According to an Entrepreneur article from 2013, the freelance economy continues its tremendous growth and more companies will hire in the years ahead. Millions of freelancers are available to take part-time or full-time functional jobs, which have been further broken down into smaller tasks. Online platforms are extremely useful for both small and large businesses. They allow them to quickly find and evaluate a professional service provider for their business, creative, or technical projects. Guru is a platform that allows freelancers and businesses to connect and work together.
Introducing Guru
Guru is an online job marketplace that is privately owned and self-funded. Its headquarters are in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Inderpal Guglani founded it in 1998 under the name eMoonlighter.com. Guru was a competitor site that Unicru, a HR software company, acquired. Unicru sold the Guru domain and logo to eMoonlighter in 2003. Guru was then renamed. Today, the site boasts over 1.5 million members from all over the globe, facilitated more than a million jobs and enabled the exchange of approximately $200 million between freelancers and employers.
How it works
Businesses can post jobs for free and then wait for bids from freelancers. They can also search for freelancers who offer services that meet their business needs. You can browse past projects and view the profiles of freelancers. Guru assigns each freelancer a recommendation score. This is based on their ability to win new business, submit accurate and detailed quotes, turn quality work into income, and retain clients over time. Based on their performance data, a freelancer’s Total Marketing Score quantifies their work quality and the work experience they provide their clients. This score or ranking determines the order in which freelancers present their quotes.
In Guru’s built-in Workroom, business owners can collaborate with freelancers to keep track of their projects. They can create a team of freelancers from within the site, share files, create milestones, and finalize agreements. Employers can pay Guru all or part of the job, and only then will the freelancer be paid. Employers pay a small processing fee. Employers and freelancers can also access more information through the feedback mechanism.
Finding the right one
Guru offers a search engine that allows employers and freelancers to find gurus by job category. The categories include web, software, IT, design, art, multimedia, writing and translation, management and finance, sales and marketing, engineering and architecture, legal services, and many others. Employers can filter the list by location, such as city, state or ZIP code, country, and region. Employers can filter it down to freelancers with just 5, 4+, or 3+ stars, or those with a limited number of reviews and a specific budget.
Problems and solutions
Payment issues can be a problem, just like any other freelancing site. Some complaints involve payments being processed even though work has not been completed. Freelancers can also remove certain reviews or feedback based upon their blocking power. This is dependent on how much money they have spent on Guru over a period. Guru provides employers with additional resources and tips to ensure that their projects go smoothly. These tips include clearly describing the job, carefully assessing the candidate’s portfolio, ratings, and quote, and not paying until you have received all work. Visit their Facebook page, Tw, for more tips and updates.