What is everyone's favorite freelance site?

So far I have subscribed and already bidding on jobs on these:

Elance.com
Ifreelance.com
Guru.com
Rentacoder.com
getacoder.com

Any others that I should submit to?

Some of the small projects I even agreed to do the job for free in exchange for a good review. Others I have offered the first 5 hours free of charge, or some work for $5 per hour, since I am new to the sites and have no rating.

I am new to this business and I realize I must work cheap at first in order to get my name out there and start getting good ratings.

Any advice is appreciated.

ScottyTN - Well, you're a generous soul, but perhaps to your detriment. Please do a search here on the forums for eLance, or freelance sites, and read up. You may find some of the info useful.

Giving your work away in small amounts may be helpful sometimes, but to my mind, 5 hours free, or working for $5 an hour will not get you far at all. Are you in the US? Maybe, if you're not, $5 an hour isn't so bad. But anywhere in North America, you're just cheating yourself. If you have skills to offer, you should get a fair rate for them.

Perhaps consider the difference between a freelancer and a virtual assistant. I've become increasingly conscious of being a business owner, as opposed to a freelancer. I run an establishment (even tho it's just me in my home office) - which is to say that I am never an employee of my clients. I'm always a consultant. I think there's a pretty big difference, but the subject is worth further discussion, as I obviously don't have it all figured out.

Okaaay, anybody else wanna jump in here?

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Mary H. Ruth/Virtual Writing & Communications
http://www.writingVA.com

Virtual,

Thanks for replying.
I am in the USA. However I am just now getting started in the V.A. Business.

It's tough competing in any type of business. In the VA business I have noticed that it can be even tougher to compete. Lots of Indians offering to work for almost nothing that we have to compete with.

I know that once we get clients, and establish relationships, and can prove ourselves, those clients will give us on-going work.

That is my goal, to find 5-10 clients to work with on a regular basis.

There will always be companies willing to outsource jobs to the lowest bidder -especially in these tough economic times. But I believe there are still companies out there that still needs a dependable, reliable US English speaking native that can assist them in their office support needs.

So I'm just trying to compete with those Indians and hopefully a good client will recognize and appreciate me, even though I have Zero ratings.

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www.virtualdataexpress.com We get it done!

I don't have a favorite freelance site because I don't use them, for all the reasons Mary mentioned and then some. I did use GetAFreelancer very sparingly when I was getting started but as soon as I was able I stopped bidding on projects and started marketing myself to my ideal clients. It made all the difference in the world!

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I don't use any of those sites either, $5 per hour is way too cheap. Try marketing yourself with local businesses and NETWORK. Don't sell yourself short, $5 is under the minimum wage!

I know that. I just offered that since I was new to the site and have no ratings. I only offered the first 5 hours at $5 per hour. The rest at $12/hour

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www.virtualdataexpress.com We get it done!

Scotty, I too am a newbie, but as Tess stated you have to find a good marketing strategy and networking skills that will work for your company. You seem to be limiting yourself. I looked at your website and with your skills you could get more than $12.00. Don't sell yourself short. Look outside of your immediate community for work. Good luck to you and your husband.

Dolores

I don't want to use freelance sites either. But they seem to be a necessary evil when starting this business with no VA experience.

I ultimately hope to gain 3 - 4 long term clients from those sites. I see a lot of people there looking for full time virtual assistants, but they won't give us a chance because we have no ratings.

So I'm just going to keep being persistent and take what I can get until I get to where I want to be.

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www.virtualdataexpress.com We get it done!

ScottyTN -

I think you're ok with doing the freelance thing, so please don't feel like this is raining on your parade. But what about an alternative tactic: you do some work for friends and acquaintances either for free or low pay, in exchange for their testimonials. Then you post their quotes on your website. Meantime, you learn all you can, and do social networking. You give your business card to everyone you meet. You ask the people for whom you've done some work to suggest other leads for you. You define your ideal client, and figure out where you can find types like this. You go wherever they are and start chatting with people. Eventually, word gets around, and you find yourself booked solid.

My suggestion is to concentrate primarily on a method such as this, and use freelancing sites as fillers until your relationship marketing hits full stride.

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Mary H. Ruth/Virtual Writing & Communications
http://www.writingVA.com

Scotty, you sound like you are off to a good start - knowing what you want to achieve. I agree with the others, and I would like to add that it would highly benefit for you to REALLY do some research, if you haven't already.

Take time to go through a lot of the threads here on the forum. You will find a wealth of information here. There is just an endless amount of knowledge and support here. You have come to a great place for that! Check out some great books tailored to the industry, as well. These are the things that will give you lots of education, motivation, and boost your confidence level - because you ARE worth it - in every way!

I wouldn't assume too much too quickly. It takes time to find those wonderful clients, but they are out there. There are many avenues to explore in marketing terms. I suggest trying a variety of areas and not limiting yourself to just freelance sites (although you can get great clients sometimes there, too - so I'm not at all speaking negatively of those). Just don't rely strickly on those. That's all I'm suggesting. The best thing you could do is to get out there and network - whether it's online or in person. Word of mouth can work well. Try your local Chamber of Commerce.

Don't give away your talents too freely - no matter what! This is YOUR business you are talking about! I respect what you are trying to do, but I don't believe that you have to sell yourself cheap to gain the exposure you need. If you do that, you may be opening yourself up for some negativity that you wouldn't want. A good VA doesn't sell herself short - remember that!

It's a pleasure to meet you, by the way! I wish you all the best!