7 Sites You Should be Using to Outsource Work
By Andrew Patricio
August 26, 2015
Small Business & Entrepreneurship
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By the small business content developers at BizLaunch.com.
Your small business relies on having the right people on board to get a given project done. But just because you can’t afford to hire full-time staff, it doesn’t mean you’ve got to do all the work yourself. Here are seven of the best sites for finding the right freelancers, professionals, or firms to help you do more in your business.
UpWork is a relatively new site, but its predecessors, oDesk and Elance, have been around for years. The site combines the power of the two former companies, and makes it easy to find top talent in web and mobile development, marketing, writing, virtual assistance, accounting, and more.
What it’s Great For: Communicating with your freelancers. The messaging system makes it easy to track files and conversations around your projects.
Whether you need one-time help or a permanent employee, Indeed is a great place to list your job. You can also search the resumes of talent that use the site, helping you find who you’re looking for faster.
What it’s Great For: Indeed’s Company Pages feature is a great way to attract talent. By highlighting what’s wonderful about your company, you cut down on your search time.
Another good site for finding freelance talent, Guru has 1.5 million members worldwide, and has talent in a multitude of categories like web design, writing and translation, engineering and architecture, and legal, among others.
What it’s Great For: Knowing what you’re getting before buying. By reading reviews from past employers, you can get a sense of whether a candidate is a good fit for your project or not.
Not every small business can afford to hire a fancy graphic designer. That’s where crowdsourcing site 99designs fits the average small business budget: For about $300, you can get logo designs from dozens of artists, then ask for changes until it’s exactly what you want.
What it’s Great For: Having options without paying more. Because you post your project and its parameters, any designer can sketch ideas for you. Choose the one you like best!
It’s not high tech, and it’s free. Sometimes the best way to find help is by posting an ad on Craigslist. There are categories for both jobs and gigs, depending on your needs.
What it’s Great For: Finding local talent. If you’re looking for someone local, Craigslist is the way to go.
If you’re looking for a developer, but don’t want to go with the usual bottom-of-the-barrel cheapest option, Toptal is worth considering. The company has a rigorous screening process, and only accepts 3% of the developer applications it gets.
What it’s Great For: Quality work. Because Toptal has already done the vetting, you know the freelancers you find will get the job done.
While there are several sites you can post a freelance gig on, Freelancer.com lets you pay only when you are satisfied. It can be scary, hiring a freelancer sight unseen, so this site takes the risk out of the scenario.
What it’s Great For: Reputation. With more than 8 million projects completed, you can be sure of the quality of the freelancers.
Your small business relies on having the right people on board to get a given project done. But just because you can’t afford to hire full-time staff, it doesn’t mean you’ve got to do all the work yourself. Here are seven of the best sites for finding the right freelancers, professionals, or firms to help you do more in your business.
- UpWork
UpWork is a relatively new site, but its predecessors, oDesk and Elance, have been around for years. The site combines the power of the two former companies, and makes it easy to find top talent in web and mobile development, marketing, writing, virtual assistance, accounting, and more.
What it’s Great For: Communicating with your freelancers. The messaging system makes it easy to track files and conversations around your projects.
- Indeed
Whether you need one-time help or a permanent employee, Indeed is a great place to list your job. You can also search the resumes of talent that use the site, helping you find who you’re looking for faster.
What it’s Great For: Indeed’s Company Pages feature is a great way to attract talent. By highlighting what’s wonderful about your company, you cut down on your search time.
- Guru
Another good site for finding freelance talent, Guru has 1.5 million members worldwide, and has talent in a multitude of categories like web design, writing and translation, engineering and architecture, and legal, among others.
What it’s Great For: Knowing what you’re getting before buying. By reading reviews from past employers, you can get a sense of whether a candidate is a good fit for your project or not.
- 99designs
Not every small business can afford to hire a fancy graphic designer. That’s where crowdsourcing site 99designs fits the average small business budget: For about $300, you can get logo designs from dozens of artists, then ask for changes until it’s exactly what you want.
What it’s Great For: Having options without paying more. Because you post your project and its parameters, any designer can sketch ideas for you. Choose the one you like best!
- Craigslist
It’s not high tech, and it’s free. Sometimes the best way to find help is by posting an ad on Craigslist. There are categories for both jobs and gigs, depending on your needs.
What it’s Great For: Finding local talent. If you’re looking for someone local, Craigslist is the way to go.
- Toptal
If you’re looking for a developer, but don’t want to go with the usual bottom-of-the-barrel cheapest option, Toptal is worth considering. The company has a rigorous screening process, and only accepts 3% of the developer applications it gets.
What it’s Great For: Quality work. Because Toptal has already done the vetting, you know the freelancers you find will get the job done.
- Freelancer.com
While there are several sites you can post a freelance gig on, Freelancer.com lets you pay only when you are satisfied. It can be scary, hiring a freelancer sight unseen, so this site takes the risk out of the scenario.
What it’s Great For: Reputation. With more than 8 million projects completed, you can be sure of the quality of the freelancers.