to strategic consulting, business plan writing, and telemarketing is being sought and offered.

Finally, if you do decide to register as a provider of a service don’t try to be everything to everyone. Stake out a specialty and focus on establishing yourself in that niche. If the businesses looking for skills wanted a generalist they’d create one of the “jobs” to fill their need. There’s a good post on Elance worth reading on this topic: ‘Developing Skills Pays Off‘.