The freelance industry is becoming a huge part of our economy. While it was growing prior to the meltdown of 2008, that crisis stimulated exponential growth, as skilled and talented people realized that job security was a thing of the past. Add to that the Millennial desire to have more control over their work lives and you get a “perfect storm” of freelancers, either as solos or as very small partnerships that look for clients who need their skills and talents.
Yet, if you are a freelancer, you know that finding clients can be a tough operation. There is a lot of noise and a lot of competition out there, and developing and marketing your brand takes time, some money, and a lot of creativity.
Savvy entrepreneurs decided that there could be a better way for freelancers to find clients and vice versa. And so, platforms for freelancers began to pop up. Some platforms are better than others, of course. If you are a freelancer looking to sign on with any of these platforms, check out the five that are probably the best ones in 2017.
1. Moonlighting
Moonlighting is a cool platform that provides terrific services to both sides of the freelancing business, and, even better, provides levels of service. For freelancers and small companies looking for work, there is Boost — the opportunity to register, develop a profile, and list provided services, but also to purchase a lot of other marketing and helpful services to get their name out there in front of potential clients. The freelancer has two options — one free and one fee-based, and even the fee-based one is very reasonable.
The other side of this platform is for individuals and businesses looking for freelance services — it’s called Blast. Again, there are levels of services. For example, jobs can be posted for varying amounts of days, and at a variety of places, so that members on the freelancing side can find them and “apply.”
2. Dash
Many platforms are niche-specific, and this is the case with nDash. It focuses on matching content writers with businesses that need those services. Writers set their own fees, and businesses negotiate the specifics directly with them.
Another perk for businesses is that writers can also pitch ideas for content writing in their niches. According to the website, in fact, about 65 percent of the “jobs” actually come from the ideas of the writing community on the site.
3. RemoteOK
Another niche-related job matching site, RemoteOK, serves employers and freelancers in the digital work “universe.” Companies can post jobs from anywhere on the planet, as they are all remotely accomplished by freelancers also anywhere on the planet.
Freelancers who are looking for a more permanent position will also find companies that are hiring remote employees on a salaried basis, as opposed on a per-job basis. To find jobs, freelancers subscribe to the site and receive daily emails of new opportunities.
4. WorkingNotWorking
WorkingNotWorking is a “high-end” matching service for freelance creatives — in the areas of advertising, design, technology, and production. And companies that use this platform are also quite “high end” — think Google, Apple, Airbnb, The New York Times and the likes.
Creatives in any of these areas — artists, designers, developers, video producers, creative writers, etc. — can submit an application to the board of the company. Part of the application process includes a portfolio. Yet, beware that only about 10 percent of applicants are accepted according to the company.
Members of this community announce when they are available to take on work, so that they are not bothered during their work on other projects, and companies that pay a flat subscription fee can see who is available at any given time.
5. Speed Lancer
Speed Lancer is a project matching site the focuses on very short-term tasks — specifically, those that can be completed within four hours. “Employers” post the task in one of the work categories and provide all of the details and specifications.
They make payment as determined by the site administrators (most tasks already have posted pricing). The site then posts the task to freelancer who match the qualifications for the project, and those freelancers can then “accept” the task.
Communication between freelancer and client is set up in case there are any questions or issues. But, in general the client has the completed task delivered to his/her email inbox within four hours. For freelancers who want very short projects and some quick cash, this is ideal.
Among these five sites, virtually every type of freelancing niche is covered. If you are a freelance looking to find work and build a reputation, these are ideal places to begin.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.